By Nadia Afnaan
I’m from a small beautiful country located off the coast of East Africa. When it comes to societal beauty standards, it’s safe to say I’ve seen my fair share of how it affects women psychologically and physically.
Beauty standards in Africa are quite distinct from countries like the United States of America and China. When it comes to facial appearance, most men prefer women who embrace their femininity.
In Africa our genetics are quite strong and at times differentiating a man from a woman has proven to be quite a hustle especially if both have short hair (which is a fashion statement among most African women).
Men tend to prefer women who do not apply too much make up as they do believe wearing heavy and bright eyeshadow colours makes someone look uglier which is contrary to what make up is supposed to do, that is accentuate ones natural features.
When we talk about weight, what is culturally deemed as beautiful in Africa is when a woman is ‘slim-thick’ or ‘thick’. This means that a woman is curvy and has somewhat of a coca cola figure. African women are obsessed with having an hourglass figure and end up going to extreme measures waist training to black market creams that are meant to increase the size of your breasts and stimulate the growth of one’s backside.
These creams are not cruelty-free and hence many women end up endangering their lives trying to please others. There are some women who get illegal but injections which often lead to very many complications caused by the lethal substances they are injected into their body such as crude oil and silicon.
Let’s now talk about skin colour. Many women have been affected by colour. This is where women of a lighter shade are deemed to be more beautiful than women who are highly melanated. Growing up, I’ve always seen women of lighter complexion having more recognition especially in advertisements and billboards.
I’ve seen many people bleaching their skins in order to climb the cultural hierarchy of beauty. One thing I’m truly grateful for is how my mother raised me. She raised me to appreciate my skin colour and value my size. She always used to repeat “urembo hauna mipaka” which means beauty comes in all shapes and sizes, something I have carried with me for the better part of my life.
Therefore, thankfully I didn’t suffer from body dysmorphia. We’re only human and sometimes we end up having negative thoughts and we start comparing ourselves to the next person. I was raised to know that I am beautifully and wonderfully created and knowing that I am ‘enough’at the back of my mind really helped me know my worth and speak my truth.
Self-love is a journey and never a destination. We have to remember that one can never be comfortable without his/her own approval first. We need to show up for ourselves and strive to live each day as if it was our last.
Each day is a new beginning as we get to uncover and explore different versions of ourselves.***