Redefining Beauty

When super model Alek Wek graced the cover of the 1997 November issue of “Elle” magazine, many believed that a dark-skinned African girl on a magazine cover would not sell issues. But on the contrary, there was an overwhelming support of Alek's “Elle” issue and people were ecstatic that the standard of beauty was being redefined. When Alek appeared on “The Oprah Winfrey Show,” Oprah said the following. “If you’d been on the cover of a magazine when I was growing up, I would have had a different concept of who I was.” Thanks to Alek and so many other African-American women, the concept of beauty in our society continues to be redefined.