The Cuban influencer Anita Mateu posted a video on Instagram in which she compares the beauty stereotypes she experienced in Cuba and Spain, and describes how growing up without fitting into Cuban beauty standards gave her insecurities that she still struggles to overcome today.
The video addresses three key themes: hair, body, and clothing, contrasting the social pressure she experienced during her adolescence in Cuba with the greater acceptance she perceives in Spain, where she has been living for about three years.
Regarding her hair, Anita explains that in Cuba, the ideal was straight hair, and that teenagers began getting keratin treatments and straightening from the age of 15. "They called it bad hair, so I fell into that. Obviously, even today, because of what I've ingrained in my mind, I find it hard to see myself as beautiful with my hair like this," she acknowledges.
Despite receiving more praise when she wears her hair naturally, she admits that she often chooses to straighten it before going out. In Spain, however, she describes a different scene: "Here I can go out with curly hair and feel normal. This is where I learned about the definition of curls, and people define their curls here, too."
Regarding her body, Anita shares that the Cuban standard valued voluptuousness, and because she was slender, she received nicknames during her school years. "In Cuba, while I was studying, I was called names like lizard or broomstick, you know? They would say those kinds of things just because I was thin," she recounts.
In Spain, she feels that all body types coexist with less pressure. "I go to the beach and there are girls in their bikinis of all shapes and sizes. Even here, where a lot of people go topless and show their assets without any shame, regardless of whether they’re flat or not. And I love that because it makes me feel much more confident in myself," she states.
Regarding clothing, she notes that in Cuba, the fashion was to wear very tight-fitting clothes, which made her uncomfortable due to her slim build. Wearing loose clothing was considered "cheo," meaning outdated or lacking style. In Spain, however, she found that loose clothing is also trendy and is accepted without judgment.
The creator closes the video with a reflection on maturity and self-acceptance: "Thinking about how in my adolescence I lived with so many complexes for not fitting into these stereotypes... Here, I simply feel more like myself. I’m an adult, I’m almost 30, and I feel that the older we get, the less we care about those kinds of things and we learn to love ourselves just as we are."
What the influencer describes as a personal experience is all too familiar for many Cuban women who have encountered these stereotypes far too often.
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