“Dude, Where’s My Melanin???”
Awww damn. Another one bit the dust. Dominican born Sammy Sosa (un hombre negro, sin duda) is the next tragic culprit willing to risk his own health (both physically and mentally) for the sake of self ‘De-Africanization.’
The world did a double take when some dude claiming to be Sammy Sosa rolled up to the red carpet of the Latin Recording Academy Person of The Year event in Vegas last week. In response to comments about his new ashen appearance, Sosa replied:
“It’s a bleaching cream that I apply before going to bed and whitens my skin some,” Sosa said. “It’s a cream that I have, that I used to soften (my skin), but has bleached me some. I’m not a racist. I live my life happily.”
Hmmm, we imagine so, now that you’ve drained virtually all the melanin from your skin. That’s one powerful pomade, man. By chance did some manage to seep into your scalp, giving your hair that new aged Jheri-Curl look?
“Sosa said he uses the cream to combat sun damage he suffered over a lifetime of standing in the outfield of baseball diamonds.”
Sun damage must be code for just simply being Black (now, ain’t that about a b*%ch?)
Yes, people have a right to do whatever they please with their own bodies, but damn it if some of us aren’t gonna be appalled by actions such as these. Seriously Sr. Sosa, how the heck did you go from chocolately goodness to looking like Desi Arnaz’s illegitimate love child? Furthermore, inquiring minds would like to know exactly how long you’ve been rockin’ those Acuvue FreshLook Colorblends?
Speaking as one person of African descent to one of Afro-Latino descent, it’s quite disappointing to watch as you place your new-fangled chemically altered façade on display (with such glee, no less). Couldn’t you have used some of your fortune to seek help in overcoming your blatant self hate, rather than feed into it? The worst part is those shallow explanations. Look, it’s your life man, if you’re gonna walk around looking like you got a visit from the Albino fairy, the least you could do is admit that ish! You’re not fooling anyone, but you are sending out an unhealthy message to those like you who lack the mental and spiritual facilities to overcome feelings of inadequacy, sucka.
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He should use that $ from the bleaching cream to get his wife’s lop-sided boobs fixed.
Hahahaha! Too right Jasmine. She’s was probably the main one telling him to go jump in some bleach too!!!
LMAO I thought I was the only one who noticed…between the two them there seems to be a whole lot of insecurities. Apparently she’s Dominican too.
he looks like a damn fool! SCARY!
is he serious with this bs? “i am not a racist” that’s why he’s wearing GREEN contact lenses, as a fugly perm, and has blotchy skin! and it don’t matter how light or ridiculous your hair looks–brotha, you gonna always be black. well, unless he gets a nose job and doesn’t pass on his BLACK GENES. smdh.
i was thinking the same thing. Green contacts thought?? if that is not a way to escape your blackness i don’t know what is. he needs some therapy quick fast
Wow, didn’t notice the green contacts until you pointed them out. His hair is even different too. :( I would never have recognized this to be Sammy Sosa
wow.
he looks a hot mess! i wonder if his scalp is black…smh
I was gonna say he looks like Desi Arnaz…and you can see the blotches…self hate if I ever seen it!
LOL Sky you had me laughing throughout this article…sun damage my ass…how do you grow up in the DR and never have sun damage then you come to America and theres sun damage SMDH this man must think were foolish!
This is just a hot ass mess in true physical form! Did he think that no one would notice? I think he may have been going for the A-Rod look possibly down to the green eyes. Wth does he mean he’s not racist?? lmao what? we don’t call this racism we call this self-hate too bad the bleach cant seep into the genes..
Albino fairy? That is brilliant… lol. But its sad people have to go through this. Its sad that people can’t just love, or at least deal with, who they are. We aren’t all supposed to be white and not to sound corny but black is beautiful too.
I’m never down for damaging your own body, but if it’s simply about wanting to be white(r) than let the man do his thing! How many people go to tanning salons every day? A shit load, that’s for sure.. People sometimes need change for whatever reason, not to mention the fact that he probably doesn’t know what to do with all the money he has. ‘Experimenting’ perhaps?
Bleaching is kinda permanent friend….that’s the issue.
It’s also worth noting that the practice of tanning is not rooted in the belief or societal assumption that one’s skin color is ugly and needing to be changed; bleaching is.
While the term fair means both light and beautiful, and lightness in Western society tends to represent purity and sanctity, blackness often means just the opposite.
Without equivalent connotations, histories, and intent, it is difficult to support the idea that two practices are equivalent.
Thank you atlchick09!! I wouldn’t be surprised if he ends up with skin cancer or something. Self hate is never a good look. And come on sun damage really? Isn’t Haiti on the other side of DR? I wonder how many ppl born and raised in the Caribbean are walking around with sun damaged skin. and the “I’m not a racist” part speaks volumes.
This is so sad and this type of self hatred is too common in Afro-Latinos. We need to stop! In Puerto Rico, where my family is from, it has toned down. But, people used to joke about not marrying someone darker than you and marry someone lighter to “better the race”. I hope that joke has gone out of style on the island today. *prays to God*
We need to remember the words of Ismael Rivera from his song “Las Caras Lindas” (The Beautiful Faces): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xe8SwzwlHcE
“The beautiful faces of my black people are a parade of sails in bloom
when they pass in front of me, its blackness, it makes my whole heart happy
The beautiful faces of my race
have crying, sorrow and pain
they are the truth, that life challenges
but they have inside they have a lot of love”
Sad to say this mentality is very much alive and well in the Latino community. My Panamanian family refuses to acknowledge their West Indian heritage and many only speak Spanish to give the impression that they are Spanish. They literally will not speak English (since English is associated with Jamaicans and other Black Caribbeans) even though they’ve been bilingual all their lives and know damn well how to talk in English. Among these are cousins who only marry mestizos specifically because they want lighter kids with straighter hair.
honestly, it’s just sad that he felt the need to be lighter/have “slicker hair”/lighter eyes in order to feel accepted by society and moreover to love himself.
this sickness isn’t going anywhere, unfortunately. when I see advertisements left and right with bi-racial families taking the place of black families. -nothing against bi-racial, but can I get a regular ol’ black family every once in a while?
society gives people reason to believe that lighter is better. again, it’s a sad state of affairs, but I think that Sammy needs more help than criticism.
He should be ashamed of himself. I can’t help but think about all of the Afro-Latino people in the world who felt validated by seeing this man who looked like them do well in spite of his darker hue. He has done a real disservice to them…To all of us.
From a Dominican perspective, I don’t find this at all appalling. I often wish African-Americans wouldn’t liberally opine on race and self acceptance issues that plague the Dominican Republic when they are not versed in Dominican history. Although Dominican’s and African Americans are progenies of the African Diaspora our cultures bare resemblances in the same areas we dissimilar. He could have been going for the A-Rod look who is handsome, light skinned, light eyed, and ‘un hombre Domincano sin duda’. The A-Rod look is a very common in DR so while I’m not saying it’s the “right” way to look Dominican it’s also not at all the wrong way to look Dominican either. So in some regard to call this “self-hate” is a bit of a far cry when America has a multi-billion dollar industry of products and surgeries devoted to mangling yourself into whatever you want without judgment. What ever his reasoning is (I’ve seen at least 5 different unsubstantiated quotes from Sammy) I think it’s small of people to get on the self-hate/racist bandwagon or to even “pity” him to some degree. Perhaps he is, but with the almost unanimous outcry suggesting he is tells me widespread finger-pointing is more of an issue than a rich dude who would rather look like his wife (potentially).
“Speaking as one person of African descent to one of Afro-Latino descent, it’s quite disappointing to watch as you place your new-fangled chemically altered façade on display (with such glee, no less).” ~~~ Same can be said for women who get relaxers. And don’t give me the “everyone does it” excuse because with that reasoning if enough dark-skinned folk bleached their skin that I’m assuming it would be ok too. Nor is the “relaxers make hair easier to manage” because the same can be argued for make-up application. Either you accept all of it or none of it. Judge the person on their cultural pride and not their chemical processes.
For the record, I’m closer to African than Latino on the Dominican spectrum though I’m light-skinned. Yet, I jump at the chance to get some sun to get a tan….A TAN….I like to make my skin DARKER *gasp* does that mean I’m denying my Latino?? Of course it doesn’t. In fact no one ever complains about that because of the inherent assumption that getting more African is “right” yet more (Euro) Latino isn’t. Just like Sammy, for me getting closer to any side I of my own heritage isn’t wrong as long as I’m proud to be a Dominican (which Sammy undoubtedly is). Part of moving toward a post-race society is to stop putting so much attention stories like this because it brings more attention to the insecurities of the reporter than it does the person they are reporting on.
That being said here is an excerpt for a kid who looks up to Sammy for all right reasons:
“Other than being a great baseball player, Sammy also donated money to charities. During the 1998 season, Hurricane George hit his own country and left 100,000 homeless. Sammy sent 30,000 pounds of rice and beans. He also sent several barrels of pure water. Sosa helped rebuild the homes of many people in the Dominican Republic. His charity donated $700,000 to victims of the hurricane. As you can see, Sammy Sosa helped many poor people in his home country.”
http://www.myhero.com/myhero/hero.asp?hero=sosa_memorial_ms_06
thanks for defending his self-hate and exposing your own issues as well, cynthia. :)
Anonygrl…thanks for the anonymous cheap shot. Although I would have appreciated a dialogue. I gather from your comment my attempt to offer a varied opinion fell on deaf ears (or blind eyes in this matter). While I enjoy reading blogs targeted to minorities (i identify as an afro-latina so I dig the afro and latin centered ones) I feel they often go wrong when the “pro-black” message goes so far that it sends an “anti-white” message as well. I have African and European roots and I’m offended by whoever suggest the other is inferior (hmmm that sounds like I accept myself, doesn’t it?). No doubt Sammy looks horrible but to suggest that altering your appearance to look like another part of you own culture is self-hate tells me your journey to a race free America took a pit stop at “it’s only cool if its black”. Acceptance is acceptance and it’s a two-way street. PERIOD.
Also, I hope you are as critical of Sammy are you are Al Sharpton and his perm or Rihanna and her power white foundation and blonde hair or lil kim and her….well everything she did to herself.
To Cynthia,
Don’t add hair to the mix. White people bleach their hair blond. We all know that bleaching is corrosive to the scalp. Arab women and even Asian use perms to straighten their hair. Hair is nothing…that’s why nobody gets offended when a cancer patient wears a wig.
We all understand that black people are identified SOLELY by the color of their skin. How many white people you’ve seen on Halloween paint themselves brown to go as a “black person”. How many people got offended at the “blackface” cover shoots. Once you try to remove that very blatant physical attribute, what do you get? Well you don’t get a black person anymore…and I believe that’s a problem!
Sammy Sosa and yourself can toot your European background but I’ll have you know that 80% of black people in America have white ancestry in their genes and not all of them are running to “bleaching booths”. Justify the contacts that he put into his eyes on top of his bleaching and maybe we can have a conversation about aesthetic.
Its self-hatred pure and simple!
One more thing, I’m sick and tired of people using tanning as a justification for bleaching. Tanning and bleaching are TWO separate things.
1) One requires chemicals…the other does not
2) Everyone effing tans so when you do it at your own leisure, there’s an African in Congo who does it (albeit, not in his own will) for free!
This is not an anti-white blurb. Perhaps you could say it’s from one African American perspective. I think we have a right to bear outrage about such matters. Our ancestors have made sacrifices that we can’t even comprehend – so we can enjoy life as we know it today. We understand that Sammy’s got issues, we all do. The “tongue and cheek” approach is just one way we choose to address with all the garbage that is oppression. Also, white people aren’t the only ones with light skin, hair and eyes. The thing is that he appears to have wiped away his blackness, and there are those of us who, on some level, find that to be very offensive.
“We all understand that black people are identified SOLELY by the color of their skin.”
Dot,
Perhaps this is were my understanding faults. I cannot relate to this statement since my people are defined more by our culture and history than the color of our skin. We CAN’T define ourselves it by color because we are a multi-colored rainbow. In a way I disagree with your statement because I know light and in some cases very white people that identify as black because of their experience and heritage so my assumption was that it was the case for everyone. My boyfriend is African-American so I have to ask him about this too. My grandmother had a bad case of vitiligo (she was dark skinned) and suffered humiliation when she was ridiculed for her splotches (they were poor so make up and creams weren’t an option). My aunt once told me my grandmother said if she could bring all her color back or take it all away she would as long as people would stop looking at her funny. I doubt she thought either one cause her to feel less Dominican but I gather it is not the case for blacks in America. Thus, your taking offense to Sammy’s action is duly noted, but you are definitely more than the color of your skin. But I hope in this exchange gave enlightenment to a perspective from another side of the African Diaspora.
I’ll get off my soapbox…
Cynthia,
No one is questioning Sammy’s heroism at all so to mention his charity contributions does not add to the topic at hand, this article is focusing on what he has done to his skin. As a matter of fact, the reality that he is a very accomplished [naturally brown] man who has chosen to “get closer to his European side” as you hypothesized is what makes it even more appalling. His character is not under attack, we are merely commenting and offering our opinions on the phenotypic (visually) obvious steps that he himself has admitted to taking in order to achieve this look. The deeper issue is why would ANYONE the world over go through such steps? It’s deeper than just Sammy Sosa (his case is just current news) so it’s not an African-American, American, or Dominican thing. Heck, if Oprah did it she would have been the topic of discussion. And I have seen this same topic discussed on Afro-Latina blogs so to try and paint it as an Americans judging a culture they don’t understand is really not the right approach IMO.
Yes everyone is entitled to achieve whatever look they would like but why mask it under “skin rejuvenation”, “sun damage”, or “softening” one’s skin? Why doesn’t he claim to be exploring his “European” side as you have stated he may be doing? It’s quite evident that he knows the undertones of such a confession. I for one in my 24 years of life and throughout my travels to Europe have yet to see a European resembling anything close to the “after” picture above.
“I cannot relate to this statement since my people are defined more by our culture and history than the color of our skin.”–This was your response to Dot where she was stating that Black people are identified by the colour of our skin. If you claim that Dominicans are defined more by the culture and history more so than color why the need to “get closer” to a European or African aesthetic? Why not just identify with culture/history? You yourself have separated culture from color so how does bleaching his skin make him anymore European especially when the outcome looks nothing European (white)? In the specific case of the DR there are significantly more cases of darker and colored Dominicans who bleach because they want acceptance. You cannot completely ignore this….which is why it is usually unheard and rare for a lighter/whiter Dominican to want to be or resemble the original and natural Sammy Sosa. That’s the real issue.
“Just like Sammy, for me getting closer to any side I of my own heritage isn’t wrong as long as I’m proud to be a Dominican (which Sammy undoubtedly is).”
“No doubt Sammy looks horrible but to suggest that altering your appearance to look like another part of you own culture is self-hate tells me your journey to a race free America took a pit stop at “it’s only cool if its black”. Acceptance is acceptance and it’s a two-way street. PERIOD.”
I’m sorry but culture and heritage don’t have a look. You cant get closer to one side just because you changed the color of your skin as the story of your Grandmother proves. Self-hate is not liking who you are and refusing to accept yourself….it knows no color.
“Perhaps this is were my understanding faults. I cannot relate to this statement since my people are defined more by our culture and history than the color of our skin. We CAN’T define ourselves it by color because we are a multi-colored rainbow.”
That’s fine…congratulations! But I haven’t seen model Emanuela de Paula bleach her skin and she happens to be Brazilian and bi-racial. Brazil is arguably the melting pot of all races.
I guess my problem with your argument is that you simply assume that people can pick and choose which race they want to be when really, whatever Sammy was given was for a purpose. I think that’s where I don’t understand where you’re coming from.
“In a way I disagree with your statement because I know light and in some cases very white people that identify as black because of their experience and heritage so my assumption was that it was the case for everyone.”
You mean wiggers? The point that I’m trying to get across is that race is determined on the basis of phenotypes like “Facebook user” said. The white people you are talking about are simply embodying the culture but not the racial markers and therefore don’t understand the black experience. Because look, at the end of the day, they remove their dashikis or their cornrows and they’re back to being white again. This argument you put forth just doesn’t make sense either. Are you saying that there are inherent habits or personality traits that comes with the pigmentation of one’s skin because I thought you were trying to say that skin doesn’t transcend to one’s personality. Am I getting something wrong here?
When you erase those markers, you no longer become part of a particular race. Sammy Sosa might be a proud Dominican, but he choose to disassociate himself with the Black part of his heritage through bleaching and, while we are at it, putting in green contacts. How can you equate bleaching one’s skin to the reconnaissance of one’s culture? Bleaching is not a game. It literally is a chemical procedure, corrosive to the skin by the way, to remove pigmentation.
“I doubt she thought either one cause her to feel less Dominican but I gather it is not the case for blacks in America. Thus, your taking offense to Sammy’s action is duly noted, but you are definitely more than the color of your skin”.
The case of African Americans and Dominicans don’t differ. The same applies to Africans, Haitians and Panamanians. All of our ancestors have been segregated and tortured at the hands of the white men. Our ancestors, well some of us, have tried many things to escape the clutches of the white man. Many straightened their hair, married white people to have lighter children and used (shocker) lightening creams. These tactics were done just “to get by”. I’m pretty certain that that’s what motivated Sammy. In this day and age, black people don’t need to “get by” and many of us are reacting to this news simply because of that. Segregation is over…partially. You can get a job and be black…well almost!
Nowadays, I would argue that people like Lil Kim and the likes of Sammy Sosa have psychological problems in regards to their race. Black people don’t need to “get by” anymore.
I think its important not to extend Sammy Sosa’s obvious psychological problems with all Dominicans because this isn’t only a problem that is only found in Dominican Republic. The concern truly rests on black folks. I’m going to say this again: Black people are identified by the color of their skin!..or else the word “Black people” simply wouldn’t exist. There’s a reason they ask you to check mark which race you are when you are the hospital. You can claim that your Dominican and blah blah heritage blah blah culture blah blah, but that’s not in their interest. If you choose not to identify yourself, someone else will.
It’s self period. I don’t care if this was a white man seeking to make himself look like Morris Chestnut LOL would still be self hate not a black thing. Just don’t see anything like that happening so not an issue to speak on.
Damn he looks scarier every time I see him. I took his Dominican card away about 3 days ago. I told my Caucasian friend that he’s now all hers LOL
How twisted is this s*it? Another “hate to black/hate to be dark skin” negro bites the dust! He’s not happy unless it’s white, because to him, when it’s white… it’s right!
Sad…so very sad!
Another MJLil’Kim-itis victim. And we’ll continue to court the caucasian world and it’s ideals/foundations, naively at our peril … like cutting your own wrists.
I have read all of the comments on this story, and it is obvious that it is a lightning rod of polarization to say the least!! Cynthia, I do understand your ideology, albeit immersed in colonization like the rest of the diaspora. What we have to understand people is that Sammy Sosa’s action should not be a reflection on ALL of us, and we must accept the fact that there are going to be some individuals who do not like the way that they look( Lil KIM anyone?) and we must respect them and their choices. Oh but we damn sure can have an opinion……right? As an Afro Latino, it took me years to actually pay attention to that because I saw the colorism and racism and I didn’t want any part of that. I hear a lot of latinos say they are more into the culture, and I find that to be somewhat true but that to me is putting your head in the sand and negating the fact that you have a colorism problem and it is GLOBAL.
Definitely a self hate thing going on with him. You do not risk scarring your skin (which is what that stuff does to you), and put in green contacts with out having some self image issues. It’s even more sad considering he is a role model and this sends out a very clear message to those who look up to him that if they are dark skinned they are some how less than perfect. Latinos do not have the market cornered on this issue but it seems you hear more image issues pop up with them. Im curious as to why Spanish speaking latinos seem more affected to this way of thinking.