Beauty standards are subjective and ever-evolving, often influenced by cultural, social, and historical factors. Africa, a continent of rich diversity and heritage, has its own unique and vibrant beauty ideals that have been shaped over centuries. This article aims to shed light on the beauty standards in Africa, emphasizing the importance of appreciating and celebrating Africa’s indigenous beauty standards.
Diversity of Beauty Standards in Africa
First of all, Africa is not a country but a continent with 54 states. Africa is divided into 4 parts namely Eastern, Western, Central, Northern, and Southern Africa. Each country in the African continent has its standard of beauty; therefore, some standards mention here may not be true or present in other individual regions. Since Africa is not entirely made up of only ‘Black people’ (in terms of dark skin) the beauty standards range from one extreme to another.
In general, the African beauty standard places a woman with curvy features, meat on her bones, wide hips, and an attractive face on a pedestal. While for men, their handsome gauge emphasizes a fit athletic body or a muscled physique. Additionally, African women tend to go ga-ga over the proverbial dark, tall, and handsome African man. When it comes to skin tone, dark-skinned men are hotcakes compared to light skin tone. However, for women, light and dark-skinned women get equal date-time from men.
An attractive feminine face, according to present society, includes thick lips, beautiful eyes, medium-sized nose (not too big, not too small). The facial structure of African women doesn’t matter to men like in other parts of the world. Often than not, communities that live in rural areas hardly have a standard beauty for their women. Plus, their women rarely wear make-up or use beauty products. On the other hand, urban areas move in a different direction when it comes to how beauty for women should be.
Beauty standards in African settings vary significantly, with different communities valuing unique physical traits such as facial features, body shapes, and skin tones. Adornments like jewelry, scarification, and body painting play significant roles in expressing beauty, status, and identity. In many African cultures, the concept of beauty is closely tied to morality and ethics. This is reflected in the use of a single word to describe both beauty and goodness.
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“For some African cultures, scarification, including on the face, is a way to enhance someone’s beauty - especially that of a woman. Smooth skin is attractive. While scarification has been a long-standing tradition in African art, the idea of smooth skin as a standard of beauty is also prevalent. In many African cultures, smooth, flawless skin is considered attractive, healthy and a sign of good hygiene. To achieve that look, some sculptures are polished to a bright shine using leaves or stones.
In African sculpture, the ideal female figure is often depicted as having a curvaceous body with wide hips and full breasts. While the exact proportions of the ideal female figure vary between African cultures, there are some common elements frequently seen across the continent. The feminine ideal is voluptuous - big belly, rounded hips, a large butt - and sometimes sports a long neck. In many African cultures, the ideal male figure is tall and lean, with long limbs, an elongated neck and muscular calves.
Nature spirits are thought to cause misfortune, illness and even death. Ugliness is tied to nature, the wilderness and animals, whereas beauty is connected to humans, the village and community. There’s a duality common throughout Africa: culture vs. nature, community vs. the wilderness. As such, idealized beauty is always presumed to be of human origin, associated with the realm of the village and society. At the other end of the spectrum, ugliness correlates with the wild and untamed realm of the jungle outside the boundaries of the village.
The Influence of Western Beauty Ideals
However, the infiltration of Western beauty ideals has caused a shift in perception, leading to the marginalization of these indigenous standards. Colonialism has significantly reshaped understandings of beauty and sexuality in Africa, with colonial rulers often imposing Western standards of beauty, marginalizing traditional African aesthetics and practices. The urban youths (females) tend to swing more towards Eurocentric beauty of thin body, narrow nose, light skin, straight or curly (mixed type hair), and thin lips.
The Western beauty industry, driven by media, advertising, and entertainment, has significantly impacted global perceptions of beauty. Unfortunately, this influence has perpetuated a narrow and unrealistic standard that often excludes and devalues the unique beauty of African individuals. Features such as lighter skin tones, narrow facial structures, and slim figures have been disproportionately glorified, leading to the promotion of harmful practices such as skin bleaching, dieting, and excessive cosmetic surgeries.
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Beauty Ideals in African Women's Magazines
Ngozi Akinro and Lindani Mbunyuza-Memani in their 2019 article Black Is not Beautiful: Persistent Messages and the Globalisation of White Beauty in African Women’s Magazines investigate how African magazines prioritise Eurocentric beauty ideals. Akinro and Mbunyuza-Memani analysed hair types, skin tones, and body sizes represented on the magazine covers where women were the main image. Scrutinising skin tone, about 60 per cent had medium skin tone, 30 per cent had light skin tone, and 9 per cent had a dark skin tone.
The insidious ways white versions of beauty are foisted on black women slip into the subconscious thereby urging women to chase unattainable notions of beauty that veer off reality. The boom and boon enjoyed by the bleaching and hair-relaxing cream industry in Africa testify to this.
“Some media houses prefer their presenters to be fairer in complexion. Supporters of skin whitening swear a lighter skin tone would make pave doors to opportunities. Employers for TV and acting jobs, airline jobs, certain receptionist jobs, and even marketing jobs have certain requirements. Most of them are particular about how a person looks physically, regardless of their qualifications. There are organisations that refuse to employ plus-sized people to handle some jobs. To them, being plump and big-sized means that a person is not agile.
| Feature | Traditional African Ideal | Western Ideal |
|---|---|---|
| Skin Tone | Dark to light, varies by culture | Lighter skin tones |
| Body Shape | Curvy, fuller figures | Slim figures |
| Facial Features | Thick lips, wide nose | Narrow facial structure |
| Hair | Natural, kinky hair | Straight or curly (mixed type hair) |
The pervasive influence of Western beauty standards on Africa has resulted in damaging consequences for self-esteem and self-acceptance. Many African individuals, particularly women and young girls, face pressure to conform to these Western ideals, often at the cost of their own cultural heritage and personal well-being. This pressure can lead to feelings of inadequacy, low self-esteem, and a distorted sense of self-worth.
The Rise of Cultural Renaissance
Despite the dominance of Western beauty standards, there is a growing movement in Africa to reclaim and celebrate indigenous beauty ideals. Across the continent, individuals, organizations, and communities are promoting self-love, body positivity, and cultural authenticity. The natural hair movement, for instance, has gained momentum, encouraging individuals to embrace their natural hair textures and styles, rejecting the notion that only straight or European-influenced hair is beautiful.
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By appreciating and celebrating Africa’s unique features, individuals can foster a sense of empowerment, strengthen cultural pride, and pave the way for a more inclusive and diverse understanding of beauty. It is essential to recognize the irony of using Western standards as a yardstick for beauty in Africa and to challenge the narrow definition of beauty imposed by external influences.
To address the irony of beauty standards in Africa, it is crucial to promote education, awareness, and inclusivity. Media representation plays a pivotal role in reshaping perceptions, so it is important to amplify African voices and showcase diverse representations of beauty. Embracing African traditional clothing, accessories, and hairstyles can also contribute to the normalization of indigenous beauty standards.
The irony of beauty standards in Africa lies in the pervasive influence of Western ideals that undermine the continent’s rich heritage and unique features. However, there is hope for change as more African individuals and communities challenge these narrow beauty standards and reclaim their cultural identities. By rejecting the negative yardstick of Western influence, Africa can foster a sense of pride and self-acceptance, and celebrate the beauty that has been cherished for generations.
The Role of Facial Cues in Attractiveness
Past research in WEIRD populations identified various facial cues related to female facial attractiveness: symmetry, averageness, femininity [5], youthfulness [6], skin condition [7], [8] and facial adiposity (or “facial fatness”) [9]. Despite a plethora of studies on the role of these facial cues in attractiveness in WEIRD populations (e.g. [5]-[9]), no previous study has (to our knowledge) tested the role of any of these facial features in African perceptions of African female attractiveness. To our knowledge, this is the first study to test which facial cues contribute to African perceptions of African female attractiveness and also the first study to test the combined role of facial adiposity, skin colour (lightness, yellowness and redness), skin homogeneity and youthfulness in the facial attractiveness preferences of any population.
Results show that youthfulness, skin colour, skin homogeneity and facial adiposity significantly and independently predict attractiveness in female African faces. Younger, thinner women with a lighter, yellower skin colour and a more homogenous skin tone are considered more attractive.Recent findings indicate that skin measuring higher on the CIELab b* colour axis, which indicates a yellower skin tone, increases men’s facial attractiveness in African and European populations [22]. A slightly redder skin tone serves as a cue to increased skin blood perfusion and oxygenation [25]. Men generally prefer to marry younger women [33] and judge younger looking female faces as significantly more fertile and attractive [6], [34].
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