5 Real Women on What "Pretty" Looks Like in Israel

"Some people don't really accept that I have black skin and that I'm going to represent Israel."

Lip, Smile, Cheek, Mouth, Brown, Hairstyle, Skin, Chin, Forehead, Eyebrow,
(Image credit: YouTube)

Credit a more globally connected world, credit diversity initiatives, credit the shifting landscape of media—there's no doubt that beauty standards are changing. But the perception of what is beautiful and who is beautiful hasn't changed overnight, and in many cases we still have a long way to go. 

Which is why Un-ruly has travelled all over the world to ask just one question: "What is pretty?" In their newest video, they head to Israel—more specifically, Tel Aviv—to talk to black women about the change they've seen in their home. 

In the video, we hear from Gabby, Gloria, Efrat, and Mayana—along with Yityish, Israel's first black beauty queen. They discuss everything from the openness of the city to the controversy surrounding crowning a Miss Israel of Ethiopian descent.

"For me, since I was a kid, it was always: 'Where should I put you? Where do you fit? You don't fit in any box,'" says Gabby. "And I think people really need to get out of this concept of putting people into boxes."

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Samantha Leal
Senior Editor

Samantha Leal is the Deputy Editor at Well+Good, where she spends most of her day thinking of new ideas across platforms, bringing on new writers, overseeing the day-to-day of the website, and working with the awesome team to produce the best stories and packages. Before W+G, she was the Senior Web Editor for Marie Claire and the Deputy Editor for Latina.com, with bylines all over the internet. Graduating from the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University with a minor in African history, she’s written everything from travel guides to political op-eds to wine explainers (currently enrolled in the WSET program) to celebrity profiles. Find her online pretty much everywhere @samanthajoleal.