Jamaica has gained international attention this past week for the announced plans by the island's Health Ministry to crack down on the sale of skin-lightening products and the launching of a public awareness campaign about the health risks of skin bleaching.

This campaign deserves public support, but the authorities have to be careful of the message and the crafting and execution of the policy lest the programme has unintended detrimental and costly effects.

Of course, skin lightening is neither new nor unique to Jamaica. Generations of Jamaicans and black and dark-skinned persons elsewhere have resorted to a variety of products in an attempt to lighten their hue. Indeed, in the big debate this past week about the alleged racism and bullying of Indian actress Shilpa Shetty on the British television reality show, Celebrity Big Brother, a matter of comment was Ms. Shilpa's suspected use of skin lighteners.

The issue here is not whether Ms. Shilpa, obviously Asian in features and complexion, did or did not, but the fact that the practice is relatively common across non-white cultures. It is, however, particularly visible among black people.

The reasons for the use of these products by Jamaican women of African descent are deep and complex, having to do with the sociology of slavery, the continuing relationship between race and power, and notions of beauty. The assumptions are that beauty is not obviously black; although, in the context of Jamaica, and perhaps the rest of the English-speaking Caribbean, it is not overtly Caucasian and aquiline.

Something in between translates in Jamaican parlance to 'browning', the mixed-raced person legitimised by beauty contests and endorsed in popular culture.

Transition to both genders

What has changed in Jamaica recently is the transition of skin lightening from a female preserve to including males. Men, too, routinely bleach their faces and other parts of their skin, which on the face of it suggests that in the 21st century, many Jamaicans remain deeply uncomfortable with and within themselves.

In this campaign being launched by the health authorities, it is right to highlight the physical harm that can be caused by the arbitrary use of skin-lightening products. However, officials have to be careful that confiscation and bans do not push the problem underground, with the consequences that tend to accompany lucrative black markets.

But any project to deal with this issue cannot dwell solely on the physical scars that can be left by bleaching products; it has to deal with the historic, social and emotional wounds for which people believe skin lightening provides a salve.