This is a topic that rarely gets discussed. I hope that what I say does not offend anyone, but there needs to be light shed on this subject.
What is beautiful? I guess we all have our different standards and presumptions of what “beautiful” is- long hair, short hair, fat, skinny, tall, short, white, black. So what is it exactly? Well, for as long as I can remember, it has been the perfect blonde hair, blue eyed beauty. Perhaps it’s because I always went to school in the upper middle class, predominantly white society. Oh wait; maybe it’s what the media portrayed as being beautiful.
So as time progressed, I began to see more African Americans in the public eye. Black was slowly becoming beautiful for the entire world to see. And it was a good thing. Finally there was someone for me to relate to, almost, until life got a little more complicated.
Yes black people have come a far way, but have we gone far enough? Many may not know that there is a clear distinction as to what is beautiful and what is not, just within the African American community. The fare skin, long curly hair, light eyes, that is what’s deemed as the standard of beauty in our community. Why is that? Is it because those features are what’s closer to our white counterparts? Since when was it a shame to have full soft lips with a chocolate covered skin?
If you look on television and all the magazines, you can see what is glamorized as being beautiful pertaining to the black race- Beyonce (and I love her so much), Halle Berry, Ashanti, Rihanna, Mariah Carey, and the list continues. Now I believe all these women are gorgeous- well minus Ashanti( I really don’t like her at all). However, what about the rest of us? The standards of beauty reign heavy on young girls’ shoulders these days. I too along with all the other chocolate skinned women would like to see more of us portrayed in the media as beautiful and desirable, instead of a vixen or the lighter skinned girl’s side kick. There is a few of us out there like Gabrielle Union and Nia Long (see how short that list was). However, these women are hardly played up to the same hype as the others. It’s damaging to the self-esteem of many young black girls. If your skin is not fare, hair straight, and your lips and/or nose is too big, then you have some serious problems on your hands. It does not have be this way. Our features are what distinguish us from other races. Every race has things that our beautiful about them. I just wish more African Americans would embrace ourselves as we are instead seeking to conform to what society portrays as being beautiful.
I agree with you. One of the biggest problems in our society is that the media continuously slaps us in the face with what is and isn't beautiful. These days, little girls are growing up a beauty-obssessed society. They learn to value themselves based not on their personalities, intelligence, motivation, etc. but on the way that they look. It's sick that if you ask any little girl to tell you what a beautiful woman looks like she will say that she is tall, thin, and basically flawless.
ReplyDeleteI think the media is almost entirely to blame for this. I am thankful to programs like the one Dove does to promote the idea that beauty comes in every shape and size.