Afro-Latina music artist, and "Love & Hip Hop: Miami" star, Amara La Negra, was told in so many words that her hair does not make her appear elegant. La Negra is a black Dominican woman who grew up in Miami. According to Hiplatina, La Negra's mother is the one who helped her embrace her blackness and accept who she is. It states that La Negra told Yahoo Lifestyle, "My mom is everything. She built me the way that I am and made sure that I always knew my color was beautiful." During the first episode of season 1 of "Love & Hip Hop: Miami," La Negra met with Young Hollywood who is a producer. During their meeting, Hollywood made racist comments about La Negra's hair and skin color. During the part of their conversation when he compares her to Beyonce, according to Allure, La Negra asks, "So, I can't be elegant if I have a fro?" Hollywood replies by saying,"Yeah, I guess so."
I can be iffy when it comes to reality shows and when determining how real the actions actually are that occur. If what Hollywood told La Negra was not scripted and he actually feels that way, then he is a sad excuse for an actual human being and should never be classified as a good role model or ever looked up to. However, if what he said was scripted then this is just another example of art imitating life. La Negra is a talented and beautiful Afro-Latina (by the way, you can be black and Latino or Hispanic because Latino and Hispanic are ethnicities, not races according to the perspective of race and ethnicity in the United States) who is just being herself. So, if her hair was straightened and her skin was lighter, would she then look more "elegant?"
The problem with people who think this way is that they do not have a mind of their own. They have no individuality, and no appreciation for the other high percentage of the population on this earth who do not fit society's typical standards of beauty that is shown to us in television, ads, fashion, and more. I'm sick of hearing comments like this. Just like La Negra, my hair has also been called inelegant by closed minded people.
Everyone is entitled to their own opinion; especially to what they think is and isn't beautiful. However; I strongly believe that you do not have the right to judge someone, discriminate against them, or tell them that they need to change how they look and who they are because it doesn't fit your personal standard of beauty.
Humanity needs to understand that there is a reason we all do not look the same! There is beauty in all of us, no matter our skin color, hair texture, size, and shape. We all have different perspectives, so no one can state for a fact what is and isn't elegant or beautiful. Once again, we all are beautiful and can be "elegant" in our own way.
