I have been seeing this article flying around on Facebook and Tumblr for a couple of days now. I gave it a read and as soon as I saw the words "black privilege" it was hard not to shut it then. However, I kept what was left of an open mind and looked at the rest of the entry. They did get a couple of minute details right, mostly about the patriarchy. Upon a second reading, I am reasonably sure these people were trying for satire and they kind of missed it entirely. Although, really good satire means you can't tell it's satire... (Seriously, they advocate piss as a hair product. Pretty sure they're not serious.)
Now, okay, I am not even going to start on the whole "black privilege" thing. White people trying to tell people of color to check their privilege (whole 'nother article) is just... ugh. Don't even get anybody started. The article was about hair, and I am in no way at all saying that white women's hair is so politicized as women of color, particularly Black women. But when I see commercials for hair products, I did see the little teeny tiny cereal crumbs of "I kinda see where they were trying to come from" that you can see if you squint real hard.
Look at the norms for hair promoted in these commercials. One, the models are overwhelmingly white. I'm honestly not sure I've ever seen a commercial specifically for hair products aimed at women of color, but that might have more to do with the fact that I watch Criminal Minds, River Monsters, and reruns of 90s cartoons pretty much overall. Two, the hair is one of two ways. 90 percent of the hair is straight. Products are out there to "repair" the damage done by blowdryers and flatirons - these claims are straight-up lies, since you cannot repair keratin. The 10 percent of hair that is shown to have any texture at all is hair that has been straightened, then curled in the most deliberate way humanly possible.
The message is that anyone's "natural" hair - any hint of the texture that actually grows out of your head, is somehow wrong. Naturally curly or wavy hair is considered messy, unkempt, or even dirty. In order to look like you're "supposed to", you have to buy all the gadgets to straighten it and all the products to smooth it. Then, and ONLY THEN, may you "curl" it. That, of course, requires more gadgets and more products. Following that message is the message that if you do not do these things, you are not trying. You are breaking the social contract set forth for you, like failing to wear makeup or keep up with fashion.
It's not the politicizing of Black hair - the prohibition of "ethnic" hairstyles by school dress code (no shit, my school was guilty), the constant exposure to colorism, the push for women of color to approximate whiteness as much as possible. That's a totally different level. It's wrong.
But it's still worth looking at that our society pushes EVERYONE to be totally artificial. Your real hair is dirty and wrong and you have to do this and that and the other thing to make it right. If you don't make your hair smooth and straight and shiny, then you look unkempt. If you want texture or body, you must do it in the way the Powers That Be prescribe. It IS another ploy by the patriarchy to make sure we don't like anything about ourselves.
So the article is probably satire, and not the greatest of satires either. If you look hard enough, though, there's a little itty-bitty point in there. While it isn't anything to do with minority erasure, white approximation/normalization, the politicizing of bodies of color, or anything like that - those are huge issues and they need to be tackled like anything else, bites at a time. It's worth looking into, however, when you find little reminders about how insidious the patriarchy really is.
I'm probably going to catch shit for this entry. And I'm here, ready to tell you - that's precisely what the patriarchy wants. They WANT us to say "How dare you be upset about this when THAT is going on?" That's the kind of shutting-down fussing that keeps the patriarchy in power. I am not qualified to speak on the politicizing of Black hair, since I am not Black. But I'm pretty qualified to say "My hair is just fine the way it is, and I'm not going to buy into the Powers That Be telling me I need to do this, that, and the other thing to it." So, before you go off on me, take a good hard look - we can either fix problems, or we can keep pissing and swiping at each other. I'll back you and your decision to do whatever with your hair - it's yours, it's on your head, so do what you want! I encourage you to back others' personal grooming decisions, etc.
Marigold, sitting around with her hair up over the back of the couch, wishing you a happy Winds' Day.
Now, okay, I am not even going to start on the whole "black privilege" thing. White people trying to tell people of color to check their privilege (whole 'nother article) is just... ugh. Don't even get anybody started. The article was about hair, and I am in no way at all saying that white women's hair is so politicized as women of color, particularly Black women. But when I see commercials for hair products, I did see the little teeny tiny cereal crumbs of "I kinda see where they were trying to come from" that you can see if you squint real hard.
Look at the norms for hair promoted in these commercials. One, the models are overwhelmingly white. I'm honestly not sure I've ever seen a commercial specifically for hair products aimed at women of color, but that might have more to do with the fact that I watch Criminal Minds, River Monsters, and reruns of 90s cartoons pretty much overall. Two, the hair is one of two ways. 90 percent of the hair is straight. Products are out there to "repair" the damage done by blowdryers and flatirons - these claims are straight-up lies, since you cannot repair keratin. The 10 percent of hair that is shown to have any texture at all is hair that has been straightened, then curled in the most deliberate way humanly possible.
The message is that anyone's "natural" hair - any hint of the texture that actually grows out of your head, is somehow wrong. Naturally curly or wavy hair is considered messy, unkempt, or even dirty. In order to look like you're "supposed to", you have to buy all the gadgets to straighten it and all the products to smooth it. Then, and ONLY THEN, may you "curl" it. That, of course, requires more gadgets and more products. Following that message is the message that if you do not do these things, you are not trying. You are breaking the social contract set forth for you, like failing to wear makeup or keep up with fashion.
It's not the politicizing of Black hair - the prohibition of "ethnic" hairstyles by school dress code (no shit, my school was guilty), the constant exposure to colorism, the push for women of color to approximate whiteness as much as possible. That's a totally different level. It's wrong.
But it's still worth looking at that our society pushes EVERYONE to be totally artificial. Your real hair is dirty and wrong and you have to do this and that and the other thing to make it right. If you don't make your hair smooth and straight and shiny, then you look unkempt. If you want texture or body, you must do it in the way the Powers That Be prescribe. It IS another ploy by the patriarchy to make sure we don't like anything about ourselves.
So the article is probably satire, and not the greatest of satires either. If you look hard enough, though, there's a little itty-bitty point in there. While it isn't anything to do with minority erasure, white approximation/normalization, the politicizing of bodies of color, or anything like that - those are huge issues and they need to be tackled like anything else, bites at a time. It's worth looking into, however, when you find little reminders about how insidious the patriarchy really is.
I'm probably going to catch shit for this entry. And I'm here, ready to tell you - that's precisely what the patriarchy wants. They WANT us to say "How dare you be upset about this when THAT is going on?" That's the kind of shutting-down fussing that keeps the patriarchy in power. I am not qualified to speak on the politicizing of Black hair, since I am not Black. But I'm pretty qualified to say "My hair is just fine the way it is, and I'm not going to buy into the Powers That Be telling me I need to do this, that, and the other thing to it." So, before you go off on me, take a good hard look - we can either fix problems, or we can keep pissing and swiping at each other. I'll back you and your decision to do whatever with your hair - it's yours, it's on your head, so do what you want! I encourage you to back others' personal grooming decisions, etc.
Marigold, sitting around with her hair up over the back of the couch, wishing you a happy Winds' Day.
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