“I grew up in a world where women who look like me with my kind of skin or my kind of hair are not considered to be beautiful, I think its time that this stops today. I want children to look at me and see their faces reflected in mine.
Zozi Tunsi
South African Melanin Goddess,recently crowned Miss Universe 2019 has not exactly changed everyone’s perception of what constitutes a beautiful woman, but its OK, like she said many brown skin girls would see themselves in her…
When South Africa’s “Zozibini Tunzi” Won Miss South African beauty pageant some months back, she broke Stereotypes becoming the first black woman in the country to win with a natural Nappy hair. While many black South African women rejoiced, not everyone was accepting of her hairstyle and looks.
She had previously contested for Miss SA in 2017 wearing a long weave- her first attempt- she only made it to the Semi finals. We can all agree the weaves did not throw out her beautiful features
In 2017 she took a tough decision to chop off her hair. she told South African news reporters Times-live that she was so scared she had to take her mum and sister along. But After she was done, she loved her natural hair so much she did not feel the need to switch it up for any reason.
In 2018, she contested for a presenter search wearing her short hair
And in August 2019, she won Miss South Africa wearing her short hair
But her success had her encountering many trolls that had unsavoury things to say about her hair and brown-skin
There is no denying that African ladies around the world are aligned to the global standard of beauty – ( long straight or curly hair) most women feel unpretty with their Afro or nappy hair , Infact even men dictate to women what their hair should look like
She had to put out a statement on Instagram to address the hate she was getting – excerpts below
9th Dec 2019
Two beautiful women stand hand in hand, two finalist of the Miss Universe contest . Golden haired and fair skinned Puerto Rican beauty and dark skinned short afro haired South African goddess.
Two beauty standards, one winner…
Side Note : Nothing against sisters with weaves, but the perception that your hair is “notdone” or that you are “ugly” for taking a break from the weaves is what needs to stop.
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