Leiomy Maldonado and Junior Mintt on the Highs and Lows of the Beauty Industry

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Two Black trans women discuss their relationship with beauty and their hopes for the industry’s future

Left: Junior Mintt. Right: Leiomy Maldonado. Photo-Illustration: by The Cut; Photos: Courtesy of the Subjects Leiomy Maldonado and Junior Mintt are part of the beauty industry, but they are not of it — they are two Black trans women who have helped to shape it. “I’ve learned that in the beauty industry, a lot more people are focused on the industry and not the beauty,” Junior Mintt tells me over Zoom when the three of us talk. “And the thing about beauty is that it involves humanity.

Darian Symoné Harvin: As we all know, this conversation really starts with the heart — that’s my big thing with beauty. So I want to first ask, did you both imagine you would make it to where you are? [Junior Mintt has a gentle voice, but she is not quiet. In her voice, you can hear exactly how she feels.]

Leiomy: It took a while for me to understand what my purpose in life was because, growing up, I didn’t know I was going to make it far in life. I knew that I was trans, but I didn’t have anyone around me that made me think I would have a successful life. I struggled, and I honestly never knew where my life would take me. But through ballroom and through dancing, I have realized that my purpose in life is to inspire people.

Junior Mintt: I think beauty is the moment where you let the person who you get to spend 24/7 hours with shine outwardly. There’s only one you. You walk in your shoes every day. You live the life that you live. I know what it’s like to walk around as a Black trans woman in Brooklyn. I know every day what that is like, and that informs who I am — the beauty I express, the way I decorate my body, the way I decorate my hair, all of it.

I’ve learned that in the beauty industry, a lot more people are focused on the industry and not the beauty. And the thing about beauty is that it involves humanity. It involves people seeing us as a full-fledged individual. I’m here to uplift my community and my support system. And that’s what my whole makeup line is about. It’s about making someone realize their value through this and letting them define their own value through it.

 

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Swell. Because we all need to understand the beauty needs of black (or any other skin color) trans women. JFC

Who give a shit

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