Taking back our beauty and owning it and loving it

All women from various ethnic groups are beautiful. There is beauty in all races. This is not a statement, this is a fact, and we must recognise so. We live in an abundant earth. The God, who created us, loves variety, and especially people, that is why Elohim created so many races of people. There is something unique about black women, there are at least 74 shades of the black skin, from very fair to very dark, our hair texture is also unique, it can range from very curly to spongy, woolly, the coil pattern is so different, there are kinks, curls and coils on the same strand of hair and if you look at the black hair under the microscope, you can see a radiation of light coming from it. It seems to have this energy coming from off it. Another thing which is unique to black people's hair, is the shrinkage. Afro textured hair may appear short, growth may be up to the shoulders, but if the hair is stretched out, the length is much longer, than expected. We tend to have a more thicker frame, even if we are very slim, thicker buttocks, thighs, fullness of lips, wider nose.

The first time, Europeans met Africans, there have always been a fascination about the African skin and in the Roman times, many artists painted pictures, and sculptures were made of African people. Due to slavery and colonialism, the accepted forms of beauty was white skin and blonde hair, but still there was an obsession of the black form, even though eurocentric media tried to make out that eurocentric beauty this was the ideal beauty, still there was something always a fascination about black beauty. Due to changing attitudes, all types of beauty is now accepted and even though there are beauty magazines for European, Asian, Hispanic African and Native peoples of the world, still in main stream modelling and the fashion media, there are very few people of colour being represented, despite 1970s, 80s and 90s, there were quite a few black runway models, such as Beverly Johnson, Iman, Beverly Peele, Veronica Webb, Pat Cleveland, Gail O'Neill, Karen Alexandra, Grace Jones, Tyra Banks. At one Paris and Milan catwalks had a lot of black models. In 2008 although we see a lot of Noemie Lenoir, Yasmin Warsame, Chanel Iman, Ubah, Toccara Jones, Liya Kebede, Alva Chin, Arlenis Sosa, Jourdan Dunn, Kiara kabukuru, yet because there have been so very few black models, the Italian issue of July edition of Vogue, is featuring only African or African descent models. I was lucky to get my issue, my daughter went and got it in Selfridges, a large department store in the West End shopping area. Apparently, the manager rang us this morning to let us know that the magazine had come in. Selfridges ordered 250 copies, when he rang, already 50 had been sold, and by the time Ayodele got our copy, 100 had already been sold. This issue had made a lot of news, Borders said they had a lot of interest, one Asian shopkeeper ordered 80 copies and he was telling me, what an exciting issue it would be. The Italian edition was delayed, because of this massive interest. Advertising in this issue has gone up 30% . It is nice that there is a copy in main stream magazine like Vogue, showing how beautiful black women are, but we always knew we were anyway. It is also rather ironic again, it is the Italians like the Romans showing interest in African beauty, the editor decided are taking the initiative to do this issue, also using Toccara Jones, who is very curvaceous woman.

I would like more black women to break away from the mental brainwashing and realise they are absolutely very beautiful. It does not matter what shade of black you are, you are still beautiful. The more you love yourself, not in a self indulgent way, but in a Godly way, you love the God in you. The ladies I have chosen such as Toccara Jones, a Nigerian beauty, Yvette Nisiah, she represents Miss Ghana in the Miss Universe 2008, Stacey McKenzie who is Jamaican born from Kingston, a successful Canadian fashion model, writer television presenter and actress and she starred in the film 'The 5Th Element' Measha Brueggergosman, a Canadian classical soprano, and Alek Wek another successful African model, author, represent our diverse spectrum.

At one time, having a big bottom, full lips, we were regarded as a bit of a freak show, for example Sara Baartman, who came to Europe from South Africa, when she was 20, where she was exhibited naked, for doctors and scientists to look at her, within five years at the age of 25, she was died from loneliness and disease and even in death, she did not have any dignity, after she died, her brain, skeleton and vagina, were cut out and put into jars for more people to look examine. Jennifer Lopez's bottom can be celebrated, but ordinary black women who have large bottoms are regarded as fat. Now non-black women are getting boobs jobs and yes they want the round bottoms too, and the fuller lips also.

We are now in a position to control our own images, we don't have to be video vixens, we don't have to starve ourselves either, and look like skin and bone, because we are not, we just need to love ourselves and our skins, our hair and we can attract men, the first thing they will notice is our beauty, when they get to know us, our character, we can attract quality men to, and if we meet men who only want us for sex, we do not pursue the relationship, because we will never be satisfied, let them go on their way and a man more worthy of us will come along. We are fearfully and wonderfully made and we have to power to take back what is ours and celebrate our bodies and how wonderfully we have been created by The Royal majesty Elohim.