America’s Next Top Model Cycle 6
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder–at least that’s how the saying goes. I met a beautiful woman at work last week. For me, the feature that made her beautiful is something so deeply rooted in my culture. That thing was in her smile. When I told her I loved it, she laughed, thanked me then exclaimed that she hated it. “It” was a gap-tooth.
In many parts of Africa, including my birth country Nigeria, a woman with a gap in the middle of her teeth is considered a beautiful being. Women wish to have her smile, men love to see her smile. It is believed that such a woman possesses some sort of sexual appeal and beauty. There’s apparently something about that tiny space in the middle of the upper teeth that makes many Africans go wild.
My sister happens to be blessed with a gap-tooth. As a child, I noticed that people loved and complimented her smile. From young guys with piereced ears to village elders in traditional clothing, everyone just seemed to smile when she smiled. It was as if there was this force that drew people in. Of course I’m willing to bet her beauty played a part in this, but I’m also convinced that the gap in her teeth had a certain magic of its own. After hearing “your sister is so beautiful” over and over, I soon started to wish I had that gap. Actually I remember wishing I looked exactly like my sister.
In United States though, having a gap-tooth is not as appealing. An American friend of mine once refused to date a guy for this reason. It’s fascinating that something seen as beautiful in one culture is considered a turn-off in another. I don’t know. I guess that’s the beauty of cultural diversity: one man’s trash can be another man’s treasure. For what it’s worth, I happen to be a fan of the gap. I think it’s just as beautiful on a woman as it is on a man or a child. Then again, that’s the Nigerian/African in me speaking.
Beauty is indeed in the eye of the beholder and for me, a gap-tooth is the epitome of beauty.
LivinginDiaspora 
Wowwwwww mami, this is absolutely beautiful. You know, someone recently asked me if I was gonna do surgery on my tooth but I answered…why? He goes…just asking. I said………i will not trade my treasure for such a thing b/c it is considered and perceived as being beautiful in my culture. He looked at me and said it is actually beautiful but my girlfriend is planning on closing hers. I don’t know why some pple can’t see the beauty in it. But I thank God, I have it:) thx for writing and sharing
Awww sis!! You always read my blog! Always!
I know, I love the gap-tooth. Americans have no idea how beautiful it is. There are some that love it though. I’ve noticed that as well. Thanks for reading 🙂
I love it. There’s a girl I was seeing in the UK, she totally hates me now though for a different reason. She had the gap and said it made her uncomfortable and she was going to get it closed. I tried to dissuade her from doing that, but her mind was fixed. I’ve got a gap as well, for we guys, no oe coplains.
I love my gap 😀
Nice article
I love it. Many Haitian women have a gap between their two front teeth. I always believed that whatever tribe their ancestors were taken from during the era of slave trade, the tradition was to create space between the teeth of female children. It is Probably a traditional for millennia. This would now cause the females children to be born that way. I think it enhances the woman’s beauty when she smiles or speaks. 👍
Dear writer God bless u. I used to cover my mouth each time i m talking or laughing b/c of the front gap. I used to be embarrassed
by it …mmm now im proud of it. Thanks profusely for this short write up it has really helped me.
This is true. Beauty to one is different to another which is often determined by what you are used to perceiving beauty as. I’m glad you brought this topic up. It is something to ponder upon!
Thanks Kemi! I’m glad you actually read this! I would like to know what you think of a gap tooth. Do you like or dislike?
I’m a gap toothed African-American and the only men who appreciated it were African. They just love it! I always feel the need to conceal my gap when I talk to other men.Even my dentist old me that I should fix it because it bothers him lol.
What!! Forget your dentist! Don’t you dare do anything to your gap lol. He doesn’t know what he is talking about. You shouldn’t conceal your smile from anyone. Even in the U.S, there are people who love and appreciate it 🙂 Thanks for reading!
I had braces and the gap disappeared for a while but then it came back, so now I just embrace it.
My dentist would not even consider closing my gap. He said….”NEVER”. It is what makes you, you. And you and your gap are BEAUTIFUL !!!! And so it is….I WILL DIE WITH MY GAP…..and YES, I AM BEAUTIFUL !!!
Love this!!!! My Father always told me I am unique wht my gap. Some guys love it. I have been told I have a beautiful smile. I Will now embrace my gap. Love it!!
Good for you 🙂 You should embrace your gap. There are lots of people who want it! Thanks for reading!
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I love this article. I recently started seeing a Nigerian guy and he just loves seeing me smile because of my gap. Although considered a sign of beauty in some parts of South Africa, recently people are becoming more Westernised and make snide comments about people with gaps. Its good to know some people appreciate it.
Awww that’s great. My sister’s husband is Ghanaian and he loves her gap as well. Don’t worry about what those people say. Your gap is beautiful! You gotta hold your head up and wear it well. Trust me, I wish I had a gap!
Ok so Ihave a gap. And all the guys always talk about how they love it Idont see it really but this artical really helped me figure things out 🙂
Yay! I’m glad to hear that. Embrace your gap. It really is beautiful!
Well I have a gap. This was an interesting article!
Happy you found it interesting. Hope it was interesting in a good way 😉 Thanks for reading.
Hi just read your item and I find this massively attractive and I am not African but it is still great to see keep smiling for us and take no notice of those people who can’t see the beauty in your smile
All the best JB
its true what they say about “the gap”. i have it but men are always on my case! yet am married!!!! even my husband finds it a great turn on and is always commenting on it. i wonder what is the secret with us “gap toothed women”. i really do wonder!!!
thanks for the blog
Haha that’s funny. Your husband must find that annoying…like leave my wife alone haha. A gap tooth is simply beautiful. Although its worth varies from culture to culture, Africans love it and that’s because it’s indeed beautiful. Thanks for reading, Ebony!
your teeth gap looks you beautiful and teeth gap is not problem for you.Your middle teeth gap make you nice and men loves this beauty.
I am a gap-toothed white American, and the things Americans (men and women) have said about the space between my teeth have been utterly horrible. But I’ve received wonderful compliments from people of many different cultures. I’ll be traveling to Uganda next spring, looking forward to seeing the reaction there.
Also, I absolutely adored this blog post, thanks!
No surprise there!! It’s crazy to think of the millions Americans spend on braces etc to cover their gap when they are many out there wishing they had it. Ignore the horrible comments, ignore the noise! Your gap tooth makes you different, unique and beautiful. Idk if you’ve noticed the many beauty commercials now with gap-toothed white models. Look up Rimmel. I love them! You’re in good company 🙂 Enjoy Uganda.
P.S: I love it when Americans visit other nations! I think it helps broaden everyone’s perspective! Thanks for reading.
Thank you! I am learning to love it, after 30 years of hating it (having a husband that LOVES it helps).
Traveling to Uganda to intern for 3 months, hoping to one day land a job there, definitely trying to broaden my perspective, wish more would follow suit!
Great blog!
Honestly, for the longest time I’ve been so ashamed of my gap. I got picked on all throughout high school over it. In a strange turn of events, many people at my college tell me how much they like it. Between them and this article, I’m realizing that my gap is something to be proud of. God made me like this, and it IS a beautiful feature. Probably one of my best. Thank you for the eye opener!!
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I HAVE A GAP AS WELL, AND I LOVE IT AND ALWAYS HAVE. IM A TWIN AND MY MOTHER HAD A GAP AND MY FATHER HAD PERFECT TEETH. MY TWIN HAS HIS TEETH, AND I AM BLESSED TO HAVE THE GAP! MEN LOVE IT, I SOMETIMES FORGET ITS THERE. AND I GIVES ME AN ADVANTAGE SEXUALLY IF YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN,!!! #EMBRACE YOUR GAP!!!
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I wish I would’ve read this article growing up. I was so ashamed of my teeth! I heard every joke you can imagine and it made me feel ugly. But I notice more models now have gaps, it is beautiful. I had braces twice, I lost my retainer lol. But now my gap is back and I was thinking of closing it… but now, I’m not sure I will. It still is a bit of a sore spot but overall.. going through all that work on my teeth when someone should appreciate me for me. That’s all I want to be.
I’m 37 years old, and this is the first time I’m hearing that there are people who don’t like gap in their teeth! I grew up in Nigeria and people love it when I smile because I have a gap! It’s almost like the reaction you get when you’re famous and people faint at the sight of you lol. Ladies go gaga for it. I haven’t had a contrary reaction here in Canada since moving here. I have heard so many comment about how nice my set of teeth are. I would wear no brace because of my gap, neither do I think you should even think about it. Who wears brace because of their gap teeth? All you need is make sure your teeth are as white as snow and you will be set to turn every head. Nobody can make you feel bad about yourself unless you let them.
Dis issue of gap teeth has been a big problem to me and i think it is having a negative effect on me because i have that gap in between my teeth. Sometimes back anytime i smile my siblings would say ”stop smiling, you look ugly when you smile” while some of my female friends would say ”i love your teeth” but even at that i still consider a gap teeth a turn-off. Please i need an advice.
Hi Austine! First of all, I’m sorry that your siblings make fun of your smile. That’s really unfortunate. If anything, they should be encouraging and cheering you on. Tell them that loving and supportive siblings do not make fun of their brothers or sisters.
Having said that, your appearance is something you should be proud of regardless of what you look like. Granted, they are people who get braces to cover gaps in their teeth and they are people who get surgery to change the way they look, but the point is to make such changes for YOU. Not because people are making fun of you, or because you’re ashamed of the way you look. You do it because you want to. That’s what you need to work on: confidence and contentment with who you are.
Everyone has something that makes them unique. You have a gap on your teeth, top and bottom. That’s pretty unique. You should be proud of it. Forget who likes it or who doesn’t. Like it because it’s part of what makes you special. Former U.S football player Michael Strahan has a huge gap in the middle of his top teeth. That’s what many remember about him. He is proud of it and has said several times that although he contemplated closing it, he came to realize that it was part of his identity, part of his persona, part of what brought him fame.
It takes time, but I hope you’ll soon come to learn that you don’t need to be fixed. Your gap is part of who you. Embrace it. It doesn’t matter who likes it or who doesn’t. When you base your happiness or contentment about something based on how other people react to it, you’ll never be fully happy because it’s all subjective. What one person finds attractive can be ugly to another. People will always have something to make of fun about another person. Trust me. Even if you didn’t have a gap, people will make fun of you for something else. Ignore them. Be proud of who you are, the way God created you. Once you have that confidence, nobody, not even your siblings can bring you down.
Tnx for bringing dis topic up…I really love ma gap-tooth…because when I smile,peeps always complement and even the guys….some of my peeps even wished they had it.
I also have a gap in front of my upper and lower teeth. My siblings said i look ugly when i smile. While some of my female friends said they love it. So i don’t really know if i should believe my siblings or my friend. The fact is that right now i consider gap teeth a turn-off.
You better reconsider. Girls know better. Meanwhile, who should tell you you are cute? Should it not be the opposite sex (if your sexual orientation is straight anyway).?
I am a guy and I have diastema (another name for Gap-toothed). I know girls are always on me because of that. It does not matter what the current western culture says. It is all economically driven. The big pharmaceutical and dentistry companies sell that idea to the public to boost business; Just as the “booty and boobs” industry is booming. Being gap-toothed is beautiful and I can’t trade it for anything. Society may try to define beauty but as you said,it will always end up in what the beholder sees.
When I was growing up in the Eastern Caribbean, I was teased mercilessly for having a long neck…”pelican neck” as they would call it. They would even take feathers to annoy me during the teasing stints. It was only after Iman came to America, folks began saying you have a neck like Iman, I used to reply “Iman has a neck like me”.
Lo’ and behold, I was chosen to go to attend a West African university during my senior year in college back in the day…and I became the belle of the ball. A long neck on the Continent is considered a “royal neck”. I have embraced that royalty with pride.
Wow, I have the opposite and always dreamed of a long neck, go figure…
LOVE MINE!!! ❤
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My gap has always been one of my best features…..people fall in love with it when I smile and because of that you see me smiling always! Here in Nigeria, it is a well appreciated beauty!
In my land(Igbo/Biafra) gap-teeth is first thing you must point out, when ever you want to talk about beauty of a woman or what made her pretty
It’s nice knowing that gaps are widely accepted in some parts of the country. It’s almost the complete opposite in the U.S., though it’s changing slowly but surely. I use to be ashamed of it because all the wrong people talked about me. I’m learning to embrace it now that I’m older, and have more understanding of it. If we can’t love ourselves, how can we expect to really love others? I’m hoping to be one of the few leaders, who can change the standards of beauty within society. God bless.
I found this after seeing the sister of my ex-boyfriend who is always smiling and she has a gap just like I do…except we look very differently. I am Puerto Rican but blonde and blue eyed…as most know, everyone here is mixed of some sort, she on the other hand is African-American. I have always hated my gap and hardly smile because of it, but I see how happy she always is smiling and I admire her so very much for it. I wonder where mine came from since neither of my parents has it, but my grandfather does…and also, trying to get over this feeling of not ever smiling because I have been made to feel so bad about it in the US. Thanks for writing this…I might just smile a bit more.
I have a gap in my front teeth as well, I find ladies with a gap extremely sexy, I have had dentists offer to fix my gap many times, yet after I say no to the dentist they always tell me that the teeth with gaps will always remain even after all the other teeth fall out!
BTW: I’ve had friends tell me it fits me and to never fix my gap 🙂
So lady’s with a beautiful teeth gap please find a man who can appreciate it like me 🙂
What a lovely article. So great so many people loving and and embracing hoe they are
There is so much growth in the world. I love it
I have multiple gaps I would be OK if it was just one in the middle I’m very self conscious I never smile in pics I got teased as a kid. I have been told my gaps are cute but I always feel like poo are being funny when I’m told that
OMG!!!!!! This article has given me a renewed sense of confidence about my gap. I have just recently begun to embrace my gap after growing up hiding it. Thank You for sharing this information. I feel like I’ve had a makeover.
I’m so glad to hear that ❤
actually the reason am reading this it’s coz i got a new friend and I LOVE when SHE SMILES.. i love it.
i got a new friend with one and i really love it when she smiles.
I LOVE HER SMILE
Sorry, gap is not sexy
I suppose we’re to take the opinion of one man as fact. Truth is you’re entitled to that statement just as I’m entitled to say you’re wrong. But thanks for stopping by and reading 🙂
I am a mixed race female ( Irish,German,Indian and Spanish) with Gap and I was told today by a man from Nigeria that it is beautiful and it’s what attracted him to me. I also heard it from a man from Jamaica and a woman from Haiti. This stuns me and at the same time makes me feel more unique and beautiful. I spent my school years being told I have a nice smile or just being made fun of. It’s amazing how different one person can be seen by different cultures.
Years of braces still couldn’t close my gap. As an adult I have learned to embrace it. It is my special feature. When people tell me now that they love my smile, I’m pretty sure it has to do with my gap and the sincerity always behind the smile. Celebrate it!
I love this!! Glad you’ve come to appreciate your uniqueness.
Thank you for this lovely peace. I feel beautiful and love the gap on both my two daughters teeth… *passed it on…lol.
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I want to first start by thanking you for this post. Most people don’t stop to appreciate the beauty in difference, let alone share it with the world. My daughter was born with thick tissue between her two front teeth. (I believe known as an oversized labial frenum) I was actually researching this topic in questions as to do I leave it or should I look into some sort of procedure to fix it. After reading how proud you are of this trait I’m seriously considering just allowing my daughter to embrace it as well. Thank you for being proud!!
I LOVE my gap!!! My African American parents wanted to close my gap with braces. I Refused.
My daughter is mixed with a gap and absolutely beautiful. How wonderful to hear that it is beauty from her true ethnicity.
Thanks for your honesty. I was just told this by my Nigerian friend. It made me blush because my gap has gotten a little bigger over the years. Even my mom suggested I fix it😒 It’s not even large…. But he made my day telling me about gaps in his culture.
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