Skin-bleaching products have been available for approximately 100 years. In current times, the industry is extremely big in Asia and Africa. Employment, dating, marriage, stardom, etc., are some of the reasons people use them.
Personally, I find it disgraceful that people think they have to be white or attempt to be white as opposed to accepting that they are not. It plays into that age-old premise of, "if you're brown stay down, if you're black get back, but if you're white you're right".
