RUI: STS: Race, Immigration, and the Public Understanding of Science

Occidental College, Los Angeles CA

Investigators

Abstract

This project is a multi-sited study of women in immigrant communities who use potentially toxic beauty products to lighten their skin. Its goal is to examine women’s understanding of the risks involved in using the products and their rationales for doing so. The project first uses archival sources to understand the global skin lightening market, how mercury came to be added as an ingredient, and efforts by companies to replace it with less toxic alternatives. Second, it examines how diverse communities perceive scientific and public health information about chemical toxicity, their reasons for purchasing skin lightening products, and whether and how scientific and public health data influences consumer choices. The project involves mentoring and training post-doctoral and undergraduate researchers, developing new undergraduate courses, and broadly disseminating research findings to community groups and to civil society groups working to address the environmental health issue of mercury in beauty products. This project examines how the public’s understanding of science intersects with issues of health, race, and immigration in the United States by researching the use of potentially toxic skin bleaching products by members of immigrant communities in Los Angeles, Minneapolis, and New York City. It seeks to understand the social, economic, political, and cultural rationales of women who use these products, and their similarities and differences across East and South Asian and West African immigrant communities. Historical and archival research methods will be used to uncover the history of adding mercury to cosmetics for skin bleaching, and to understand beauty industry practices related to skin bleaching products and efforts to expand this market despite public health concerns. Interviews will be conducted with leaders of community-based organizations to understand their opinions and knowledge about skin bleaching products. Focus groups will then be conducted with members of these organizations to reveal the contextual factors that influence product use among immigrant populations. Project findings will be disseminated back to community-based organizations and the public to enhance public understanding of the risks associated with exposure to these beauty products. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.