For someone who claims not to care much for the modelling industry, I sure do find reason to write about it often enough.
Let me tell you why that is.
I understand how much it means to other people, and the impact it has on young people who like to emulate what they see.
So for me to observe the modelling industry changing alongside the needs of society, is quite fascinating.
I have previously written about how the Canadian model Winnie Harlow is taking the world’s catwalks by storm, despite living with the skin condition called Vitiligo.
The modelling world has also promoted Shaun Ross, who has albinism and Rebekah Marine, who has a prosthetic arm.
There are many more of these exceptions in a world best known for showing off superficial perfection.
We are also seeing many more so-called fuller figure models gracing catwalks, magazine covers and of course the internet.
This brings me to a story that caught my eye recently about a model who goes by the name Nyakim Gatwech.
The story - which may in fact be fake news - said she had been named the person with the darkest skin in the world.
True or not, that doesn’t really matter, because it led me to researching this South-Sudanese beauty, to find out that she calls herself “Queen of the Dark” and is extremely popular.
DIVERSE: Nyakim Gatwech embraces dark skin
I was transfixed by her difference and while she is undoubtedly very attractive, it is the confidence that she exudes that is most captivating.
These stories are important to me because of the impact I know they have on the collective psyches of our youth.
The more they see differences being accepted and celebrated by popular culture, the more they learn to accept their own difference and the differences around them.
Media has come a long way to this point where they are on the brink of being fully representative of the broad spectrum of humanity’s many facets.
While beauty is indeed skin deep, it is diverse.
Whether Nyakim holds the record for the darkest skin or not, she along with Harlow, Ross, Marine and others like them, are symbols of the evolution of how we perceive beauty.