LettersBeauty is skin deep: women can see it in black and white

The message from the media is that we should add one more worry about our bodies to the already long list and that our only worth lies in whether men find us attractive

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Women the world over are bombarded with media advice on how they can perfect their bodies. Photo: Corbis

Published: 5:00pm, 1 May 2019Updated: 5:00pm, 1 May 2019

I am utterly appalled that you would think fit to devote newsprint to “Dark underarms: causes, treatment and prevention” (April 27) – positioned right under an article on cervical cancer prevention. Do the two merit equal attention?

In this day and age, is that the message the Post wishes to highlight to women? That we should add one more worry about our bodies to the already long list and that our only worth lies in whether men find us attractive? After all, that is the quote from a doctor that the article saw fit to highlight. Wake up. This is 2019. A woman’s armpits are not something she needs to be concerned about.

Anuradha Singh, Mid-Levels

A woman walks past an advertisement for a skin whitening product in Shanghai in August 2006. Photo: AFP

Say no to new twisted beauty standards

Living here in Asia, you get used to the sad ubiquity of skin-whitening products. Still, the first time I spotted skin-whitening deodorant, I was startled. The latest low: a totally uncritical article about an expensive underarm whitening treatment in the Post’s Beauty section. “When I ask [my] male patients what turns them off in women, they would say dark armpits,” says Dr Vicky Belo, dermatologist to celebrities and socialites.

.css-1mniedq{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;} The message from the media is that we should add one more worry about our bodies to the already long list and that our only worth lies in whether men find us attractive

The message from the media is that we should add one more worry about our bodies to the already long list and that our only worth lies in whether men find us attractive