It's no secret that I’m not a fan of beauty pageants.
But this week I have no choice but to write about not one, not two, but FIVE of them.
The most obvious one is, of course, last week’s Miss Universe, which was won by our very own Zozibini Tunzi.
And there are several things I want to say about her win.
But let me first point out that if superficial beauty is purely judged by the standards of international pageants, then women of colour are now officially THE most beautiful women in the world.
Zozi (as everyone now calls her) holds one of the five most coveted beauty pageant titles in the world at the moment.
Since America likes to fashion itself as the world’s trendsetter, it is curious to note that it’s top three beauty crowns currently rests on kroes koppe- Miss America, Miss USA and Miss Teen USA are all gorgeous black women.
BOSSIE KOP: Recently crowned 2019 Miss Teen USA Kaliegh Garris. Picture: Jason Bean/AP.
In fact, the latter, Kaliegh Garris, has got the kind of bouncy tight curls that I want to run my hands through; but which many young girls on the Cape Flats are desperate to GHD plat, because fashion magazines have been telling them for decades that the only hair that matters is straight hair.
I hope now that the world’s judges of what constitutes beauty have finally approved of curly hair, our sisters will pay attention.
Beauty is subjective and nobody can force another person to see the beauty in something.
For example, the beauty in some of the world’s most renowned art pieces completely escapes me.
Then there are some street art in St. George’s Mall that completely takes my breath away.
Most of the time we have to accept that beauty is in the eye of the beholder and leave it at that.
But for far too long, the beauty that lives in and comes from Africa have been disregarded, misunderstood and made to fit the western norm.
STARK DISPLAY: Miss Jamaica Toni-Ann Singh was crowned Miss World. picture: Supplied.
Winning a beauty pageant has therefore become a form of protest, a push-back from being relegated to third place; a reclamation of our pride.
The latest global beauty title went to Miss Jamaica, Toni-Ann Singh, who was crowned Miss World a few days ago.
And as if to reinforce the emergence of black beauty, both her first and second princesses are women of colour.
Never before has black diverse beauty been on such stark display for all the world to admire.
These women are all different shades of brown, with heads that sport every type of kink and coil imaginable.
It is almost a negative of just a few short years ago and I hope it serves as an inspiration for our young girls with gorgeous curls; but also as education for those who ridicule them for something they have no control over.
Zozi was reportedly encouraged by her friends and advisors to wear either a wig or a weave while participating in the pageant.
In all fairness, these pageants have almost always chosen women with long, straight, flowing hair as winners.
But like with many other global institutions we have seen in 2019, it was time for a change.
So when Zozi decided to take to the stage in her short, curly natural hair, wearing her killer smile and obvious intelligence as accessories, she was accurately reading the global mood.
MOOD SHIFT: Ndlovu Youth Choir excelled on reality show. Picture: Supplied.
And that mood is a shift, I feel, is being fuelled mostly by the arts; the industry that has allowed Trevor Noah, Black Panther and the Ndlovu Youth Choir to even exist in the forms they do.
So why else is any of this important?
Well, firstly, because it is part of a trend of Africa rising that is slowly gaining momentum.
And it’s important that it starts with the pop culture that clearly matters to people.
The world is seeing more and more of the diverse beauty of Africa on platforms they are not used to seeing her - cinema, art, magazine covers and cat walks.
Africa is showing how eloquent, intelligent, unique, mesmerising and striking her offspring can be on the world stage.
SHINING: Trevor Noah. Picture: Supplied.
But, most importantly, we are seeing ourselves in the Zozis of the world.
They are winning on their own terms and in their own hair.
And in so doing, they are opening even more doors for other African talent to dream bigger dreams.
There’s no stopping us now!