Project African beauty standards through pageants

THE Director for Miss Natural Beauty Ghana, Grace Ayishatu Musa is appealing to organisers of beauty pageants to project African beauty standards instead of accepting global beauty standards.

She bemoaned the fact that most beauty pageants organised in Africa adhered to the norms set by the world order and were typically intolerant to the genuine African appearance thus crippling the confidence of the youth.

Ms Musa shared these views remarked in an interview with Graphic Showbiz on the sidelines at the launch of Miss Natural Beauty Ghana organised by Kente Business Journal at the International Press Centre, Accra on Wednesday, March 29, 2023.

"We have followed the world order to set a certain standard for beauty that most often is intolerant of the real definition of African beauty.

“It has become such that if you do not have a certain physique, facial features, or a certain skin colour particularly light-skinned among others, you are not considered beautiful. And that is making most of our young girls indulge in certain procedures to meet such standards.

“This shouldn't be the case; we must use every platform we have and particularly the beauty pageant space to project the true African beauty that embraces everything the African woman possesses. It should not be what someone out there thinks, but what we see and love and believe make us unique”, she said.

According to Ms Musa, young people needed to stop allowing themselves to be mainly defined by their skin colour and  accept themselves for who they were.

She posited that the current body enhancement trend, which appears to be adversely affecting people over time, would decline if they accepted themselves.

"There is diversity in African beauty and that is what makes us uniquely beautiful. If we accept them and shine through that, we can save ourselves the cost of body enhancement processes that sometimes come with its added complications.

“As an African woman in your prime, be proud of what you have and feel good in your skin. That is the only way you can build your confidence and self-esteem to face the world," she told Graphic Showbiz.

Miss Natural Beauty Ghana aimed at projecting the natural African beauty will scout for young women between the ages of 18 and 35 who are self-assured and can make a statement with their natural appearance.