Reimagining the bleached body: Commodification and policing in urban Nigeria.

This article examines skin bleaching in Nigeria's urban communities as a complex practice situated at the intersection of personal agency, social norms, and market forces, rather than solely a health or moral issue. Drawing on ethnographic interviews with young Nigerians, it highlights that individuals primarily bleach their skin to enhance beauty and social capital, often influenced by peer and familial pressures, while navigating awareness of health risks. The study reveals that societal reactions—especially gendered stigma and moral policing—transform the bleached body into a public commodity subject to collective evaluation, reflecting broader dynamics of commodification and control within a neo-liberal, postcolonial context marked by enduring colourism. The article concludes that skin bleaching embodies tensions between individual self-fashioning and communal regulation, underscoring the need for nuanced approaches that respect bodily autonomy while addressing underlying socio-cultural inequalities.