As a woman of colour, it can often be challenging to truly feel that my blackness is beautiful. It's especially tough because I live in an area where I'm the odd one out [1]. One day, I realised I was making the problem worse by further alienating myself on social media. My Instagram feed was always flooded with women who looked nothing like me and who had never faced the problems I conquered regularly. From then on, I decided to make a conscious effort to follow more women of colour on Instagram, and I noticed an almost immediate difference in my self image!

My entire Instagram experience changed dramatically after following more women with melanin. There was a new sense of belonging that I'd never experienced on social media before. I felt like I'd finally found my name among the licence plate key chains on display at the gift shop. I suddenly had access to makeup tutorials that used products suitable for my skin tone, influencers with protective hairstyles [2], and most importantly, I gained an army of role models that were just a profile click away. Straight from my Instagram, here are five women of colour I follow that have helped me embrace my blackness.