The black women's beauty has always been erased to appeal to the ego of white women. When magazine outlets create their own lists of what is beautiful, I do not even expect they will give black women their due. Black women are always trending and reviving fashions such as braids, dreads and dances, only for white women to rename them as something urban or funky. Within the Victoria's Secret 2017 "What Is Sexy" list was every disappointment and contradiction for women's beauty. The list was not bold, powerful and confident. Rather, it was soft, weak and insecure, creating the notion that we live in an all-white world.

There were many black athletes and artists who deserved a title. Whiteness and thinness are used to belittle women of color. For decades, WOC have voiced their opinions of being a minority in a clothing store where the models, and even employees, do not look like them. These corporations' insensitivity is a reminder that the need for black women's independent platforms is vital.

Black women can no longer rely on patriarchal beauty standards to uplift them, when it's their blackness that automatically disqualifies their beauty to the white gaze.

When a black woman tries to get global validation, she is reminded that her skin too dark, her hair is not straight and her body is too natural or thick.

Some feminists may discredit Victoria's Secret sexy list as intrinsic labels that have no meaning, but the bigger picture is that black women should not be invisible, nor should they accept taken positions.

The black dollar has helped Victoria's Secret launch its trend of fashionable lingerie and joggers. If we live in a world where black beauty is nonexistent, then it may be time for the exodus of the black dollar to stop supporting the white standard of beauty.