The evolving face of beauty

When I was a teenager I liked to read People magazine. I used to really enjoy celebrity gossip and features about 'real people' doing extraordinary things, but somewhere along the line People began to lose credibility for me and began to replicate the cheaper, less insightful publications like OK. The issues I looked forward to the least were the Sexiest Man issue and the 50 Most Beautiful Women issue. These superficial annual collections of who in Hollywood was the most visually appealing was disturbing to me, especially because it's the public who vote for the winners and as a result don't vote for those who don't make the cut.

I personally can't imagine what it's like for someone like Christina Applegate to be crowned Most Beautiful Woman, but get no recognition for her acting work. We should be moving away from a society where being pretty or being sexy is seen as a success. Poor Robert Pattinson. I've never herd anyone praising him for his films, but he was crowned Sexiest Man Alive. Is that something you can put on your CV? As much as I detest these beauty contests and feel that they are outdated and cruel, even I was proud to see Lupita Nyong'o on this years' cover.

I was so happy for her because this is a woman who has very publicly spoken out about how growing up she felt ugly because of her dark skin. Her speech at the 2013 Essence awards went viral and even though I was already in love with Patsy from 12 Years a Slave, after listening to Lupita speak, I was in love with Lupita as well. She eloquently articulated her struggle with her looks. How she never saw anyone who looked like her seen as beautiful. Well now Lupita will be that person for girls everywhere. With Lupita taking the crown and Mindy Kaling taking the number 4 spot, it's exciting to see beautiful women of color finally being acknowledged by People and by us as a nation.

With her short hair, perfect smile and flawless skin Lupita looks every inch the cover girl and we can see why she was given this title. But what makes me so happy about this is that she is so much more than her beauty. A Yale graduate and already and Oscar winner, she is showing young girls that you don't have to prioritize beauty over success and that if you work hard and educate yourself you'll be successful in far more than beauty contests.

Lupita is so much more than just a pretty face. But to have Lupita and Beyonce both on magazine covers this month means that a lot of little girls will see themselves reflected back at them instead of the usual stick-thin blonde haired white skinned prototype we've all become accustomed to associating with beauty; and although I'm still not happy with the concept of this issue I am excited about the result.