In a time where Western beauty standards still dominate the beauty industry, it's hard to feel conventionally attractive as a woman of colour.  The good news is you're not alone, and there are ways to develop a more positive relationship with your appearance.

Beauty standards, as we have them today, are still largely eurocentric.  Those considered 'conventionally attractive' or 'good-looking' are often tall, thin, and have fine, delicate features in a world where most people look very different from this. 

It is a widely accepted idea that Western beauty standards developed due to colonialism and the resulting racism and white supremacy.  This idea of white supremacy led to the belief that to be beautiful or of value, you had to be white, a concept that continues today.

This inevitably leads to body dissatisfaction, unhappiness, and pressure to conform to eurocentric beauty ideals in women of colour.  A survey of 30 students revealed these feelings to be worryingly common.  

Only 12% of participants reported feeling very happy or satisfied with current beauty standards, and 53% reported feeling unhappy.  Susangky Paramesvaran describes how "the beauty standard has always made me feel that I don't fit in the right way, or that I'm not attractive or pretty to those around me."  Similarly, Nihisha Maniseharan explains that "the idea of beauty is manufactured to restrict women and to exclude minorities." Overall, feeling "disappointed," "sad," and "angry" were recurrent experiences, showing how negative the impacts of current beauty standards are.

Are there ways to escape the cycle of body dissatisfaction?  Of course, it's an issue that is often deep-rooted and long-lasting, but there are ways to start to have a healthier relationship with your appearance.

Friends and family usually offer exercise as a solution.  Alongside releasing chemicals that leave you happy and satisfied, exercise is a way to become healthier and more content.  In no way should this propagate the need to be overly thin, but it is important to maintain a healthy weight.

Most feelings of inadequacy come from comparison with those around you, such as actresses, models, and the edited images we see in advertising.  A good tip might be to engage with more representative media that features people of colour and people of different body types and facial features.  There are many good recommendations on Netflix, or you can search for suggestions online.

Another tip would be practicing some mindfulness.  Of course, we all have days where we feel terrible.  But realise that you have worth outside of your appearance: take some time to think of your accomplishments and consider your ambitions and goals in life.  Chances are, your appearance does not dictate your success in life.  After all, beauty is in the eye of the beholder.