Redefining Beauty in a Majority Culture

They say, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. In a world of millions one would think our idea of beauty would be as diverse as the human race BUT that has not been the case.  The construct of beauty has long been a reflection of majority culture, those perceptions spilled over into every part of our society.  The beauty pageant circuit is a particular place where this majority culture reigns. After a number of racial watershed moments in America, diversity and inclusion has taken center stage. Today we see the emergence of the identity movement around diversity and beauty.  With the explosion of initiatives promoting diversity and inclusion, it is no surprise that the theme for the 2022 Miss Black USA is Redefining Beauty. We sat down with Miss Black Texas USA Dr. Kyara Murry to talk about how she is redefining beauty.  

Q:  As a participant how do you determine your looks for each category? 

With most pageants, the directors or your pageant coordinator or coach, give you a suggested look. The contestants can select looks that she wants and send to the directors to provide comments or suggestions. It is up to each contestant to implement the comments of the directors or to ignore them. 

Murry said the struggle for her was not in accepting the suggestions of directors but rather keeping the same hairstyle for several months. The Miss Black Texas USA 2022 is known for changing her look effortlessly. She went on to say she doesn't feel the need to be “dolled up” all the time.  She focuses on what works for her and that changes.

Q: Would you say that the pageant world is inclusive of ethnically diverse hair?  The pageant world is progressing. There are additional categories specifically for minorities where you will see more afrocentric hairstyles. In talking to Miss Black Texas USA, it seems there is an inherent assumption in each category that may or may not exist for each contestant. For example, most hair categories focus on long hair with barrel curls and most size scoring uses 0, 2 & 4’s as the standard.  

Q: How are you Redefining Beauty? I’m redefining beauty by giving different looks and promoting overall health. The Miss Black Texas USA told us she can be a girly girl and she is chilled and relaxed at heart. Working as a Non-profit Lawyer & Entrepreneur she often does not have the time a full face of makeup might require. She allows herself the flexibility to change her look to match her mood and her priorities for the day.  The Miss Black Texas USA says she redefines beauty by encouraging people to pay attention to nutrition and how that might be impacting their hair, skin or nails. 

Q: Where does beauty live? Beauty begins on the inside, I think we have to focus on being whole prosperous people on the inside and that will reflect on the outside.

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