The Price of Vanity

So… beauty is in the eye of the beholder? Nope… beauty is in the eye of the media methinks.

Mother of two, Vanity Wonder has written a book about the secretive world of black market cosmetic surgery; the world where you can get butt and hip injections for almost half the price that you would from a legitimate surgeon. And 30 year-old Vanity did just that.

Mother of two Vanity Wonder before and after injections

In her book Shot Girls she describes her own experiences with getting $15,000 worth of butt and hip injections as well as her time working as an assistant to a black market practitioner.

Talking to the MailOnline Vanity (her name says it all) says that there are so many lies about the women who get injections because it’s so secretive that she just decided to tell people.

Revealing the truth about the secretive black market

According to her the women that go in for these procedures “know that it is wrong” saying there have been “gospel singers, nurses and police officers” amongst clients.

There is no common reason why women get injections, Vanity says. Some women just want to jump on the big booty bandwagon and because the black market is more accessible now it makes it easier for women to follow the “trend”. Others want to “improve” the way that they look. But since when did improving your looks mean creating a caricature of what the female form should look like?

With the rising popularity of celebrities like Kim Kardashian, Nicki Minaj and Coco it is proven once again that pop culture defines people’s aspirations. It defines how they see themselves and it defines their world view. At a time when people are finally starting to realise that size zero is not attractive or healthy it seems that society has gone the opposite way and is saying that you need to obtain these ridiculous curves to be considered attractive. What happened to the way nature intended? Apparently that is not good enough.

The new "perfect body"? From L to R: Kim Kardashian, Nicki Minaj and Coco Austin

People are willingly sacrificing their HEALTH for this TREND of beauty. Even Vanity admitted that there were several occasions when she did not know what was being injected into her body. It is just a sign of the sad state of society when the way you look becomes more important than your health. 

It's Just Hair!

Hair- the threadlike strands that grow from skin. It’s one of the defining characteristics of mammals. It can be used for warmth, protection and aesthetics.

So why is it that among the Black community hair has almost become a political statement? Black Hair and beauty entrepreneur Debrose Searchwell claims that Black women are too artificial citing weaves and relaxers as the reason for this. She along with many other women claim that chemically straightening your hair and wearing weaves (of any style or texture) is a denial of your roots and a shunning of your so-called “Blackness”.

Many women across America and the UK are embracing their “natural hair”, as in leaving the hair to grow in its natural state with no chemical enhancements; you only need look at the many YouTube videos that show women performing a big chop on their previously relaxed hair. These sisters are often commended and applauded for their “bravery” of going against society’s Euro-centric view of beauty. “Going natural” is seen as a sign of accepting one’s “Black beauty”.

Business woman Debrose Searchwell: "Many Black women look artificial!"

I am one of the sisters that applaud those who go natural but I am also one of the women that will compliment a girl when she has a nice weave. Why? Because I would like to believe that Black women are more than just their hair. In this world where looks are HIGHLY regarded Black women are their own worst enemy. Not because they choose to chemically change their hair texture, or because they choose to add length through extensions but because it is almost as if we have used hair to divide a community that should stand united. Let’s face it with psychologists who claim that Black women are the least attractive, music videos filled with every other race BUT Black women, and even Black men who won’t date Black women (yes I’m talking to you Kanye West) it seems foolish to join the rest of the world in berating ourselves.

If Black women are seen as “artificial” because they chemically enhance their hair what about the White, Asian and Latinos who perm or dye their hair are they also denying their race because they are changing the natural state of their hair? Do people not just regard this as personal preference? So why does it have to be any different for Black women?

Clockwise- Janelle Monae, Solange Knowles, Meagan  Good, Gabrielle Union.
Are any of these women more "Black" than the other?

There is more to a Black woman than her hair. Why are we reducing are value to what the state of our hair is, when women of other races don’t even bat an eyelid? If you want wear your Afro than go for it. If you want to wear a long, bum-length, blonde weave than be my guest. As India Arie so rightly sang “I am not my hair, I am not this skin.”

Kimora Lee Simmons and Djimon Hounsou: Money Over Love?

...Or was it even love in the first place?

Rumour has it that mogul/ T.V personality Kimora Lee Simmons and actor Djimon Hounsou have called it quits. And the reason? Money.

According to reports from the New York Daily News the couple got into a “big fight over money” and “Djimon walked out on Kimora”. This comes after Kimora’s ex-husband Russell Simmons decided to stop contributing money to fund her “Fabulous” lifestyle, let's hope this money was to support their children.

Both Simmons and Hounsou reps have kept quiet on this so who knows if there is any truth to these rumours? But as I was reading about this story it just made me wonder if women have lost sight of what is important in a relationship?

Some women always have these demands of what they want in a man and the majority of their criteria is made up of material things. “He has to have a car, a house, a job…” you know the rest. When I hear people making these lists I always wonder “how much of those things do you own?” Why should you expect someone to provide you with things when you are perfectly capable of providing for yourself? The media is full of negative reports of how Black women will never get married, YouTube is full of videos of the so called “Tired Black Men” who are fed up with Black women’s demands and with stories like this on the regular is it any wonder why Black women carry certain negative labels?

Can you pay my bills?

It's not wrong to want these things but how can we be singing to the tune of "Independent Women" and then as soon as we get a man it's "Can You Pay My Bills?" Your want for material things becomes dangerous when you place more value on things rather than your relationship.

Maybe it’s time that we rethink our values and get a grip on reality because you may miss out on Mr Right because you are too busy looking for Mr Hotshot.

A New Voice

In the rapidly expanding sea of the blogosphere there are many voices. But there are few that represent my voice, the Black female voice. Of course there are many that talk about black hair, beauty and fashion and those things interest me but that is not all there is to the black female voice.

So this is what this blog is about, providing a platform for a different voice. It’s about bringing awareness to issues that affect the black female and allow her to discuss, disagree and teach others like her. Some topics on this blog will be deep and meaningful others will be more light-hearted and entertaining but the thing that will unite them all is that they will matter to YOU!

This blog will cover topics like interracial dating, the representation of black women in the media, the natural hair movement or even the conspiracy theories that plague the Hip Hop industry. I’m ready for a new voice, are you?

And of course I want to hear your voice so feel free to comment!