How Cosmetic Surgery Evolution Fuels Black Women Features Desirability Globally..

Thinking of the fact that there was a time when a curvaceous woman like Sarah Baartman was taken from her village in the Eastern Cape of South Africa to the center stage of powerful countries like France and England,

not for singing or acting but for exposing her large behinds and thighs as a source of entertainment, since her features were regarded unusual; hence, they raised curiosity among the westerners enough to pay entry fees to witness her physique.

Consequently, this revealed how the world portrayed black women's features back then.

Furthermore, observing the beauty pageants such as Miss World and Miss Universe from their establishment in the 1950s, the same time when African nations were striving to liberate themselves from colonialism; African indigenous contestants were denied to participate that countries like Tanzania were even represented by whites. For instance, the first Miss Tanzania in the 1960 was Carmen Lesley Woodcock, a British lady.

Even when black contestants were given a chance to participate, they were often expected to conform to Western standards of beauty, particularly in terms of hair and body image. As a result, curvaceous bodies, Afro hair, full lips, and larger breasts were considered not beautiful enough for global beauty standards.

However, in the 1960s, modern plastic surgery was introduced by Dr. Thomas Cronin, who invented silicone implants for breast and buttock enlargement, primarily done among white women.

Over time, plastic surgery has evolved and become safer, leading to an explosion of cosmetic surgery usage among black and white women, who undergo procedures to obtain features that were once degraded and racially stigmatized.

Simultaneously, major beauty and fashion platforms are facing pressure to include all kinds of women, especially women of color, in order to enhance representation and break the norm that beauty can only come in a certain form.

Fortunately, the acceptance of self-enhancement through cosmetic surgery has shown that black women's features can be desirable which has boosted their self esteem, because even those whom they once admired due to wrong stereotypes are now transforming themselves to look like them.

This transformation has proven that beauty can be expressed and co-exist in different forms, without needing to compare them because such acts often lead to lower self-esteem and health issues, including fatalities and death arising when procedures are not carried out properly.