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Beauty Standards for Black Women
Intersectionality, a term coined by activism and author Kimberlé Crenshaw, theorized to define the intertwined categories of discrimination one may go through based on their identity of race, class, or gender. Intersectionality plays a major role in the beauty standards for Black Women in this world. Eurocentric features are most desired and socially accepted. Eurocentric beauty paradigms not only exclude black women; cultural attire, natural hair types, different skin colors, or the various body types, but it also impacts black women's identity. Black women whom are socially accepted must check a few boxes. A study has shown that women with lighter skin tones, long softer hair, and have Eurocentric facial features not only gain privileges within their communities but are reported to have higher confidence in themselves, higher self-esteem and individual growth than non-Eurocentric featured black women. These beauty ideals are presented in models whom are often white or people of color that posses these specific body types and facial Eurocentric features. This highlights the intersectionality of racism and sexism black women face almost everyday.

Beauty Ideals and Colorism for Black Women
Colorism can be defined as the discrimination or unjust treatment of people within the same racial or ethnic group or community based on the shade of one's color. Although this subsection of this article is dedcated to colorism within the African/African American community, it does not effect that community alone. Latin Americans, Asian, South Asian and even Europeans face colorism within in their own societies that has led to complexion discrimination. One of the major Eurocentric features that is desired by society in Black women is lighter skin color or white women with slightly "tanner" or "darker" skin tones. Terms such as "Redbone", "Yellowbone", or "light skin" have been used in movies, rap songs, and other form of entrainment to describe a "beautiful" or "desirable" black woman especially in the black African American communities. Due to the fact that lighter skinned African Americans are more desired, they tend to have more social and political privileges and advantages that dark African Americans do not. On the other hand, darker skinned individuals, culturally and ethnically are viewed as authentic or legitimate compared to lighter skinned people. Darker African Americans are seen as black with little to no doubt, while lighter skinned African Americans are most likely questioned or not seen as entirely black. Rayen-Symoné, African American actress and singer starred in her own show titled That's So Raven. In 2015, the actress revealed in an interview, along with multiple other actors, that she would tan in a tanning bed 3 to 4 times a week to look "pretty" or more authentically black, on Oprah Winfrey's TV Network. Colorism in the United States has dated back since enslavement times where lighter skinned men or women were required to work indoors while the darker skinned individuals were to work out on the fields. The shade of their skin color determined their job as well as the treatment they were to receive.

In the documentary film titled "Dark Girls", interviews of black women in the documentary shine light on the unspoken about topic of colorism. Experiences and experiments mentioned in the film conclude how women of darker skin suffered socially, mentally, and personally. Some of the women in the film mention how they did not see themselves are beautiful because of their darker skin.

Black Women Beauty Ideals in Entertainment
Black women and women of color, on many platforms and forms of representation, have been whitewashed. Whitewashing of black women is not only limited to whitening black individuals skin tones in intersectional industries, but also giving them straight hair textures and Eurocentric features. Magazines and beauty companies have been criticized and under fire for whitewashing the images of black female celebrities on covers and advertisements, mostly photoshopping them with lighter skin. African American artist, singer, actor, and creator Beyoncé Knowles-Carter has had a few life-like wax figures displayed in museums. In 2017, Beyoncé's wax figure displayed at Midtown Manhattan at the Madame Tussauds Wax Museum received heavy backlash and criticism by fans and other members of the community throughout social media platforms. People were outraged on how the wax figure shown did not display the proper facial features of the celebrity; the statue was given apparent Eurocentric features (small face, straight nose) rather than Beyoncé's African fascial features (slightly wider nose, slightly bigger facial features). The wax figure was also a few shades "too light skinned" compared to the artist's actual skin color of which is a dark shade. The wax figure was taken down and adjusted for the museum's display.