'Oyinbo'
Oyinbo is a Yoruba word used in Yoruba and Nigerian Pidgin to refer to white people. In Nigeria, it is generally used to refer to a person of Western descent or people perceived to not be culturally African. The word is pronounced oyinbo in Yoruba speaking areas and oyibo in Igbo language.
This series of images is part of an ongoing project that seeks to address and further fuel the conversations around "Colorism" - a form of prejudice or discrimination in which people are treated differently based on the social meanings attached to skin colour - using 'Mannequins' as an entry point.
Why are the mannequins used in this part of the world (Africa) mostly white? Could there be any psychological correlation between its prevalence and the choice of many dark colored persons in the continent resorting to bleach their skins white? Nigeria is reportedly the highest user of bleaching cosmetics products in the world, only second to India. The flip-side to all these beatifications are myriads of health related illnesses, which makes one wonder if the effort is truly worth it?
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