Dear Shea Moisture,
As a blogger, writer, influencer, consumer, and most importantly Black woman - I need to let you know something, straight up.
We ain't finna do this.
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| Nope. Image: Shea Moisture |
There is no way in hell I'm going to sit back and let you so cavalierly equate "hair hate" to what Black women have endured in this country since 1619.
You probably thought you were sending a message of unity, love, and "breaking down walls" with your newest little video featuring a mixed-ethnicity looking woman (I'm pretty sure she's an Instagram influencer - I've seen her face before, but the name escapes me), alongside three other white women.
The natural girl (we'll claim her in the name of the diaspora) shared stories about picking spitballs out of her hair, and having to learn how to fully embrace her texture and volume.
I'll save my side eyes, because the fact that your representation of Blackness came only in the form of mainstream acceptability is secondary only to the gross overrepresentation of white women and the equation of their "I don't know what to do with my hair today" lamentations to being told that what grows out of our scalp isn't professional, clean, or acceptable.
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| Image: Shea Moisture |
When I first reported on your investment relationship with Bain Capital, I tried to remain optimistic. And in some ways, I've seen the fruits of that partnership in your R&D, and the proliferation of so many new lines and products, I've given up keeping count.
But since then, you've been sliding down a slippery slope on social media - and I'm not the first person to notice. The first time we saw a shift in your marketing, it was jarring - but in some ways, we tried to be understanding of your desire to grow. We gave you a little leeway (but still a strong side eye), with the Breaking the Walls campaign. Besides, we all love Mahogany Curls and Nap85.
SheaMoisture is CANCELLED http://pic.twitter.com/T4Dru1JgAq— NANA JIBRIL 🌙🏳️🌈 (@girlswithtoys) April 24, 2017
Perhaps instead of seeing your shift as a desire to grow and supporting you tacitly, we should have sounded the alarm. Because it's looking a little less like you're trying to say "everybody gets love" - and more like you're abandoning the demographic that put you on the map, aka Black women.
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| How does one have "hair hate" when you are the literal standard of beauty in this country? HOW? Image: Shea Moisture |
Other bloggers may laugh and ki-ki with you, tag you in their pics to try and get chose, or altogether ignore this issue for fear of polarizing their followers.
I. Ain't. Them.
I'm going to tell you straight up, because my loyalties lie with the women you've begun to distance yourself from. My allegiance is to my darker-skinned, kinky-haired sistas who are constantly overlooked and disrespected after being milked for support by companies. And my coins to go the brands that consistently uplift, support, encourage, and prioritize Black women unashamedly.
As much as I want to believe that you've got the best interests of Black women at heart - I'm finding it increasingly difficult to understand how a self-proclaimed minority-owned and family-operated company with a Black man as CEO could be so abhorrently tone deaf and willfully blind.
At this point, it's not a misstep because you don't have Black people in the room to pull your coattails.
It's an intentional diss of Remy Ma proportions.
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| Hair hate is NOT the same as discrimination. Don't get it twisted. Image: Shea Moisture |
- Overrepresent white women
- Completely omit darker skin and kinky hair
- Equate one woman's insecurity over her red hair (and subsequently dyeing it blonde)
- Exaggerate another woman's confusion over how to style her hair
- MANAGE TO TRIVIALIZE AND WHITEWASH THE ENTIRE HISTORY OF BLACK WOMEN IN THIS COUNTRY AS IT RELATES TO THEIR HAIR?
...And not nobody, not one soul at Sundial raised a concern, or gave a side-eye in the creative briefing meeting?
Because we just gonna ignore the fact that the the army gave natural hair the full-blown "nah". And that it's fully legal to discriminate against natural hair in the workplace. I guess we should just forget about the little girls being threatened with expulsions, being assaulted by students and teachers - over wearing their natural hair.
Because everybody gets love, right?
Assault, discrimination, verbal abuse, and the psychological trauma of constantly having our images reinforced as the antithesis of beauty - that's the same as "hair hate", right Shea Moisture?
And by the way, #TeamNatural will ALWAYS be for Black women. #makenomistakes #noteverybodygetslove #andthatsok
But back to the matter at hand. I'm not mad that you want to appeal to more people. Get your coins. Hell, I'm not even mad about white women buying your products. I really don't care. Honestly, truly I don't. The problem comes when you begin to prioritize white women who (let's be honest) have entire stores, magazines, commercials, and billboards dedicated to meeting their beauty needs. Getting a section in Target, CVS, or Sally's dedicated to natural hair for Black women is only a fairly recent phenomenon.
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| Not a stock image. A screenshot from the video. Image: Shea Moisture |
BYE.
We ain't doing this. I tried to warn you before.
And because I'm about that proactive-speak-with-my-dollars-and-my-words life, I'm going to share with my followers a few brands that are:
- Outspoken about issues affecting the Black community domestically and globally
- Unashamed in their prioritization and valuing of Black women
- Committed to not changing their formulas to accommodate a wider diversity of hair types
Because everybody (else) getting love shouldn't come at my expense.
Signed,
Someone Who Ain't With Your (White) Nonsense
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Looking for Black owned brands to support? You're in the RIGHT PLACE! The Mane Objective has a loooooong history of supporting Black owned brands - before it became trendy or cool. Here's the 411:
The sales are off, but this is a DEEEEEP list of Black owned brands!
Let chat in the comment section about this one, fam. I welcome all sides and all opinions but I have one rule - keep it respectful. Leggoooooo!
Let chat in the comment section about this one, fam. I welcome all sides and all opinions but I have one rule - keep it respectful. Leggoooooo!
from The Mane Objective http://ift.tt/2oZjita
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