By Hadassa Ferreira, Staff Writer
Only two centuries ago, black people were reduced only to the labor force they could produce. After that, only one century ago, black people were reduced only to stigmas and stereotypes that made them inferior in this society. Later, twenty years ago, black people were reduced only by their struggles– struggles to be recognized and survive in a world that tries to erase them and their culture.
Nowadays, black people have the chance to be seen beyond a racial stigma by society, beyond the racial struggles. They can be seen as beautiful people. This is one of the greatest joys the black community has conquered.
One of the most surprising understandings regarding the black community is that black people are beautiful, and the acknowledgment of that demands more reflection than people might think.
The racist system and the Eurocentric context in which people in Western society were raised causes them to view the white culture and aesthetics as rulers of beauty. This makes people disregard black people’s features and cultures as elements of handsomeness.
People in Western society have been conditioned to perceive beauty through a Caucasian perspective. Therefore, people look for beauty at the same time they look for fine features and light skin. Nevertheless, it is important to understand that black people and culture follow a different pattern, and to look at them expecting to find elements of whiteness is unfair.
“Definitely, the Eurocentric idea of pretty is still engraved in everybody’s minds. Although I come from Haiti, in my country people still believe that for you to be beautiful you must be white. You need to have straight hair and white features,” said Judrich Raphael, a sophomore majoring in computer sciences.
Second, the concept of beauty is constructed, meaning humans tend to find beauty in everything they see frequently. The racial structure in which the Western world was raised made it extremely easy for us to find several white people beautiful. However, the same does not happen with black people. For many years, it was more difficult for them to look at ordinary black people (the ones who were not extraordinary) and find them beautiful.
“As a kid, I used to find specific people as beautiful, such as the ones with some basic features, like light skin, colored eyes, and long hair. Looking at them right now, I think they are just average-looking people,” said Yvenie Desrosiers, a senior majoring in social work.
Today, black people can celebrate the fact they can be seen and perceived! The biggest joy is that more and more, we can see black people in spaces that provide visibility, not only for the racial cause but for all the aspects of black people’s lives and all the love they can share.
Thanks to the increase in representativeness, society can see black people beyond the stereotypes and stigmas that racism created. This enables us to find beauty in several black people, regardless of their specific and individual characteristics.
“By the time I started to grow up, build my identity, discover what my blackness meant to me, and pay attention to the black people I have in my life and how I admire them, my views of what is beautiful and who is considered beautiful became more subjective,” said Desrosiers.
One of the biggest characteristics of love is its capability to make people see the best in others, and for the black community, one of the ways to show love is to acknowledge their beauty and greatness.
Therefore, the discussion of the moment should be regarding the importance of having more black people and the content they create and share. This is what will change society’s perspective on those people and help everyone see beauty beyond the white context.
Have you stopped to pay attention to how many movies and TV shows you watch that have a cast with at least fifty percent black characters? Or how many black people do you have around you as close friends? How many black people do you admire? How many black people do you love? If not, I invite you now to reflect on that and include more black people in your intimate circle.
The number of beautiful black people is vast. These are people who have lots of love to share, who are intelligent, creative, fun, and much more. It should be always easy to like, love, and find beauty in black people’s bodies, eyes, and souls. We just need to pay more attention to them. We just need to validate them as true possibilities of love.
