Why it’s Time We Stop Criticising Black Women Who Have Cosmetic Surgery
Main image – Dianevilladsen/Stocksy
As a journalist, I’ve written about beauty for quite a while – but it wasn’t until recently that I started to unpack what it means to me as a Black woman.
For years, I had negative perceptions of my own beauty which was largely rooted in the bullying I experienced at school. The result was that I would constantly think about what I could change about myself in order to fit into society’s idea of what was attractive.
Now that I’m in my 30s, I’ve become more comfortable with how I look and I have no desire to change any of my features. Having said that, I can still understand why some Black women are choosing to have cosmetic surgery, because it’s something that I can honestly say I considered on more than one occasion.
Take the rapper Glorilla, for example – in May, she revealed that she had had a nose job.
From the moment she burst onto the music scene in 2022, social media users had been saying awful things about her nose and when she announced that she had surgery on it, they criticised her choice and used it as a cautionary tale about why Black women should love their features.
@glorilla03 Gangsta btch fr dese h0es be on dese beats just rhyming ?? @Travis Scott
Whether people agree with her choice or not, the reaction to Glorilla’s nose job highlights the double standard that exists in beauty for Black women. One which it’s definitely time we dispensed with.
The double standard in beauty for Black women
Black women have always been taught to love themselves in a world that hasn’t always loved them. We seem to forget too though the role that westernised standards of beauty has had on how we see ourselves and each other.
“Eurocentric features have long been seen as the beauty standard and this has led to a deep discomfort that has embedded itself into the everyday lives of Black women,” aesthetician Monique Ferguson-Rowe explains.
The potential rise in Black women having cosmetic surgery
The amplification of westernised beauty standards has led to some Black women having complex relationships with beauty – specifically relating to their features.
While it isn’t known how many Black women in the UK have had cosmetic surgery, the National Institute of Health has noted a trend of more Black Brits undergoing aesthetic procedures.
According to plastic and craniofacial surgeon Ivo Gwanmesia, this might have something to do with cosmetic surgery being more accessible than it has ever been, but he notes the importance of Black women considering how cosmetic surgery may change their features before having anything done.
“Each race has features which I believe should be preserved to allow for natural results and outcomes,” he says.
How beauty is perceived in the Black community
The cosmetic industry has long been thought of as appealing to a certain demographic, so if a Black woman decides to have surgery, there’s an automatic assumption that she’s doing it because she desires to have Western features, which isn’t always the case.
There is also a level of conditioning in the Black community that expects Black women to be happy with their features – but the increase in the number of Black people opting for cosmetic surgery could signal that it could be time to challenge this way of thinking.
The impact of social media and societal pressures
However, there’s no denying that we live in an age where we’re seemingly all more impressionable – and this can be linked to the rising popularity of social media.
Almost 93% of Black people use the internet and 92% of women in the UK use social media, so there is a possibility that some Black women’s desire for a new look could be due to societal pressures, a theory that Ferguson-Rowe agrees with.
“I support women doing whatever they want with their bodies but I think it’s disingenuous to believe that cosmetic surgery only enhances features. When Black women have nose jobs, the results are often slimmer or smaller noses. However, I do think it’s important not to demonise Black women who choose to have cosmetic surgery because we are disproportionately affected by beauty standards,” she explains.
Transparency and the relationship Black women have with beauty
Transparency could be the first step in addressing the double standards in beauty for Black women. We all have our own unique relationship with beauty which can be rooted in a number of life experiences, and for some Black women owning their beauty might look like enhancing or completely changing features that they aren’t happy with.
As a community, I feel that we often struggle to create space for Black women to unapologetically own the feelings they have about beauty.
Image – Adobe
By default, we are expected to love everything about ourselves even when critique or insults are coming from our own community, but this approach may no longer be realistic so should we be shaming Black women who are having surgery in the hope that they might feel better and more confident about the way they look?
A change in attitudes towards cosmetic surgery in the Black community could encourage more open and honest conversations. “I like the idea of Black women being open about the work they’ve had done. The more we talk about cosmetic surgery, the more we can demystify the process and start to unpack the reasons why Black women are having surgery, “Beauty Copywriter and Journalist Keysha Davis explains.
Black women defining beauty on their own terms and without judgement.
Double standards in beauty have had a longstanding impact on Black women which has ultimately exacerbated the complex relationship some of us have with beauty.
Historically, Black beauty has been rooted in pride and celebrating the features that make us unique (and rightly so) but the reality is that not all of us will feel this way and we shouldn’t be criticised for not feeling like that.
As someone who spent a long time not being happy with my features, I understand why anyone would want to have cosmetic surgery in the hope that they would feel happier and more confident in their own skin.
And although the world of aesthetics could do better in specifically catering to Black women, ultimately, Black women who have cosmetic procedures are defining beauty on their own terms – something they should be able to do without worrying about what people in their own community have to say.
Meet the experts
Dr. Ivo Gwanmesia is a craniofacial plastic surgeon. He is both British and American trained. In his practice in central London, he offers all aspects of reconstructive and aesthetic surgery.
Monique Ferguson-Rowe is an asthetician and content creator whose content focuses on championing diversity in skincare whilst making it fun, educational and accessible.
Keysha Davis is a beauty journalist and copywriter with over 20 years of industry experience. She has provided copywriting for a plethora of hair and make-up brands.
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