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Lupita is short in stature, slight and flat chested body-wise, and her close cropped hair is groomed by a barber. It is not a stretch to call her little "boyish". This is not to be construed as a put-down; it is simply a fashion industry "type". Voluptuous women are chesty and curvaceous and pliant. They are not muscle bound and hefty like Serena Williams. I didn't see anything in the article you provided a link to, Chris, that said dark African American women have less acne than lighter skinned ones. But I did see that they have a tendency toward keloids which can blemish the skin. They say "black don't crack" but that applies to wrinkles, not acne. You tread a slippery slope when you try to generalize about African Americans because their skin tones run the gamut of colors and their gene pool is hybrid and there is no typical model. Diet has an effect on skin condition and oily skin does contribute to pimples and these factors vary from individual to individual. Obviously, when it comes to what appeals to whom. - to each his own. Aretha croons about "giving him something he can feel" and a lot of men claim "nobody wants a bone but a dog". But, since they're a lot dogs out there who follow their inner feelings, thin women with tight coochies have nothing to worry about. Women are a tad less superficial than men when it comes to what is attractive. A good personality, along with a good job, scores high with them.

I think Lupita is fit and and attractive and not boyish at all. Troy you used the word voluptuous... Serena Williams is voluptuous and athletic. She has larger breasts and a larger butt, which is associated with womanhood obviously, but you also hear people say that the Williams sisters look like men in drag. The common conception of Blacks it seems is that fitness and healthy body shapes are less womanly and more manly. Hence your opinion. The sister just has small breasts and let's be real White people do not like small breasts (unless you are referring to fashion only where they want small frames so clothes can hang like on a hanger) Like you said though that is personal preference. The former athlete and coach in me admires women who are physically fit. Most women who are really ahtletic tend to have smaller breasts (by default because the fat distribution is different for athletes). I think that idea of "boyish" is what stops a lot of Black women from shooting for more athletic and physically fit bodies. I mean I've heard women say, "I don't want to look like a man." Which is directly in line with the idea of your "Lupita is boyish." I simply think she is small and while you state that she is what White America finds beautiful, that totally overlooks Queen Latifah as a cover girl spokesperson (an especially high profile spokesperson). In regard to skin, I guess because when I worked as a teacher in San Diego my Sudanese and darker students very rarely had acne problems and they had issues with hygiene (I say this to establish that they didn't have the best regimen for skin care). Those genes were strong, but so was their dark skin. While my lighter skinned Ethiopian students had acne problems. But darker skin is less prone to acne. I haven't researched this, but it is true. here is an article that discusses skin types: http://www.crutchfielddermatology.com/treatments/ethnicskin/doesskincarevarywithskincolorandtype.asp#.VQrkLI7F-So I do agree that people spend a ridiculous amount of dough on hair and beautification products, but that's okay. Our appearance is the first thing we are judged on so it makes sense. Unfortunately, our community, Black people, we just have a lot of history that I still think has been shaped by our grandparents and parents about what beauty is. I guess all cultures have this issue. It's the idea that a dark skinned Puerto Rican reserves the right to claim his race as White on a birth certificate. White is right and this is never more evident in the south than when a woman cuts her hair off and goes around older Black women who all say that women with short hair look like men and must be THE gay.

LOL! The Michael Jackson pic at the end... brutal. Note that none of the pictures are of Lupita. But the image of Black women in America is changing. This is seen in the hair business and should actually be studied. In the last 10 years the shift to natural hair has been kicking the hair relaxer business in the ass. It's to the point now where traditional hair companies are purchasing natural hair companies left and right. Consider Carol's Daughter as a reference point. There are more and more natural hair women being featured than the straight haired woman especially in marketing campaigns. Take the time to look at tv commercials and more than likely any Black woman on the spot will have natural hair. Now this doesn't mean that men are becoming more accepting. As a matter of fact Black men are the major reason Black women perm (huge generalization I know). Most natural hair women are married to White men. I'm not doing research to support this so I'm just making a claim, but google Natural hair women and White men and note the number of articles written on the subject. I know personally I've had black friends who just won't marry Black women and definitely won't be seen with Black women with natural hair or short hair. It's crazy.