Miss Big Nose

The coming-of-age love story between a black girl and her big nose

One afternoon, I was having lunch with, who was at the time my boyfriend, and his mother. We were making small talk while waiting for our food, when his mom leaned in, looked at me with dreamy eyes and an animated smile, and said…

“You have the prettiest nose!”

I was taken aback and apparently so was my boyfriend, who looked at me in stunning revelation.

“You do have a pretty nose,” he said.

No one has ever complimented me on my nose. In fact, growing up during those rough, awkward childhood phrases, I despised my nose, sworn it as my enemy. I spent an excessive amount of time mewling over how big it was in the mirror. Big, round, shiny, and protruding. When I smiled, my nose smiled too, spreading across my face.

I’d look at my profile and cry in horror because my nose poked out like a clown. I cursed at it, wished it away. If only I didn’t have such a big nose, then I would be pretty!

Among society, big noses have gotten a bad rap. Patterns of history reveal that a big, distinguishable nose is subjected to isolation and scrutiny. When the illusion of fear wanted to be struck within everyday people to ensure and soothe the process of genocide…