Afro-Peruvian Women

In this same line, Natalia draws from her experiences with racism and sexism in Peru, to explain how that and the lack of images of black women in the media affected her self-image while growing up. When talking about the dilemmas she faced at a younger age, she describes her desire to look like a “white blonde with straight hair”, since this was the only image she could relate to being beautiful. With the help of visual references, she explains how the national media is ruled by a standard of beauty that privileges whiteness, and how these images create a set of aspirations for black women that involve physical transformation processes to look more “adequate” and “average. When engaging in this discussion by herself and interacting with other

In this sense, the hair as a part of an embodied identity with transformative power, that can function as a political statement, to claim identity and reverse the Eurocentric narratives that exclude black women from the ideals of beauty and desirability. Accordingly, the second part of the video shows the stories of transition to natural hair, and through the testimonies of Afro-Peruvian women participating in the video, Natalia -both as creator and participant- is able to emphasize the transition as a stage of liberation and self-acceptance. By stating that transition is “the most magical thing that exists”; the video shifts the course of the narration to function as a tool for empowerment and acceptance of the natural hair as a fundamental part of the Afro-Peruvian

In this context, the new media present multiple possibilities as it has the potential to be massive but not controlled by a mediated agenda, allowing self-expression and the creation of directed messages (Georgiou, 2013). In this sense, Una chica afroperuana introduces a new concept that gives voice to an Afro-Peruvian woman to address racism in an unregulated way, being able to discuss contemporary situations to uncover the subtle nature of racism towards the Afro-Peruvian population. According to Georgiou, the creation of the digital diasporic communities challenge the validity of traditional communication spaces in which the nation is the predominant factor to engage with identitarian processes. Considering this, Una chica afroperuana contributes to creating communication spaces for the African Diaspora in Peru, by emphasizing race as a determinant factor in the lives of Afro-Peruvians and as a fundamental component of their identities. Though Georgiou states that these diasporic communities reflect on issues that are applicable in a collective way, she also states that these communities might divide to address gendered and generational experiences (Georgiou, 2013). This is relatable to Una chica afroperuana because even though most of her content relates to the common experiences of Afro-Peruvians, some of her videos