Written By Nia Ontario

THE PERCEPTION of beauty in online spaces and its effect on black women

Filmed and Edited By: Nia Burston

Imagine you are a young black girl practically raised on social media, your constant usage exposes you to a world of beauty standards unthought of until now.

You see women you find beautiful, and in hopes to look like them you obtain a Brazilian Butt Lift [BBL] at 20 years old.

For Aisha Oshei-Zulu, 21, this is a reality. 

“I would say [social media]  did make me feel very insecure because once again im darkskin and all the girls im seeing on these apps are light-skin or hispanic…and i thought I wanted to be like them. So I wore wigs.” Said Oshei-Zulu.

According to Pew Research, young adults, Black people and women use social media more than other groups in the U.S. (Pew Research Center [PRC], 2017, 2021).

Photo Source: Nia Burston, Aisha Oshei-Zulu 21


A Nielsen analysi found. “Black women spend more weekly time using apps and browsing the web on smartphones (19 hours and 27 minutes) than total women (17 hours and eight minutes).” 

Social media apps such as Instagram, X formerly known as Twitter, and Tiktok are filled with content that promote unattainable beauty standards perpetuated on young black women and girls. Many black women internalize the content their algorithm has fed to them, signaling they may need augmentations or that they are not good enough.

Their favorite creators may post things like: “Get ready with me to go get lip fillers”, “vlogging as I get my cool sculpting.” Implanting the idea that they may need surgeries or other procedures. 

“For so long I wanted to get my lips done or I wanted a bbl [Brazillian Butt Lift]…or a nose job,” said Oshei-Zulu.

“To make myself happier I wanted to get these things done [plastic surgery].”
— Aisha Oshie-Zulu

The climate of other media has also shaped the way that black women view themselves, highlighting how they are being portrayed.

“They're a lot more infantilized, it's just weird all in all. Especially in the music videos, photoshoots the way that were seen in movies…it's strange.” Said Crystal Ngyuen, 21. 

Some even take the steps necessary to receive augmentations such as lip fillers, or a Brazilian butt lift (BBL) based on their level of preference, upbringing, and background. 

“Where i'm from in Ghana if you're not a lighter skin complexion you're not going to marry. So there was a time where my dad went to my mom and asked her "why isn't she bleaching her skin?’” Aisha Osehi-Zulu 

Oshei-Zulu, who is 21 years old, decided to get  a BBL, as well as lip fillers

“ I’m still working on myself so I’m not completely finished but I am getting more stuff done.”
— Aisha Oshei-Zulu

The influence from her mother and her social media usage as furthered her interest in obtaining a BBL.

THE DANGERS OF BEING A BLACK WOMAN ONLINE:

Many black women can even remember a time before their social media usage where they were scrutinized or over sexualized for their looks. 

“My step moms friends would always call me sexy, like what's sexy about me being a little kid? That always rubbed me the wrong way,” said Nguyen.

In 2021, a NYU study found  “Many participants reported at one point wishing that they did not have features attributable to their race: 78% had thought this about their hair texture, 64% about their skin complexion, and 60% about their facial features.” 

“So many darkskin women online have had at least one experience where they have gotten called something horrible because of the way that they looked. I’ve gotten a racist email before based on the way I looked. It's like the worst rite of passage ever.” Said ESSENCE Gen-Z Editor, Brooklyn White.

Photo Source: Nia Burston

Crystal Nguyen 21

Misogynoir, term coined by Dr. Moya Bailey describes “a distinctive form of anti-Black sexism faced by Black women.”

“UK AND U.S. data shows that racialized [women of color]  women are 34% more likely to be mentioned in abusive or problematic tweets than white women, and Black women are especially targeted. They are 84% more likely than white women to be mentioned in these tweets,” said Bailey.

It also creates a disturbing observation for black women, who see users celebrate black culture or features but still scrutinize them for their natural appearance.

“And, you know, there’s very little research actually on the experiences of Black folks online, but yet we see the way that Black folks impact culture, digital culture online, profoundly means to the language that’s used, you know, in terms of AAVE or American, African American vernacular, and how that gets, like, co-opted online,” said Bailey. 

Historical figures such as Sarah Baartman an enslaved Kohl woman taken to Europe and displayed in museums as a freak show due to her curvy figure, are also prime examples of this perpetuation of over-sexualizing and simultaneously demonizing the black female body. 

Photo Source: Gazetda

DIGITAL AUGMENTATIONS

Social media filters such as VCUTIE continue this disturbance for black women in real life, as they recognize the similarities in features but an underlying Eurocentricity. 

“It just makes your lips really big, and slims your nose all the way down so it looks like a little button nose…it's disturbing. You are trying to imitate the face of a black woman but also adding Eurocentric features on it,” said Nguyen. 

“So I would say yes it did have an impact on my mental health because I thought if I don't look like them how am I supposed to look, how can I get there?” said Oshei-Zulu. 

FINDING SOLUTIONS

Taking breaks from social media is always an option and often the most reliable for supporting your mental health, but not many do.

“A lot of people do not take breaks on these social media apps, they just keep going and that is so detrimental to their mental health and I feel bad,” said Nguyen. 

“I think having more of a healthy distance between us and social media, and also engaging with people in the actual world. Also, entering situations where we'll have to employ empathy. I think empathy is a cornerstone of any relationship. So, just engaging with real people and not being so miserable. Cause I think- a lot of people are very unhappy.” Said White. 

The lack of tween spaces or media can potentially be correlated in the surge in social media usage. 

“There is a massive lack of "third places" in America. Sociologist Ray Oldenburg coined the term, which refers to a place outside of the home (or the first place) and work (the second place),” said writer  Alicia Szczesniak. 

The hopes for decreased social media usage and more positive representations of black women in the future is high. Not only on social media but any form of readily accessible media for young black girls to be able to look up to.

Video By: Nia Burston

Nia Ontario