The Complexity of American Beauty & Fashion
When I think about the historical aspects of beauty, it often brings me to a difficult place because I was never what one would consider the beauty standard. For example, I am an African American woman with a broad nose, chubby face, hip dips, back fat, large thighs, and bust with no booty (cries in silence). But in all seriousness, beauty and fashion are drastically changing, which is tremendous. However, all this acceptance and diversity brings to light issues we never considered, such as cultural appropriation and body image.
Beauty is a complex industry, and we try to take the good with the bad regarding representation. So, with that, there is a lot of confusion about what is fashionable and offensive. For instance, when it comes to cultural aspects of beauty, people often are caught in the middle of appreciation versus appropriation for an ethnic group’s historical fashion and beauty.
I think back to when I was a little girl, and my mother would always perm my hair with the “Just for Me” line. I hated the chemical smell and the burning of my scalp, but I had to do it because I wanted to look like my friends in school, who had long straight, beautiful hair. At the same time, I struggled to keep up with the kinks and curls that vulture themselves from my scalp, ruining my silky roots. For black women and girls, our hair symbolizes who we are and allows us to be creative. Our hair is so flexible and versatile, from braids, sew-ins, afros, and more it is the forefront of uniqueness. Yet, the styles that, for so long, were labeled unprofessional on us are considered “elegant” and “trendy” when others (primarily Whites) wear them.
In the Byrdie Magazine article, “A Look at Festival Beauty’s Long-Standing Cultural Appropriation Problem,” writer Maya Allen goes into detail about the historical reflection of braids and the discriminatory actions against black women for wearing ethnic hairstyles with the demonstration of a White woman wearing cornrows to Coachella (photo above). “This Coachella attendee might think her dollar sign–shaped cornrows look on trend for a music festival, but she’s likely unaware of the fact that Black women have been fired from their jobs for wearing braids, discriminated against in the workplace, and suspended from school for wearing ethnic styles. Braids have a long, rich history. “The origin of braids can be traced back 5000 years in African culture to 3500 BC,” says celebrity hairstylist Larry Sims. Cornrows, in particular, are a significant style with a historical legacy: Classic cornrows are a style that has been a sign of societal status, ethnicity, religion, and more.” (Allen).
In most cases that I have witnessed with the issues of cultural appropriation, when those who commit the act are called out, it tends to go sour. They ignore the outcry of POC because they do not understand nor want to know the struggles, we face for our ethnic background to be accepted. There is a line between appreciating and taking advantage of a culture, and social media trends make that line seem varied when it should not be. For example, in past decades, the ideal beauty type was Europeanistic features, slim waistlines, a large bust, and everything that would describe the perfect barbie doll. But that idea is changing, and many people want more ethnic features such as larger lips, thighs, bottom, and hourglass waist. But what irritates me is that POC women have all these attributes, but we were once seen as freaks of nature for having these features. Yet, many people (Europeans) crave these body types and strive for the same look that once disgusted them.
The bodies of POC women have always been one of exploitation and over-sexualization, from the surgical practices of modern medicine to the social beauty trends we see today. For example, have you ever heard of Sarah Baartman? She was an African woman who most historians believe was born in Cape Town, South Africa in 1789. Although she faced many hardships in her life stemming from childhood, none would be as vulgar and detrimental as her captivity to English surgeon William Dunlop and entrepreneur Hendrik Caesar. Baartman was illiterate at the time and after the murder of her partner by Dutch colonists and the birth of her still born child, she would need financial stability. Thus, she would sign a contract with Dunlop and Caesar in 1810, which made her not only their property but a human showroom attraction for London’s Piccadilly Circus.
In the BBC News article, “The Significance of Sara Baartman,” writer Justin Parkinson gives Baartman’s historical background of her familial tragedies leading up to the torment she endured working for Dunlop and Caesar. Most importantly, he discusses the significance of Baartman’s body autonomy which astonished Englishmen. “The reason was that Baartman, also known as Sara or Saartjie, had what was called “steatopygia”, resulting in extremely protuberant buttocks due to a build-up of fat. These made her a cause of fascination when she was exhibited at a venue in London’s Piccadilly Circus after her arrival. “You have to remember that, at the time, it was highly fashionable and desirable for women to have large bottoms, so lots of people envied what she had naturally, without having to accentuate her figure,” says Rachel Holmes, author of The Hottentot Venus: The Life and Death of Saartjie Baartman.” (Parkinson).
The idea has a curvy figure is something that is desired even today, especially with social media platforms blasting this image across our screens. Baartman’s story is only a prime example of how POC women continuously deal with the double standards of beauty. In American society, we were never at the forefront of beauty but were idolized in hateful silence by European beauty standards. It is no accident that what many call the “exotic figure” is now the desired sex symbol of American culture. I could tell you about the history of POC women being oversexualized and mutilated by Europeans. But that story would take much time to express and will make us question issues far outside the beauty industry. So, I can only tell you of my experience as a young Black woman and how my idea of beauty is complicated.
History comes with pain and suffering, especially for POC, because that makes us who we are. The history of beauty coincides with that because although we were not front and center of media for many generations, we were the blueprint of what modern beauty is in society today. What I want to have addressed through this piece is that the beauty industry is not a terrible place, but we must understand that, especially within American history, it began in a dark place. But that only makes the job of beauty leaders more critical because we must remember these issues to see how we can survive and not go backward but forward within beauty culture. But we must be willing to start understanding and telling these issues and the stories from which they stem. So, are you ready to hear about these experiences? And if so, what do we do to move forward to change these factors of beauty history and embrace the hurt and ugliness, to form a flower that may bloom generational diversity?
Author: Jasmine Boskent
Concept By: Dr. Ekta Y MD MBA MS
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Works Cited
Allen, Maya. “A Look at Festival Beauty’s Long-Standing Cultural Appropriation Problem.” Byrdie Magazine. 12 Jan 2022. https://www.byrdie.com/festival-beauty-cultural-appropriation. (Accessed 18 Oct 2022).
Parkinson, Justin. “The Significance of Sara Baartman.” BBC News Magazine. 7 Jan 2016. https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-35240987. (Accessed 18 Oct 2022).
