The Beauty Tax on Nigeria’s Poorest Women

When it comes to beauty standards and how women defy or succumb to them, the discourse takes on a new meaning for Nigerian women on the lowest rung of the economic ladder. For them, attaining the ‘ideal’ appearance is a measure of beauty and class.

Written by Foyin Ejilola

Apr 13, 2025

Photo Illustration by Ezinne Osueke / THE REPUBLIC. Source Ref: Pexels.

A perfect illustration of how beauty standards and economic class affect Nigerian women would be the unprovoked, misogynistic classification of Nigerian women into ‘baddies’, ‘civilians’, and ‘amotekuns’ on X (the platform formerly known as Twitter) in 2023. Women were yet again pigeonholed under the male gaze, this time, their financial status was evaluated via an arbitrary and sexist standard that conflated physical ‘attractiveness’ with wealth. The interpretation of the term ‘amotekun’, which is the lowest rung on that hierarchy, holds contempt directed toward women perceived to be low earners or from low-income households. It also directly implies that because these women supposedly have neither the money to spend on themselves, nor the socially ideal ‘refinement’, they are opportunistic and always on the prowl for spenders.

In a 2016 TedTalk, Stanford Business School graduate, Chika Okoro, speaks of a similar classification. After watching Straight Outta Compton three times, Okoro combed through the internet for all the information she could find about the film and discovered its casting call which contained a ranking of female characters based on the actors required for each role. It started with the A-girls, the most desirable, described as the ‘hottest of the hottest, and models’. At the bottom of the list were the D-girls who were described as African-American, ‘poor, not in good shape, and must have a darker skin tone’.

While Okoro shared this story in the context of colourism, what stands out to me is how these attributes that describe the D-girl are associated with being poor. This means that, according to these standards, a Black woman that does not qualify as ‘in good shape or light skinned’ must be inhibited by poverty. She must not have the financial capacity to venture into skin lightening, hit the gym to get ‘in good shape’ or hire trainers to squeeze into sample sizes.

This classification of beauty for women and its implications of their economic status or class are problematic, as the resulting definitions do not fit everyone. Unfortunately, they have been able to keep women engaged in efforts to be neatly contained in these fickle yet domineering boxes. This categorization is also backed by patriarchal norms, since beautification is largely tied to femininity and sustains the kind of culture that is preoccupied with exerting societal control over women’s bodies and demanding their obedience.

Among Nigerian women, there have been victors; disobedient ones who decentre the male gaze. However, when considering women for whom bodily autonomy remains an unfamiliar concept, it is important to explore how these beauty standards and class dynamics specifically impact women of the lower socio-economic class.

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About the Author

Foyin Ejilola

is a writer and journalist currently living in Ibadan.

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The Beauty Tax on Nigeria’s Poorest Women