Usually when many African women I come across are considering beauty, they concentrate primarily on their faces. They are concerned about adorning their heads with appealing hairstyle trends. They also look for make-up sets to beautify their face by emphasizing their eyes, lips, cheeks etc., and they do look beautiful.
But the question is, is that all there is to beauty? We look at our faces and we think we look beautiful but what about our bodies? It is ironic to see Africans, adults and Nigerian teenagers alike flip through magazines and they think the models they see are beautiful not only for their faces but their bodies; but they do not think to follow suit in investing in their bodies (the healthy way via exercise), only their faces.
As Africans we have beautiful bodies and are blessed with curves, the natural curves many in the West envy. Why then don’t we also concentrate on accentuating those curves by trimming down to bring out that healthy shape. Why do we eat unhealthy foods and develop globs of fat which distort our beautiful shapes?
The many African women I have met do not like to exercise or take time on their bodies as much as they take time on their faces. I think this is a waste of total beauty. Beauty is mind, body and spirit, not just the face. If only we could concentrate on beautifying our bodies as much as we concentrate on our faces, how healthy and amazing would we feel?!
Let us consciously spend time to exercise and watch our diets. Walk, run, move!
-Priscilla Bamfo
-Photocredit/Description: Michelle Obama – AP Photo/Kathy Willens
Founded in 2007, Ladybrille® Magazine is a California based pioneer digital publication demystifying the image of Africans in the west through contemporary African fashion and celebrating the brilliant woman in business and leadership, with an emphasis on the African woman in the diaspora. Our coverage includes stories on capital, access to markets, expertise, hiring and retention, sales, marketing, and promotions.
