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African-American beauty

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African Americans and their skin color and hair were once considered unattractive.[by whom?] Black women and their bodies have been devalued and rejected by ideal beauty standards.[among whom?][1][2]

Defining African-American beauty

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African American beauty focuses on the beauty of African Americans, as notions pertaining to beauty are examined differently by various cultures and societies.[3] Similarly to other cultures, ideals of beauty within African-American communities have shifted throughout the years. Influenced by Eurocentric perspectives and White supremacism, lighter skin and eye tones as well as straight hair have long been considered the most desirable characteristics by different racial groups in the U.S., including African Americans.[4][5]

History

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White Europeans historically considered Africans to be 'grotesque' and 'inferior', and would traffic them for slavery.[6] English settlers deemed coiled African hair as unattractive and a mark of their inferiority.[7]

Racialized perspectives on beauty which led to lighter skin tones being considered desirable characteristics by different groups including African Americans can be traced back to slavery.[8][9] The view of lighter skin tones as the ideal beauty standard are linked to colorism, which affects African Americans perceptions of themselves, with African women being disproportionately affected.[10][11]

Beauty standards

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Despite some similarities between how African Americans and other groups view beauty, African Americans also view beauty as seen in body ideals as not being limited to one specific type that has been portrayed in the media.[12] This view of beauty transcends the physical perception of beauty and recognizes that beauty is not limited to physical characteristics only.[12]

Image
Cornrow hairstyle
Image
Cornrow hairstyle

Hair

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African American hair has been politicized.[5]

Effects of beauty standards

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Similar to other minority groups, African Americans have been subject to Western beauty ideals which portray slim body types as the standard to aspire to. The portrayal of slim body types as the ideal in Western beauty ideals has been linked to various eating disorders. There have been limited studies that show the effects of Western beauty ideals and the resulting eating disorders amongst African Americans.[13]

Media

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African American beauty takes into consideration the intersectionality of African Americans and how this intersectionality has affected the representation of African Americans in media, which plays a significant role in communicating what society's beauty standards are.[14][8]

Portrayals of straight hair in the media have set a beauty standard which is exclusionary of the different hair textures of African Americans.[15] Despite the role played by media in setting beauty standards for hair, social media has provided a platform for African Americans who are progressing beauty standards by wearing their hair in different states, including its natural state.[15]

Appropriation of African American women's beauty

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White women such as Kylie Jenner on social media have been darkening their skin, getting lip augmentation, breast augmentation and buttock augmentation and wearing traditional black hairstyles such as dreadlocks, braids, cornrows and afros to profit for being a "sex symbol". Black bodies were hypersexualized and white women are emulating these features to be considered desirable by the media.[16] A white Swedish Instagram model named Emma Hallberg often darkens her skin to led people to believe to she is black or mixed-race.[17] It has been dubbed the "Kardashian effect". Kim Kardashian's large buttocks have increased the popularity of white women getting Brazilian butt lift surgery.[18] In 2021, white Australian rapper Iggy Azalea was accused of blackfishing for darkening her skin in her music video for “I Am The Strip Club”.[19] Jesy Nelson, Ariana Grande, Bhad Bhabie, Alabama Barker and Rita Ora were also accused of mimicking African American women.[20][21][22]

Beauty products

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Shea butter and African black soap are popular African American skincare products.[23][24][25]

See also

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References

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  1. ↑ Awad, Germine H.; Norwood, Carolette; Taylor, Desire S.; Martinez, Mercedes; McClain, Shannon; Jones, Bianca; Holman, Andrea; Chapman-Hilliard, Collette (December 2015). "Beauty and Body Image Concerns Among African American College Women". Journal of Black Psychology. 41 (6): 540–564. doi:10.1177/0095798414550864. PMC 4713035. PMID 26778866.
  2. ↑ Heaton, Sarah (10 December 2020). A Cultural History of Hair in the Age of Empire. Bloomsbury. ISBN 978-1-350-08793-4.
  3. ↑ Duncan, Margaret Carlisle; Robinson, T. Tavita (February 2004). "Obesity and Body Ideals in the Media: Health and Fitness Practices of Young African-American Women". Quest. 56 (1): 77–104. doi:10.1080/00336297.2004.10491816. S2CID 144642186.
  4. ↑ Patton, Tracey Owens (2006). "Hey Girl, Am I More than My Hair?: African American Women and Their Struggles with Beauty, Body Image, and Hair". NWSA Journal. 18 (2): 24–51. doi:10.2979/NWS.2006.18.2.24 (inactive 1 July 2025). JSTOR 4317206. Gale A149460405 Project MUSE 199496 ProQuest 233235409.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: DOI inactive as of July 2025 (link)
  5. 1 2 Mbilishaka, Afiya M.; Apugo, Danielle (2020-09-02). "Brushed aside: African American women's narratives of hair bias in school". Race Ethnicity and Education. 23 (5): 634–653. doi:10.1080/13613324.2020.1718075. S2CID 213377397.
  6. ↑ "Dismantling Whiteness as the Beauty Standard". 9 December 2017.
  7. ↑ Johnson, Elizabeth (8 April 2016). Resistance and Empowerment in Black Women's Hair Styling. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-317-06508-1.
  8. 1 2 Turnage, Barbara F. (2005-04-26). "Influences on Adolescent African American Females' Global Self-Esteem: Body Image and Ethnic Identity". Journal of Ethnic and Cultural Diversity in Social Work. 13 (4): 27–45. doi:10.1300/J051v13n04_02. S2CID 144552052.
  9. ↑ Rozie-Battle, Judith L. (2002-09-25). "African American Girls and the Challenges Ahead". Journal of Health & Social Policy. 15 (2): 59–67. doi:10.1300/J045v15n02_06. PMID 12413107. S2CID 40764745.
  10. ↑ Harper, Kathryn; Choma, Becky L. (2019-06-01). "Internalised White Ideal, Skin Tone Surveillance, and Hair Surveillance Predict Skin and Hair Dissatisfaction and Skin Bleaching among African American and Indian Women". Sex Roles. 80 (11): 735–744. doi:10.1007/s11199-018-0966-9. S2CID 150156045.
  11. ↑ Balcetis, Emily; Cole, Shana; Chelberg, Marie B.; Alicke, Mark (2013-01-01). "Searching Out the Ideal: Awareness of Ideal Body Standards Predicts Lower Global Self-esteem in Women". Self and Identity. 12 (1): 99–113. doi:10.1080/15298868.2011.639549. S2CID 143048134.
  12. 1 2 Reel, Justine J.; SooHoo, Sonya; Franklin Summerhays, Julia; Gill, Diane L. (December 2008). "Age before beauty: an exploration of body image in African-American and Caucasian adult women" (PDF). Journal of Gender Studies. 17 (4): 321–330. doi:10.1080/09589230802419963. S2CID 144911557.
  13. ↑ Gilbert, Stefanie C.; Crump, Stacey; Madhere, Serge; Schutz, William (2009-06-24). "Internalization of the Thin Ideal as a Predictor of Body Dissatisfaction and Disordered Eating in African, African-American, and Afro-Caribbean Female College Students". Journal of College Student Psychotherapy. 23 (3): 196–211. doi:10.1080/87568220902794093. S2CID 143591088.
  14. ↑ Cummings, Kamilah (2019-03-15). "Sisters in the Shadows: an Examination of Prince's "Strange Relationship" with Black Women". Howard Journal of Communications. 30 (2): 144–163. doi:10.1080/10646175.2018.1541768. S2CID 150139997.
  15. 1 2 Ellington, Tameka N. (2015-01-02). "Social networking sites: a support system for African-American women wearing natural hair". International Journal of Fashion Design, Technology and Education. 8 (1): 21–29. doi:10.1080/17543266.2014.974689. S2CID 145688859.
  16. ↑ "Alvarado: The Appropriation of Black Women's Beauty".
  17. ↑ "'Blackfishing': A problematic trend where people pretend to be black".
  18. ↑ "Did Kim Kardashian steal from Black culture to build her body, brands and profit? New study investigated".
  19. ↑ "Iggy Azalea accused of 'Blackfishing' with darker-looking skin in latest music video".
  20. ↑ "What is 'blackfishing' and what's it got to do with Jesy Nelson?".
  21. ↑ "Alabama Barker's Rap Video Earns Her Blackfishing Accusations: Watch".
  22. ↑ "Bhad Bhabie Responds to Blackfishing Accusations".
  23. ↑ "A History Of Black Skincare In The United States". 17 February 2025.
  24. ↑ "Various Types and Features of Soap Used by African Americans".
  25. ↑ Chalfin, Brenda (2004). Shea Butter Republic. Psychology Press. ISBN 978-0-415-94461-8.
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