Beauty Standards in the World of Lion's Blood
"The inhabitants were not all Irish: they were former bondsmen from across Europe. Any white man or woman with a strong back, freedman papers, and the willingness to build a community was welcome...
The natives were curious about the whites, but not hostile. Mixing of blood was inevitable when people of different races lived in proximity. Already a Ouachita brave had taken a Roman wife. More than one former slave woman had coupled with a native or black townsman, so that her children might enjoy the advantage of mixed blood. Pure-blood whites might never have real power in Bilalistan, but the slightest drop of dark blood opened doors. Women shaded and braided their light hair to make it seem more African. Men worked in the fields until the sun had broiled them, seeking to add a few precious shades of bronze. Sometimes they tinted or painted their skin to achieve the desired effect."
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The natives were curious about the whites, but not hostile. Mixing of blood was inevitable when people of different races lived in proximity. Already a Ouachita brave had taken a Roman wife. More than one former slave woman had coupled with a native or black townsman, so that her children might enjoy the advantage of mixed blood. Pure-blood whites might never have real power in Bilalistan, but the slightest drop of dark blood opened doors. Women shaded and braided their light hair to make it seem more African. Men worked in the fields until the sun had broiled them, seeking to add a few precious shades of bronze. Sometimes they tinted or painted their skin to achieve the desired effect."
-Zulu Heart, page 47-48.Warner Books Hardcover edition
This quotation from the book gives the reader some insight to how free whites view themselves. They wish to appear as dark as possible to gain some kind of acceptance in Black society. In real life, a similar idea has occurred and continues to occur: the vast majority of the world's standards of beauty is heavily seen with European features: pale skin, colorful (non-brown) eyes, a nose with a prominent ridge, and straight, colorful hair. Even outside of Europe, these features are considered to be desirable traits for a person to have and are heavily advertised through movies, television shows, magazines, and art. So strong is this image of a "beautiful person (mostly woman)" that skin-bleaching creams are a popular product that people in Africa, Asia, and other parts of the world use.
In recent times, the exposure of different cultures and ethnicities with the help of the Internet and increased travel has allowed people who grew up under the European standards of beauty to broaden their sense of attraction towards other physical characteristics. A day ago, a YouTube Content Creator under the username, Geography Now, posted a comment on his Community page about the fashion industry in Senegal. In that same comment, he uploaded several examples of how the Senegalese do not use the European standards of beauty and, instead, encourage African standards.
I was already familiar with the phenomenon of models who have very black skin promoting the idea that you don't need to be White to be beautiful. I can easily imagine that in the World of Lion's Blood, the beauty standards will be based on those from Africa and people around the world will want to "look Black".
Here are some examples of "Black Beauty" that I found to be pleasing and plausible to exist in the World of Lion's Blood, either in the current setting of the books or in the future. The models pictured are: Khoudia Diop, Nyakim Gatwetch, and Lupita Nyong'o, respectively.
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