Beauty is one of the most valued qualities in women in our society today, deserved or not. Its definition is, roughly, a combination of qualities that pleases the aesthetic senses, especially sight. These qualities generally vary from person to person, but there is often consensus, and this is shaped by our surroundings: what the media perceives to be beautiful and what your parents perceive as beautiful are probably the most significant. It is undeniable that television and social media give us an idea of beauty as we are constantly surrounded by them. Our perception of beauty from television is mostly in commercials and films, while shows also play a factor. It is important to understand that media, especially earlier on, was controlled by primarily white folk. Therefore, white people were featured as beautiful in the media, and this had a negative effect on people of color. While this has begun to change, especially with affirmation from parents of children of color, that they too are beautiful, it still can have a hindering effect on their potentials. Fortunately, today, there is more and more diversity: in commercials, and even in Disney. Also, the influence of Lupita Nyong'o on the perception of beauty has been palpable. A black woman, she has won numerous accolades for her beauty, and this has boosted the pride of black girls everywhere.
It is important to also realize that beauty is not only about physical qualities, what anyone can see, but about the way people carry themselves. Their personalities. It is in this way that beauty should be valued. But changing beauty to "hotness," something that many boys do today, is detrimental to the value. Girls are becoming distressed over their looks, rather than the way they act, which should be more highly valued. Rachel experiences this in the Girl Who Fell From the Sky. Can she be beautiful as a black girl? This is the constant struggle she faces throughout the book. Michele Norris in the Grace of Silence experienced similar conflicts. When she cut her hair, it became more distinctly African-American. At first, this look disgusted her. This was because of the way she perceived beauty, for it to be exclusively white. Yet she realized that this look did good for her, as she was able to create her own perception of beauty. Rachel gets a similar makeover, her hair losing its distinctly black feel. She likes this. It makes her feel more beautiful. She needs to be more secure in regards to her beauty, and know looks aren't everything.
Cameron Russell is a smart, beautiful model. She illustrates to the world the above point, that looks aren't everything; at least, they shouldn't be everything. Russell talks about how in some ways, looks do matter. She was allowed to purchase a dress for free because of her physical beauty; her friend received no penalty for running a red because Cameron was in the car. But this should not be. We must look past physical beauty, and into personality, she says. We must appreciate unique beauty, too, beauty that the media often doesn't show. This is people of color. Russell goes on to discuss how despite their low proportion, people of color, particularly black people, are stopped far more than any other race in New York City by the police. This is because of negative perceptions based on the way they look, and the single story police carry of people of color: that they are trouble.
One cannot rely on how they look to sustain themselves, they must focus instead on their compassion, how they are inside-- this is true beauty. This is because beauty cannot be acquired; it is always there, you just have to have the confidence to realize it is. When Nyong'o's mother says that you "cannot eat beauty," this what she means. Everyone can be beautiful by controlling what is inside you, which, as Nyong'o says, "has no color." Yet physical beauty undeniably plays a factor. You just have to appreciate it, from confidence. Nyong'o gained this from Alek Wek, a model "dark as night." This gave her power to realize the truth.
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