I really don’t understand what’s wrong in this. This isn’t blackface, it’s simply just a hairstyle. If this article talked about black girls having straight, blonde hair wouldn’t it be the same situation? Am I missing something here or am I just blind?
Lol. Seriously. And what about the long weaves made from oriental hair, then dyed red and blonde. You dont hear us complaining you stole our look. You know why? Because no one cares.
it took me my whole life until I turned 26 to appreciate mine because of all the anxiety about my hair that white society gifted me.
You don’t get to make it a trend when I’m still worried that my hair speaks louder than my accomplishments at my job interviews.
LOL I ‘d say that it’s alienation : they think that’s a choice, fashion, etc.. but all they want is look like white people deep down. It’s the same everywhere (Africa, Korea,etc..)
Oh, no, GKillingbeck. You said, “White people have made fun of our hair since they stole black folks and brought them over here”. All I meant was that your statement implies ALL white people. What I meant was only SOME white people feel that. I have never felt that way. I am a huge advocate for the BLM today and I march beside you and fight for POC and have all of my life. I am here because I am on YOUR side. I am very sorry you felt I was being disrespectful because that was never my intention.
Correct me if I’m wrong. The truth of the Afros I grew up with were no ringlets.
Yes we would braid our hair, but we would fork every curl wave or ringlet out.
It was more cotton like. Even my family that had 3c hair would fork it out spray and try and make it more cotton like.
Today I see more of a new Fro that has evolve from the Afro I know. They twist and make more of a wave type fro. So I think that this new fro is fair game.
What do you guys think?
Now when they make that hair turn like cotton candy and looking like a black panther now we talking. Until then. It’s just another style.
Making fun of your own hair and being ashamed of it is different. Making fun of your own hair and being oppressed enough to believe your hair isn’t beautiful is different. Have a good day.
The fact that you can’t even distinguish between cultural assimilation and cultural appropriation is why I can’t even take you seriously. Black women were told their hair isn’t beautiful, worthy of being in a professional environment or anywhere else. This is STILL going on. The fact that you are so blind to this shows me, you have no business commenting on black women’s hair. BYE.
No, it’s not just a hair style. No matter how hard people like you try, you cannot erase the historic context and cultural significance of Black hair. Please do us all a favor and go take a sociology course.
You see, we don’t have to go through all of those steps to get that iconic fro. Our hair has a spiral pattern. It’s the same pattern as whirlwinds and soundwaves and DNA. Our hair is meant to grow outward, not downward. When black hair is given proper care, it’s fluffy soft. Not only that, our hair is high-volume, high-definition. Our hair doesn’t hang down, it’s not limp, lifeless and flat, we’ll never need a volumizer, and you’ll never see a sister wearing a “bump-it” to get the illusion of voluminous hair. We don’t need it. We can take our hair from kinky to curly to wavy to straight and back to kinky again, if that’s our desire. Our hair can even defy gravity, and do so naturally. Others can’t
Yep this type of nonsense will never end. They’ll give a fake apology and turn around and do the same thing down the line. I personally just ignore at this point because I’ve had my limits. I understand if others want to speak out against it though.
Dyeing your hair blonde does not mean that you’re trying to mimic white hairstyles? There are black people in this world who have naturally blonde hair?? And we originally started straightening our hair in the past in order to assimilate into a culture unwilling to accept us??? But these white girls are forcing their hair into afros because it’s “trendy” and “exotic”????
As many times as I’ve seen people bring up points like this in conversations about black women’s hair, I still can’t believe there isn’t enough foresight to take note of how culture has shaped our hair.
It most certainly does. And does it really matter if some black women “shun” their natural Afro? That doesn’t take away from the fact that it’s what grows from their head, or that it is part of them culturally. Afro hair is generally unique to black people. While straight hair or loose and wavy curls are “unique” to the rest of the world. Furthermore, why do they run from their natural hair? Because society has told them their natural Afro hair is ugly, unkempt, dirty, and unattractive.
How ironic that Allure makes up for the lack of diversity in their magazine by blackening up white women with an African-American hairstyle that essentially epitomizes our struggle and oppression.
This is not a cultural exchange. This is not cultural assimilation. This is cultural appropriation.
White people have made laws that deny black women the right to wear their hair naturally. Black women are systematically fired, because Blackness. If you are Black, you are openly considered unprofessional and yes, downright filthy, if you have an Afro. You are hounded, you are threatened with flat-out expulsion from school. Black women can’t even wear their hair in its natural state in the military. Think about that: if a black woman wants a career in the military — if she is willing to die for her country — she has to straighten her hair, get a wig, get a weave, cut it off. Anything but an Afro.
Conversely, there are no laws against white women wearing their hair in its natural state — no matter how Afro-like they think their hair is. It just makes them more exotic, which is exactly what this article reinforces. Likening their hair to that of a farm animal or some wild beast — and by extension, the rest of who they are physically — isn’t a part of the lexicon of our collective culture. No one is telling them that the texture of their natural hair makes them inherently unattractive. They can do whatever they like — even if whatever they like is my Afro. And that is the very definition of white privilege.
LOL. Oh dear… I think a more appropriate & accurate article heading/title for this journalistic gem would’ve been “You’ve got the man, now get the hair!”
If they want to work so hard to achieve for a few hours what I get naturally with water, some coconut oil, and a hair pick then that’s on them. The humidity that eventually turns their “pseudo-fro” back to straight and limp, makes mine gloriously bigger. I can pick mine out high enough to hit to roof of the car when I drive – good luck on that one, “Buffy”. So what if they can imitate they can’t duplicate, so why worry?
I use to buy Vogue(British) religiously during the late 80’s and 90’s. I have since stopped buying them because I realised their material is directed at a specific audience and it isn’t anyone who looks remotely like me.
Vogue was the first magazine I ever read and felt like they went out of their way to exclude me. I used to buy a lot of magazines, but I literally only ever bought like 3 Vogues.
They haven’t just figured it out, they’ve been figuring it out for centuries, from the minute they set eyes on us and saw how we operated in our communities. You’ve heard of the French braid right? called so because our grandmothers would braid Europeans hair in this fashion and not because they invented it. It is interesting and frustrating at the same time because let’s face it they want the credit for everything, to go back in to history and see how much of our culture they have adopted in to theirs.
Braids in Europe existed well before colonialism. Did they originate in Africa? Well, everything else did, including white people, so… Probably. But there’s literally over a thousand years of known history on European braids.
Smh. My husband is also white and loves my natural fro. That doesn’t mean all whites embrace us. we’re still being hunted in the streets and abroad. I get stared and laughed at for my big fro ALL THE TIME. And we didn’t just just start self-hating, we were treated as beasts and sold like objects, with our Skin/hair used as the justification. Who would embrace their Blackness if it justifies your babies being killed and sold, being raped and used as breeders, being considered less than human. For u to shame Black women for speaking truth to power is gross, we already get it from the non-Black world. Sounds like self-hate on YOUR part, saying “African-Americans always have something to complain about.”
I do think the timing is kind of off with Ms. Dolezal’s story so fresh in our minds, and I also think they should have thrown something in about the fact that many black people have this hair naturally and they think it’s cool to kind of bring it together, but in some ways it’s kind of flattering. For a long time I felt like in the eyes of the general populace my beauty was beauty of my face minus weirdness of my hair. Lately I’ve seen TWAs, big afros, braids, locs, that without explanation are stunning, and I’ve been trying to wear my own looks confidently. I think this is textbook appropriation, but when we’re a minority it’s the closest to imitation/ flattery we’ll get. I’m going to fluff my *real* afro and take it as a compliment.
Not when nappy headed has been used as a derogatory term. It’s disrespectful. It’s saying, we can wear it and it’ll be considered high fashion. Black women have been wearing afros for years. The afro in the Black community has a deep importance and it can’t and shouldn’t be separated from that. Just like the hijab worn by Muslim women or the bindi in Hindu cultures should not be separated from their importance.
Yall this is just a replay of the 70s and 80s. White woman wanted to have big hair so they teased it and permed it and all of the above. Don’t let it agitate you. Let it roll right off. This too shall pass.
Wtv You can’t copy the thickness, and intricate texture of kinks coils and curls in black hair. you can’t copy hair that defies gravity and grows toward the sun. But, they can try…just like they are trying so hard to copy that glowing melanin with their tanning beds turning them orange. They try to copy our sexy lips with the stupid kylie jenner challenge, but their lips go right back to flat. Just let them do whatever.
Let the white women fry on her tanning bed, sucking on a plastic cup to get swollen lips, with expensive butt injections (ahem Kjenner- kardashian), just let them. …
It’s funny how black women are labeled as self hating when white women spend fortunes trying to copy everyone else features, they seem to be a little self-hating too. I think they find themselves so borring they feel like they have to copy and compete with others.
It’s disheartening to read comments like this where black women put down other women, of any race. It isn’t copying necessarily. Black women who dye their hair blonde aren’t trying to look or pass as white. Nor are the black women who relax and straighten their hair. The beautiful thing about hair is that we can do whatever we please with it, just as we can with our bodies, clothes, etc. Black women have many beautiful, desirable, and stunning features just as white, Asian, Hispanic, etc. women. It’s just a hair style.
Too sensitive, an afro is a hairstyle. There are so many tutorials out there on how to achieve bone-straight hair for ‘afro-textured’. Some women go against the grain to weave up their hair, spend exorbitant money to get pin straight hair from other ethnicities. This whole situation is ridiculous. Buy any black hair magazine within the last 10 years and you will see more hairstyles of pin straight, weaved-up/hair than those catering to ‘afro-textured hair’……..black women can wear hair and hairstyles from other cultures but get deeply offended with white women wear braids, bantu knots, locs and afro……..seriously!
there’s this thing called cultural appropriation that should help you understand this issue. Not to mention the centuries black women have been made to feel hideous for their hair texture which probably has something to do with why they may reject it, and which will also explain why its a slap in the face for things to be glorified on white women but demonized on black women. I’m sure straight haired women’s hair texture isn’t accused of being unprofessional and ugly so it’s frustrating when they can mock our hair texture without any of the repercussions we have that comes with our genetics and without any of the recognition that black women have made our hair texture beautiful to the masses. …..seriously…..
This is what happens when we treat natural hair like a trend or just another hairstyle. Other people will see the way we style our hair as the hot thing, copy it and drop it for the next fad. People in the mainstream don’t understand that it is not a style, this is our hair because a lot of black people don’t understand that Afro is not just another hairstyle.
Black ladies have dyed their hair blond and straightened their hair too. You think they should be told not to do that anymore after all that’s not their real hair color or naturally straight. Also, there are lots of Jews with kinky hair and wore a natural back in the day right along with the rest of us African Americans.
As my mother once said…there is nothing new under the sun. And Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, right?
Well, that’s just fantastic. Now when I don’t feel like dealing with the daily straightening process, instead of just “being really curly,” I’ll be silently judged as a cultural appropriator or some sad, trend-seeking white chick. Thanks, Allure!!!!
She’s here because a whole lot of white chicks LOVE to look at tips for Black hair. They love our hair products (they’re buying SheaMoisture off the shelves) and they want our hair! For hundreds of years they told us that our hair was ugly. They required our people to wear rags, scarves or whatever they can use to cover their hair. If they’re the so-called standard of beauty, why do they try to copy what we naturally have again and again??!
Getting an afro if your hair is straight means teasing and generally doing a lot of damage. Talk about a mass of knots when they try to comb it out later! It’s their hair and they can do whatever they want. Can’t be worse than the damage sistas do to their hair with relaxers and weaves.
Okay… and now you have to do it every single day for the rest of your life or people will laugh at you and call you “ugly” or will look in confusion at your naturally straight hair and ask you what’s “wrong” with it.
WHAT? People ask you what’s wrong with your natural hair? Shame on them. I’ve never seen it happen but I would punch them in the face. HATERS BACK OFF! How are natural afros ugly? I actually think they are beautiful, and that’s coming from a white woman. If I was african, I would TOTALLY rock an afro. Unfortunately it’s not that easy when you’re caucasian 🙁
Okay, for the Afro, I’m awarding this to the side of appropriation. I can see it, you can see it, let’s call a spade a spade. Honestly, I don’t even like the term JewFro, because of what it implies, but, well, that’s not my call on outrage, since I’m not black. I personally think they should have given this a different name, acknowledged the significance of the Afro for the black community in a non-patronizing way, and moved on. However, the problem I find on the hair debacle is braids. Those really are a thing that transcend geographic and ethnic boundaries. You won’t really find a land where there isn’t at least some history of braiding as a social or fashion related tradition, especially once you get into clothing ornamentation. I can also see the argument for dreadlocks not being cultural appropriation since, well, they do also have a history in Scandinavia.
They talk about us but at the same time want to be us #blackgirlsrock #whitegirlsknowit. Let them try to rock an AFRO (?) it’ll be something for them that last for maybe twenty seconds #unbothered #wedoitbetter
Tired of white women in general. They’ll likely treat it as a fad anyway. You really think they’ll give up the beach waves and pin straight hair that their men prefer? Nah.
That is exactly how I feel about this. Nothing else needs to be said. Of course we can share culture and enjoy each other’s differences! Yet, don’t turn around and be racist to blacks and bar them from advancement and even kill them in certain instances.
Right! I’ve never seen someone make fun of afros, but if I did it would piss me off. How could you make fun of someone’s natural hair? Sometimes I’m saddened by how hateful some people of my race (white) are. Although I’m pretty sure most people who follow this tutorial love natural afros as well, or else why would they want to imitate it?
Women of color do that look because society tells them they have to and that it’s beautiful and normal (google Beautiful Hair and see how many afros you find). It’s assimilation, a survival tactic, not a fashion statement, per se. It’s a demonstration of power dynamics when people are deem unemployable for having natural hair, but straight hair is seen as kept and neat.
But naturally straight hair doesn’t belong to them there are arabics, Hispanic, and let’s not forget the Chinese and Japenese who have naturally straight hair. And I have seen blacks people with naturally straight hair- typically African, but still. Afros belong to the black community as the word derives from the word Africa. And hair is one of the few things blacks have in their culture to ourselves. Our bodies, our facial features, the way we typical do or say things are constantly being taken. It’s annoying.
As a Latina (BTW Hispanic refers to a certain cultural demographic heavily related to Spain, leaving out Brazil), most of us with naturally straight hair have some serious European ancestry. Honestly, the majority of our (my family specifically came from Mexico) native cultures were completely destroyed y the Conquiatadores and what most people think of as traditional Latino culture is actually far more European than anything else, even our language.
that’s if you look at it that way. no one can take your body from you. no one can take your style from you. no one can take your hair from you. they can tell you its not pretty, but they can’t take it from you. they can copy it and call themselves pretty, but you still own it. and as long as you OWN IT, it’s yours to keep. I think it’s more important that black women own their hair than bringing white women down for appreciating or imitating it.
Next they will claim they created afros like they did with cornrows then they will start wearing curly afros are doing their hair in a way to achieve that as a trend. So tired of white people loving our culture and stealing it but don’t give a fuck about our lives and the struggle we go through .
Annoying and predictable. We started wearing straighter styles because, according to them, afro styles made us look unkempt and unemployable. Now we’ve embraced it and here they come. I wish whites would just get off our backs already. I don’t think their immitation is flattering. Any black woman who thinks so is very shortsighted. Blacks never benefit from appropriation. Whites always want what they don’t have and will do anything to get it, including (attempts) to weaken other cultures.Thievery at its best (or worse). No props here.
Imitation is the best form of flattery…you can’t stop it from happening… at the end of the day, we as black women just have to love ourselves and OWN our beauty…don’t make excuses for why we can and can’t wear our hair how we want to then complain about cultural appropriation when the white women appreciate it for us…
This is when someone black will think its “ok” to NOW embrace #teamnatural. Someone black who’s been holding out forever will NOW be inspired by an Allure magazine article. Oh, the irony. I can’t watch. Oh, and let’s not doubt that the whole “white girls do afros BETTER” narrative is soon on the way. Get ready.
….oh em geeee….AND the “brothers” that have been against it will NOW “see the light”. This could get ugly, y’all.
They will go in hard then move on from this quickly. White people go over the top with every “trend” they set their sights on then like a herd of sheep they all scuttle off to the next thing. I can see them all doing this for five minutes then they will all start saying black women who continue to wear their natual hair are behind the times. They actually already did this a couple decades back with the permanent. Then they decided it was unprofessional and that black people needed to follow suit with straightening and low cuts. Let’s just not this time. Also, by definition that is not an Afro, but whatever.
Isn’t this similar to women of color achieving a sleek straight look? I don’t think this is a terrible thing. I think it only become problematic when a culture is being exploited or credit is not being given where it is necessary. If someone wants an Afro let them! This is getting petty
i think you have it wrong its black people that don’t appreciate their own hair, their own skin, white people appreciate it. how many of us with long natural hair get stopped and asked if they can touch it. my husband is white and i became natural because he loved my natural hair, and i didnt and im the statistic and example of every other black girl out there who grew up hating 4c hair. if not then im the exception , but i think you are taking this post out of context and making it malicious when its not. but hey do you
You don’t speak for every black woman and you certainly don’t speak for every white man as I can assure you the majority of white men wouldn’t even look at a black woman.
The interesting thing will be how many black women will abandon their silky straight weave to rock their natural fro just because it’s embraced by mainstream now..
I really see the curly hair, not an afro. It’s like Vogue dubbing North West the inspiration for natural hair! Very one sided! This is the reason why I don’t read magazines like Glamour, Vogue or Allure…in fact I haven’t read them in over 2 years…
I haven’t read them in a while either. Even the wording from the title of the article:
You (Yes, You) Can Have an Afro
If someone needed proof that the magazine isn’t intended for their consumption- there it is! I don’t recall articles that speak directly to black women in magazines like that. Boycotting feels so powerful and it’s easier than ever because there are so many brands that DO cater to/acknowledge us.
For hundreds of years we’ve been told we’re ugly black monkeys. We’ve lightened our hair and skin in an attempt to be seen as beautiful, because mainstream media and culture has just began to figure it out. Now that black women as a whole are beginning to see that we’ve been beautiful all along the fashion industry wants to take what makes us us and sell it to the world and call it this season new must have. Everything from full lips, bust and backsides. Tanning. Our colloquialisms. And now our hair. Rock it if you dare, but pause and acknowledge that a black woman did it first and give credit where credit is due.
Amen, I know. The Dr. Rachel from the Doctors wears blonde weave, Nene weaves are always blonde weave, Tamar wears blonde weave/wigs etc…they do not look good.
I don’t think any person can sit here and deny that black women don’t own the Afro. That’s exactly why that gigantic asterisk is next to the word Afro. Since we are all reading the article with additional assumptions, it’s also safe to assume that the straight haired girl that try’s this style will either love and appreciate the hassle or hate the hassle or even the look then continue to wear it straight or wavy.
I think it’s great to express yourself thoroughly especially with Internet gangs ready to slay, but it’s also great to take a step back and understand the reasoning and perhaps allow the heart to accept the ‘bazaar’.
P.S. I’m guilty of following these steps on my 4C hair to get definition with the exception of flat twisting instead of using ‘cotton strips’.
Was alive in the 70s. (head tilt) It is cultural appropriation if the term “afro” is used. It is cultural appropriation if no mention of the origin or the impetus to even want an afro is mentioned. It did not headline or subhead with “Want hair like the black girls?!” It and the writer didn’t have the good or decent sense to include women of different ethnicities as its focus, because some of us can’t do an afro naturally. I’m not ourtraged, I’m not even offended. I’m just continuing with what I know…pursed lips and rolling eyes and dismissive hand wave. I love what we do and have done and will continue to do. Love BGLH! <3
Well who are they appropriating straight hair from? Unlike the Afro, straight hair is a quality of basically every other race. There are Asians, whites, native Americans, etc and they all have straight hair. Aside from that, straight hair has literally 0 cultural significance to their culture as a whole.
People should be able to do whatever they want with their hair and bodies (for the most part). I would honestly have no problem with this, if it weren’t for the fact that they’re, once again, taking a feature we’ve always been persecuted or alternatively dismissed for having, and reinventing it for themselves to make it fashionable.
They also have a tendency to claim that since some White people are capable of having very curly hair (or bigger lips, rounder bottoms, etc.) naturally, it’s not imitation of Black/another ethnicity’s features. While at the same time, they don’t afford others the same reasoning.
Straight hair on Black people? “You guys copy our hair too!!” Yep, because that’s never naturally occurring, and/or has nothing to do with forced cultural assimilation in the US. (I can only speak for the US)
Asians using skin lightening creams, eyelid surgery, etc.? “They’re trying to look White!!” Of course, because there are absolutely no Asians with naturally ‘white’ skin, and ‘larger looking’ eyes whose features they are trying to mimic. Nope. Never.
To be fair, for certain situations, it literally IS about looking white. In South Korea, for example, when describing to a plastic surgeon what they want done to their eyes, it’s not uncommon to head “westernization” with complete disregard for the fact that there are certain Native American tribes with similar eyes to those found in Asia, and many Asian Americans.
Ok, the REAL problem with this article is NOT that a white person is doing something to their straight hair to “look different because they like it”. The problem is that they called it an Afro. We ALL know where the term “Afro” comes from. If your hair can’t make an afro naturally then it’s NOT an afro.
It’s just not.
But for those of you that think it’s a term only used for a hairstyle, here’s a very summed up history: it’s short for things/people/places relating to or from Africa. Hence why some people say “Afro-American” or “Afro-Latina” etc.
This would be different if they were showing straight haired people how to get big hair, big curls or how to create texture for normally straight hair but this is literally them saying “Hey this is how you make you hair look “Black!” That’s why they used the term Afro and not curls, bigger or voluminous hair. They know how someone else’s culture can be “exotic” and “trendy” so that’s the term they used. If you can’t see that, you need to take a closer look. Even if people are unknowingly ignorant of cultural appropriation/racism, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t explain why what they’re doing is wrong or harmful.
That’s not an Afro.
History: An Afro is a ‘well-defined coiffed natural hair style’, i.e. Angela Davis, Shaft, Florida frm Good Times tv show, etc. The Afro became prominent in the late 60s along with the Nation of Islam, Black Pride, Black Power, and the Black Panthers.
What the Allure article is trying to perpetrate is a ‘twist -out’ natural hair style; which on the model looks a hot mess! And a rag set! Please! They had to reach back to the 1800s for this stupidity!
..unless, of course, that was their aim and subterfuge: to subliminally infer and project
our natural hair styles as unkempt and messy.
…umm, Ladies, makes you wanna place your index finger to your temple and go ‘aah hah’…
So boring. Such a need to tap into the supposed counterculture and be cool. Such a double standard regarding what is acceptable for hair. So many times we’re scrubbed out of the backstory and criticized for wanting to be included. This is boring.
Per the traditional definition (ca. 1966), yes, that is an Afro (what was also called “a natural” back then). Only difference between now and the 1970s (which was when the Afro became less of a political statement and more of a fashion statement) was back then white folks used Toni perms to get the look.
IMO it’s not cultural appropriation if the article is merely giving tips on how to get an Afro. If the article said something along the lines of “[insert young white celebrity here] is leading the way in the hottest new hair trend” then it’s starting to smell like appropriation (or, perhaps, “Columbusing”). If the article quoted a white hairstylist who claimed to have invented the style, THEN we’re talking appropriation.
They may be trolling with this article, but if that’s the case, please let’s ignore the troll…
I wonder if you guys would have had an issue with this in the 80’s when white folks had bad ass perms and fros(some natural) Google 80’s perms. It was a good time.
I’m starting to believe the writers here only sit around waiting for something to be outraged about. So what if a white girl wants an afro? If anyone ever asked me why I wear my hair straight I’d tell them it’s just hair and I suspect it’s the same for them. Afros look good and I’m sure black people don’t own any one hairstyle. Just calm down, everything isn’t a plot against black women.
You have missed the point drastically. When you straighten your hair, you never shamed white people for having naturally straight hair. You didn’t shame them for their features. You didn’t even think about it.
A few things… We don’t have to ‘sit and wait’ for anything. Black women being copied by women of other cultures happens all the time and has been happening for decades and will continue to happen for the foreseeable future. It’s a cultural constant at this point. Also we pointed out that it is copying (which it is) but we never said it was a ‘plot against black women’. That is for readers to debate and discuss. Trust, if we had an issue with this we would have spoken on it. As for me, personally, white women can copy anything they want that I do, say or wear. All I ask in return is that black women be regarded culturally as the style taste makers they are and always have been.
I understand the desire to clarify intent, especially when you work hard at your job. I’ve worked in journalism myself, however, as a website, unless there is a factual error, comenting on commenters is not a good idea. It makes “you” not the specific person who typed the response but the driven, talented, and intelligent people who work on this site seem defensive and petty- which we all know you are not. There will be enough people in the comments section to fight the battle for you. ?
who can’t see.. clear as glass… that for CENTURIES.. everything associated with being black..was deemed.. ugly…. or GHETTO.. .. not just by.. pink people.. but by black people.. too..
the body.. the features.. the skin color.. the hair.. EVERYTHING… and now.. look and see… when somebody of a pinkish hue.. comes.. and copies.. imitates.. etcetera… it all becomes.. cool… fashionable.. in style.. a must have..
and i am so ssssSick of people going.. well blacks get blonde hair.. and perms… fyi.. pink people go get blonde hair and perms too….!.. .
they are not all born with the hair color… of a golden retriever.. . or straight hair either..
just like not all the black people are born with curly hair.. or brown.. black hair!.. there are like 20 billion +++ people in this world..
and people want to come ..like everybody look the same..
if pink people can be born.. with different skin and eye color.. hair textures..
then why should the… black people case be different?..
That’s right blackgirllonghair I guess they missing the point or just don’t know better…. I totally Agree. Whites will AND HAS always copied our style looks and then will lie about it They have know identity nor culture..
yes, you hit the nail on the head. don’t so much have a problem with any woman copying us it’s the constant media reminders that supposedly we’re not as beautiful as everyone else.
To simplify what I’m saying, it’s a trend much like many other trends that have come and gone. All trends originated somewhere and it’s very rare that anyone takes the time to mention said origins. Those people that do find anything black to be ugly will probably stay away. Those that find beauty in black people will probably embrace it. IMO it’s just not that serious but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t understand your point of view.
I agree with you. I think they sit around waiting for things to happen too. Everything they post is a debate, an argument or something wrong with a white person achieving something as simple as a STYLE! It’s only hair!
But you would get denied a job due to your natural hair, could a white girl say the same? White people have this desire to be oppressed, they want to escape the reality of being an oppressor, white fragility, look it up. At the end of the day, our culture is NOT a costume. It’s a shame when you have to explain this to your own people. -_- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uphTBnSV-Ic
How many Black women have bwen denied jobs based on having natural hair? Where are the #s? Has an employer ever told you or anyone you know that the reason passing them over is natural hair? People see your skin color before they see yoyr hair. And, if you a made up, Afrocentric oor creatively spelled name, they’ve already tagged you as black from reading your job app or resume. Let’s stop being ignorant.
Just because you’ve never had that experience or never heard of it don’t call someone ignorant that makes you sound ignorant. I’m obviously much older than you and you’re probably not black so that statement seem foreign to you, but it’s part of american history believe it, one of the reason we black people start wearing the afro in the 60’s and 70’s because we wanted to stop being force by white society to simulate, and so we try to break free by going natural…but the drawback was if you tried to get a job in white companies you wouldn’t get hired so we would straighten our hair or wear wigs (that’s was what most did) and on the weekend we wear our afros…look at old movies with black actors and they all had their hair conked ( name of straightening style and then the name of lye relaxer) if they didn’t they couldn’t get work simulation had to be done to make whites comfortable with having black people around them. And again the afrocentric names was another way to not have to simulate whites. There I just gave you some american history you’ve never heard of in your white history books.
First of all, I didn’t reply to you, I replied to someone who used conjecture about blacks not getting jobs based on our hair. Yes, I am Black & I certainly don’t need a lesson in Black history from you, but thanks nonetheless.
It is ignorant for us to whine and complain about every insignificant thing that white folk say or do. It’s ignorant to base your beliefs on unproven, regurgitated information that you heard & then make generalizations based on that information.
We are discriminated against bc of our color, hair is just an offshoot of that. Was Sandra Bland arrested & mistreated because she didn’t have straight hair? What about the 9 ppl murdered in the Charleston church? We are discriminated against due to race & sex FIRST AND FOREMOST. In 2015, we shouldn’t still be talking about hair!
I had a Black CEO ask me “So, what r u going to do with your hair?” As though it wasn’t already done. I know plenty Black women who feel pressured to straighten for the workplace and not wear styles that are Black, ie: braids, twists, Afros.. Not to mention natural Black hair being banned from the army to private schools..the little girl who cried in an interview after she was suspended for having locs, sobbing “they didn’t like my hair.” We have never been embraced but copied, and even what is trendy for white women is STILL unacceptable for Blacks. Black women have endured MUCH hate that is painful behind our hair. Read Toni Morrison’s “The Bluest Eye.”
it has been a problem, women in general getting dress codes working — for example — in a law office and braids appearing on the “don’ts” list. The thing that bugs me reading all these comments is that now that white people are actively acknowledging how beautiful black hair is, they get backlash just the same. It’s enough to make anyone not even bother touching on the subject. This backlash is a good thing? How?
Every.single.time. It never freaking fails. They shame us for our hair, violate us and steal everything. Can we not have anything? Now because white people want to do it, it’s cute and trendy? This is disgusting.
You missed a very big part of her statement to get what she’s saying. Read this again: ” They shame us for our hair, violate us and steal everything.” If you can understand that first sentence, then you’ll see the answer for the difference.
Except Blacks never shamed white people because of their hair texture like white people did to black people for centuries. That is the difference. But if white people want to know the amazingness of Afros I say let them as long as they give credit where it’s due.
Mixed feelings. There are a lot of white people whose hair naturally looks like this. I can’t knock them if they decide to stop straightening and wear their hair as it grows out of their heads the way I did. It can’t be appropriation if they wear there hair as it is. Also this in the white people speak an afro. They usually call it Jewfro but maybe that’s not pc these days.
Jews call it a Jewfro… If they’re not Jewish, they shouldn’t use the term, but thank you for acknowledging that PLENTY of “white” (though even Ashkenazi Jews are typically at best half “white”, but that’s an entirely different topic, if relevant to why the kinky hair is a common feature) women have kinky hair naturally, and often face issues in the workplace when they don’t straighten or acquiesce to patriarchal standards of “professionalism”.
No different to what white women and the Japanese were doing to their hair in the 80’s. Europeans must suffer the most inferiority complexes since they are the biggest imitators.
So many of us still straighten our hair, pull back our edges, etc….we do things to our natural hair to make it more “palatable.” Go into ANY black beauty store (almost never owned by blacks..go figure). 99% of the products they sell are for US to make our hair look less black. It is slowly changing, but we have accepted their standard of beauty for SO long that it amazes me that anyone can really be pissed when they “take” ours. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery in some cases. Many black women who have embraced their natural hair have made some people envious of our crowns. I say let them try. They have been trying everything we do. From our lips to our asses, we have been imitated. Now it is time for us to call them out on it, but in a nice way. We have no reason to be angry about it. I always remember when the entire country made a big deal about Jennifer Lopez’s ass. Y’all remember that? Like she was the first woman in America to sport some booty….when Angela Bassett had and still does have a much better backside…and countless others. Now every white woman is going to their local surgeon to plump up their rumps. This isn’t new by the way…in the 70s white women permed their hair into infinity to achieve an Angela Davis ‘fro. We will always be copied. Maybe we should work on capitalizing on our beauty instead of getting offended that someone wants to add some soul to their glow 😉
“Now every white woman is going to their local surgeon to plump up their rumps”. (Not every white woman). “We will always be copied. Maybe we should work on capitalizing on our beauty instead of getting offended that someone wants to add some soul to their glow 😉 I agree, Suga Lion; why not be flattered? I don’t know any blacks or people of color who want to be white the same way I do not know any whites that want to be black. Hair is what it is. I have curly hair I wish was straight and I also wish it was not blonde sometimes, same as a sister who wants straight, light colored hair on ocassion. Its all about our making up our minds how we want our hair to look this month or this year; no woman is wishing they were another race or color. People of color DO set a lot of standards in style & in music – a lot of people try to emulate that. What’s wrong with that? Why not be proud of that? Black women have all the power in the US. They lead the nation in being the most educated and also lead the US in voting power. Please don’t let a few nasty white girls ruin it for you. http://shine.forharriet.com/2014/03/black-women-are-most-educated-group-in.html#axzz3hh5DlR39
I was thinking about this when I read this BGLH article and at first I thought the same thing you said but then I had to rethink it. I disagree with your statement about only being upset when they “take ours”. The problem is double standards. There are already testaments that Black women have been told that their natural hair will get them fired from work. Heck, the U.S. armed forces banned natural hair styles that are meant to protect and provide low maintenance. I’ve never heard that from a white woman. In fact, I’ve seen them roll into work and class with sopping wet hair and no ones says anything. We relaxed our hair so that we could look “presentable” which translated into economic benefits. If we looked “whiter”, assimilated aesthetically, then we could possible see similar success (education, finances, rights, privileges, etc.) or just be treated like humans. What do white women lose from wearing an afro? Nothing. What do Black women lose from wearing one? A job, a right to not be a petting zoo, or be seen as militant.
When was the last time Allure magazine featured a women/model with an afro that was of African descent and genuinely inquired of and admired her hair? Allure’s article is random and it comes on the heels on Rachel Dolezal. That’s why this smells so fishy to me.
i feel like the atmosphere you described is changing and instead of fighting articles like this maybe it’s good to step back and observe what happens.. if the problem has been white people rejecting black hair, if white people reconsider and present afros to white women -and black women who were also conditioned to view their hair as lesser- as something beautiful then why fight this change in the air?
I wouldn’t call what black women have been doing “accepting”. It’s been much more like “their way or the hwy”. At work, black men in our lives, at church, at school, etc. A thriving INDUSTRY was built on our so-called “acceptance” aka “insecurity coverups”. And TRUST, if their had been surgery trends to get RID of big lips and big butts, some of us would’ve considered it, no differently than the decision to pick up a jar of skin-lightening cream to get to THE WHITE STANDARD of beautiful brown, olive, tan skin, aka “white girls do brown skin better”. Kim K and JLo made big lips and big butts ok, not us. Black women are right where they always were on the beauty scale: admired on the DL.
White women can’t have Afro if they don’t have Afro textured hair. Curling your hair and then making it wild doesn’t equate to it being an Afro. What is wrong with these people?
I don’t see anything wrong with sharing how to achieve this
look. It’s a beautiful look that can be carried by most women. I’ve seen White and Asian women and men with afros, and it looks stunning.
**Missing the point**. It has absolutely nothing to do with the style of hair, and everything to with the history of persecution perpetrated and perpetuated NY white people. Now they are of course going to try and appropriate it. It’s a no for us but a chic go for them. Not having it!
Sherry, I see what you’re trying to do. I just hope when topics come up on non-black targeted forums and whites people are saying “black people” this and that you also keep saying “some” like you are doing here. I can’t tell your angle on this so I will say this: a person who cares or supports our experience wouldn’t keep tone policing people on a forum meant for them and would allow us space to vent frustrations/valid concerns even if it makes *you* feel uncomfortable.
Good point. So often I come across racist or clueless White people who make sweeping negative comments about Blacks. Hope Sherry and her ilk are emphasizing “not all” Black people when they come across such comments.
Except that isn’t an afro. That’s just a head full of curly ringlets.
Also, there are MANY white women who have hair that is in the 3b/c category. A lot of white girls literally flat iron almost every day because it’s not usually seen as beautiful to them when your curls are too tight. Anyone with curls can get “the afro look” if they brush their hair.
Wow you just totally missed the point. White people have made fun of our hair since they stole black folks and brought them over here. Afros are considered wild and unprofessional. Now because white people want to do it, it’s trendy.
So that’s what made you comment? To protect whiteness. Im going to keep my comment the way it is, so much is going on with this article and you commented to make sure white people’s feeling aren’t being hurt so you decided to step in with “some”. bye
I think you are underestimating how much black women have redefined beauty, in everyday life and pop culture. White girls who want this look know it’s called an afro, and I can’t think of a single white actress or model with an afro yet; it is not yet a white style. Perhaps it’s annoying that now white girls get to have this too, but white girl hatred of their own curly hair is a form of racism and I’m glad it might be ending.
I didn’t say it was a “white style” . What I am saying is, it’s not right to spend centuries until PRESENT to make a race of people feel like crap about their own hair to the point where they have alot of black women SO programmed that they relax their children’s hair as young as 3 to 4 years old and some women don’t even know what texture their natural hair is…. and then be like “Oh here is a way to have an afro to look trendy”
At the end of the day, they get called trendy, fashionable and earthy, and we are told something way different!
U can’t argue with the mis-educated and uninformed. They got us drinking the Kumbaya Kool Aid while they steal our sh** and march us off to slaughter- let the sheep go first.
i think you have it wrong its africans that make fun of their own hair its white people that accept the afro. i beg to differ with your comment and this post in general. if someone wants to make their hair look like an afro, then so be it, its appreciation its not an insult but i tend to think african americans always have something to complain about even when its in your favour , so whatever
Well let me tell you something, as a young girl who often wore an afro, the only people who ridiculed my hairstyle were white people and most white people do not even like the kinks in their hair never mind a big ass afro.. The magazine is promoting a trend which they hope their followers will latch onto. This is how the fashion and beauty industries make their money.
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Black Girl With Long Hair
172 Responses
NEWSFLASH! Now they’ve hijacked the 2-strand twists and call it “The rope trick”. It doesn’t stop with these people!
I really don’t understand what’s wrong in this. This isn’t blackface, it’s simply just a hairstyle. If this article talked about black girls having straight, blonde hair wouldn’t it be the same situation? Am I missing something here or am I just blind?
Lol. Seriously. And what about the long weaves made from oriental hair, then dyed red and blonde. You dont hear us complaining you stole our look. You know why? Because no one cares.
omg no.
it took me my whole life until I turned 26 to appreciate mine because of all the anxiety about my hair that white society gifted me.
You don’t get to make it a trend when I’m still worried that my hair speaks louder than my accomplishments at my job interviews.
LOL I ‘d say that it’s alienation : they think that’s a choice, fashion, etc.. but all they want is look like white people deep down. It’s the same everywhere (Africa, Korea,etc..)
Oh, no, GKillingbeck. You said, “White people have made fun of our hair since they stole black folks and brought them over here”. All I meant was that your statement implies ALL white people. What I meant was only SOME white people feel that. I have never felt that way. I am a huge advocate for the BLM today and I march beside you and fight for POC and have all of my life. I am here because I am on YOUR side. I am very sorry you felt I was being disrespectful because that was never my intention.
Smh. Another thing white girls want to steal from us..
I see nothing wrong with it.
Correct me if I’m wrong. The truth of the Afros I grew up with were no ringlets.
Yes we would braid our hair, but we would fork every curl wave or ringlet out.
It was more cotton like. Even my family that had 3c hair would fork it out spray and try and make it more cotton like.
Today I see more of a new Fro that has evolve from the Afro I know. They twist and make more of a wave type fro. So I think that this new fro is fair game.
What do you guys think?
Now when they make that hair turn like cotton candy and looking like a black panther now we talking. Until then. It’s just another style.
Black women are into moisturizing their hair more than the cotton days.
Making fun of your own hair and being ashamed of it is different. Making fun of your own hair and being oppressed enough to believe your hair isn’t beautiful is different. Have a good day.
The fact that you can’t even distinguish between cultural assimilation and cultural appropriation is why I can’t even take you seriously. Black women were told their hair isn’t beautiful, worthy of being in a professional environment or anywhere else. This is STILL going on. The fact that you are so blind to this shows me, you have no business commenting on black women’s hair. BYE.
No, it’s not just a hair style. No matter how hard people like you try, you cannot erase the historic context and cultural significance of Black hair. Please do us all a favor and go take a sociology course.
You see, we don’t have to go through all of those steps to get that iconic fro. Our hair has a spiral pattern. It’s the same pattern as whirlwinds and soundwaves and DNA. Our hair is meant to grow outward, not downward. When black hair is given proper care, it’s fluffy soft. Not only that, our hair is high-volume, high-definition. Our hair doesn’t hang down, it’s not limp, lifeless and flat, we’ll never need a volumizer, and you’ll never see a sister wearing a “bump-it” to get the illusion of voluminous hair. We don’t need it. We can take our hair from kinky to curly to wavy to straight and back to kinky again, if that’s our desire. Our hair can even defy gravity, and do so naturally. Others can’t
Yep this type of nonsense will never end. They’ll give a fake apology and turn around and do the same thing down the line. I personally just ignore at this point because I’ve had my limits. I understand if others want to speak out against it though.
That would be assimilation
BOOM. Best response ever.
Dyeing your hair blonde does not mean that you’re trying to mimic white hairstyles? There are black people in this world who have naturally blonde hair?? And we originally started straightening our hair in the past in order to assimilate into a culture unwilling to accept us??? But these white girls are forcing their hair into afros because it’s “trendy” and “exotic”????
As many times as I’ve seen people bring up points like this in conversations about black women’s hair, I still can’t believe there isn’t enough foresight to take note of how culture has shaped our hair.
Thank you for saying that.
To play Devil’s advocate, is it cultural appropriation for African American women to get blond weaves?
“Yes, you can have an Afro!”
Wait, that doesn’t mean you should…. ???
It most certainly does. And does it really matter if some black women “shun” their natural Afro? That doesn’t take away from the fact that it’s what grows from their head, or that it is part of them culturally. Afro hair is generally unique to black people. While straight hair or loose and wavy curls are “unique” to the rest of the world. Furthermore, why do they run from their natural hair? Because society has told them their natural Afro hair is ugly, unkempt, dirty, and unattractive.
MOST WHITE PEOPLE
so many uncle toms in these comments
why are you even on this site, this is a site for black women
How ironic that Allure makes up for the lack of diversity in their magazine by blackening up white women with an African-American hairstyle that essentially epitomizes our struggle and oppression.
This is not a cultural exchange. This is not cultural assimilation. This is cultural appropriation.
White people have made laws that deny black women the right to wear their hair naturally. Black women are systematically fired, because Blackness. If you are Black, you are openly considered unprofessional and yes, downright filthy, if you have an Afro. You are hounded, you are threatened with flat-out expulsion from school. Black women can’t even wear their hair in its natural state in the military. Think about that: if a black woman wants a career in the military — if she is willing to die for her country — she has to straighten her hair, get a wig, get a weave, cut it off. Anything but an Afro.
Conversely, there are no laws against white women wearing their hair in its natural state — no matter how Afro-like they think their hair is. It just makes them more exotic, which is exactly what this article reinforces. Likening their hair to that of a farm animal or some wild beast — and by extension, the rest of who they are physically — isn’t a part of the lexicon of our collective culture. No one is telling them that the texture of their natural hair makes them inherently unattractive. They can do whatever they like — even if whatever they like is my Afro. And that is the very definition of white privilege.
Who is responsible for this hot mess?
Read more here — http://kudzumonamour.blogspot.com/2015/08/cultural-appropriation-101-allure-says.html
LOL. Oh dear… I think a more appropriate & accurate article heading/title for this journalistic gem would’ve been “You’ve got the man, now get the hair!”
If they want to work so hard to achieve for a few hours what I get naturally with water, some coconut oil, and a hair pick then that’s on them. The humidity that eventually turns their “pseudo-fro” back to straight and limp, makes mine gloriously bigger. I can pick mine out high enough to hit to roof of the car when I drive – good luck on that one, “Buffy”. So what if they can imitate they can’t duplicate, so why worry?
I use to buy Vogue(British) religiously during the late 80’s and 90’s. I have since stopped buying them because I realised their material is directed at a specific audience and it isn’t anyone who looks remotely like me.
Vogue was the first magazine I ever read and felt like they went out of their way to exclude me. I used to buy a lot of magazines, but I literally only ever bought like 3 Vogues.
They haven’t just figured it out, they’ve been figuring it out for centuries, from the minute they set eyes on us and saw how we operated in our communities. You’ve heard of the French braid right? called so because our grandmothers would braid Europeans hair in this fashion and not because they invented it. It is interesting and frustrating at the same time because let’s face it they want the credit for everything, to go back in to history and see how much of our culture they have adopted in to theirs.
Braids in Europe existed well before colonialism. Did they originate in Africa? Well, everything else did, including white people, so… Probably. But there’s literally over a thousand years of known history on European braids.
?false they originated from africa
Smh. My husband is also white and loves my natural fro. That doesn’t mean all whites embrace us. we’re still being hunted in the streets and abroad. I get stared and laughed at for my big fro ALL THE TIME. And we didn’t just just start self-hating, we were treated as beasts and sold like objects, with our Skin/hair used as the justification. Who would embrace their Blackness if it justifies your babies being killed and sold, being raped and used as breeders, being considered less than human. For u to shame Black women for speaking truth to power is gross, we already get it from the non-Black world. Sounds like self-hate on YOUR part, saying “African-Americans always have something to complain about.”
I do think the timing is kind of off with Ms. Dolezal’s story so fresh in our minds, and I also think they should have thrown something in about the fact that many black people have this hair naturally and they think it’s cool to kind of bring it together, but in some ways it’s kind of flattering. For a long time I felt like in the eyes of the general populace my beauty was beauty of my face minus weirdness of my hair. Lately I’ve seen TWAs, big afros, braids, locs, that without explanation are stunning, and I’ve been trying to wear my own looks confidently. I think this is textbook appropriation, but when we’re a minority it’s the closest to imitation/ flattery we’ll get. I’m going to fluff my *real* afro and take it as a compliment.
Not when nappy headed has been used as a derogatory term. It’s disrespectful. It’s saying, we can wear it and it’ll be considered high fashion. Black women have been wearing afros for years. The afro in the Black community has a deep importance and it can’t and shouldn’t be separated from that. Just like the hijab worn by Muslim women or the bindi in Hindu cultures should not be separated from their importance.
Yall this is just a replay of the 70s and 80s. White woman wanted to have big hair so they teased it and permed it and all of the above. Don’t let it agitate you. Let it roll right off. This too shall pass.
True.
Wtv You can’t copy the thickness, and intricate texture of kinks coils and curls in black hair. you can’t copy hair that defies gravity and grows toward the sun. But, they can try…just like they are trying so hard to copy that glowing melanin with their tanning beds turning them orange. They try to copy our sexy lips with the stupid kylie jenner challenge, but their lips go right back to flat. Just let them do whatever.
Let the white women fry on her tanning bed, sucking on a plastic cup to get swollen lips, with expensive butt injections (ahem Kjenner- kardashian), just let them. …
It’s funny how black women are labeled as self hating when white women spend fortunes trying to copy everyone else features, they seem to be a little self-hating too. I think they find themselves so borring they feel like they have to copy and compete with others.
It’s disheartening to read comments like this where black women put down other women, of any race. It isn’t copying necessarily. Black women who dye their hair blonde aren’t trying to look or pass as white. Nor are the black women who relax and straighten their hair. The beautiful thing about hair is that we can do whatever we please with it, just as we can with our bodies, clothes, etc. Black women have many beautiful, desirable, and stunning features just as white, Asian, Hispanic, etc. women. It’s just a hair style.
Too sensitive, an afro is a hairstyle. There are so many tutorials out there on how to achieve bone-straight hair for ‘afro-textured’. Some women go against the grain to weave up their hair, spend exorbitant money to get pin straight hair from other ethnicities. This whole situation is ridiculous. Buy any black hair magazine within the last 10 years and you will see more hairstyles of pin straight, weaved-up/hair than those catering to ‘afro-textured hair’……..black women can wear hair and hairstyles from other cultures but get deeply offended with white women wear braids, bantu knots, locs and afro……..seriously!
there’s this thing called cultural appropriation that should help you understand this issue. Not to mention the centuries black women have been made to feel hideous for their hair texture which probably has something to do with why they may reject it, and which will also explain why its a slap in the face for things to be glorified on white women but demonized on black women. I’m sure straight haired women’s hair texture isn’t accused of being unprofessional and ugly so it’s frustrating when they can mock our hair texture without any of the repercussions we have that comes with our genetics and without any of the recognition that black women have made our hair texture beautiful to the masses. …..seriously…..
Fine let’s see how their hair holds up when it rains…not to mention how much damage that’s gonna do to their hair to maintain.
This is what happens when we treat natural hair like a trend or just another hairstyle. Other people will see the way we style our hair as the hot thing, copy it and drop it for the next fad. People in the mainstream don’t understand that it is not a style, this is our hair because a lot of black people don’t understand that Afro is not just another hairstyle.
Black ladies have dyed their hair blond and straightened their hair too. You think they should be told not to do that anymore after all that’s not their real hair color or naturally straight. Also, there are lots of Jews with kinky hair and wore a natural back in the day right along with the rest of us African Americans.
As my mother once said…there is nothing new under the sun. And Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, right?
What???? Just stop.
Well, that’s just fantastic. Now when I don’t feel like dealing with the daily straightening process, instead of just “being really curly,” I’ll be silently judged as a cultural appropriator or some sad, trend-seeking white chick. Thanks, Allure!!!!
What’s your purpose for being on the blackgirllonghair site?
She’s here because a whole lot of white chicks LOVE to look at tips for Black hair. They love our hair products (they’re buying SheaMoisture off the shelves) and they want our hair! For hundreds of years they told us that our hair was ugly. They required our people to wear rags, scarves or whatever they can use to cover their hair. If they’re the so-called standard of beauty, why do they try to copy what we naturally have again and again??!
Getting an afro if your hair is straight means teasing and generally doing a lot of damage. Talk about a mass of knots when they try to comb it out later! It’s their hair and they can do whatever they want. Can’t be worse than the damage sistas do to their hair with relaxers and weaves.
“White” girl here, apologizing for my idiotic race. This is in such poor taste, particularly immediately post-Dolezal.
Okay… and now you have to do it every single day for the rest of your life or people will laugh at you and call you “ugly” or will look in confusion at your naturally straight hair and ask you what’s “wrong” with it.
WHAT? People ask you what’s wrong with your natural hair? Shame on them. I’ve never seen it happen but I would punch them in the face. HATERS BACK OFF! How are natural afros ugly? I actually think they are beautiful, and that’s coming from a white woman. If I was african, I would TOTALLY rock an afro. Unfortunately it’s not that easy when you’re caucasian 🙁
Okay, for the Afro, I’m awarding this to the side of appropriation. I can see it, you can see it, let’s call a spade a spade. Honestly, I don’t even like the term JewFro, because of what it implies, but, well, that’s not my call on outrage, since I’m not black. I personally think they should have given this a different name, acknowledged the significance of the Afro for the black community in a non-patronizing way, and moved on. However, the problem I find on the hair debacle is braids. Those really are a thing that transcend geographic and ethnic boundaries. You won’t really find a land where there isn’t at least some history of braiding as a social or fashion related tradition, especially once you get into clothing ornamentation. I can also see the argument for dreadlocks not being cultural appropriation since, well, they do also have a history in Scandinavia.
They talk about us but at the same time want to be us #blackgirlsrock #whitegirlsknowit. Let them try to rock an AFRO (?) it’ll be something for them that last for maybe twenty seconds #unbothered #wedoitbetter
Tired of white women in general. They’ll likely treat it as a fad anyway. You really think they’ll give up the beach waves and pin straight hair that their men prefer? Nah.
I’m gonna take a wild guess and say that the white girls that do this, aren’t doing it to get a white man. Just saying
Bingo!
Oh yes they will. White men I meet love a big afro…especially on a tanned sista!
I don’t care if they copy but they just need to admit that they admire our culture and beauty instead of always being so hateful.
That is exactly how I feel about this. Nothing else needs to be said. Of course we can share culture and enjoy each other’s differences! Yet, don’t turn around and be racist to blacks and bar them from advancement and even kill them in certain instances.
And that they’re JEALOUS, don’t forget that 🙂 Everyone knows we’re the best out here
Right! I’ve never seen someone make fun of afros, but if I did it would piss me off. How could you make fun of someone’s natural hair? Sometimes I’m saddened by how hateful some people of my race (white) are. Although I’m pretty sure most people who follow this tutorial love natural afros as well, or else why would they want to imitate it?
Women of color do that look because society tells them they have to and that it’s beautiful and normal (google Beautiful Hair and see how many afros you find). It’s assimilation, a survival tactic, not a fashion statement, per se. It’s a demonstration of power dynamics when people are deem unemployable for having natural hair, but straight hair is seen as kept and neat.
I can’t bring myself to care what other women do with their hair.
i dont care honestly. i think the girl pictured is cute and so is her hair.
Yeah..I agree…. at least they are calling it “afro” inspired rather than coming up with a completely new name for an already existing “trend”.
But naturally straight hair doesn’t belong to them there are arabics, Hispanic, and let’s not forget the Chinese and Japenese who have naturally straight hair. And I have seen blacks people with naturally straight hair- typically African, but still. Afros belong to the black community as the word derives from the word Africa. And hair is one of the few things blacks have in their culture to ourselves. Our bodies, our facial features, the way we typical do or say things are constantly being taken. It’s annoying.
As a Latina (BTW Hispanic refers to a certain cultural demographic heavily related to Spain, leaving out Brazil), most of us with naturally straight hair have some serious European ancestry. Honestly, the majority of our (my family specifically came from Mexico) native cultures were completely destroyed y the Conquiatadores and what most people think of as traditional Latino culture is actually far more European than anything else, even our language.
that’s if you look at it that way. no one can take your body from you. no one can take your style from you. no one can take your hair from you. they can tell you its not pretty, but they can’t take it from you. they can copy it and call themselves pretty, but you still own it. and as long as you OWN IT, it’s yours to keep. I think it’s more important that black women own their hair than bringing white women down for appreciating or imitating it.
In addition to all the cultural appropriation/downright stupidness…that’s a jewfro. That’s what I wake up with every morning.
This is NOT an afro.
Next they will claim they created afros like they did with cornrows then they will start wearing curly afros are doing their hair in a way to achieve that as a trend. So tired of white people loving our culture and stealing it but don’t give a fuck about our lives and the struggle we go through .
Annoying and predictable. We started wearing straighter styles because, according to them, afro styles made us look unkempt and unemployable. Now we’ve embraced it and here they come. I wish whites would just get off our backs already. I don’t think their immitation is flattering. Any black woman who thinks so is very shortsighted. Blacks never benefit from appropriation. Whites always want what they don’t have and will do anything to get it, including (attempts) to weaken other cultures.Thievery at its best (or worse). No props here.
Imitation is the best form of flattery…you can’t stop it from happening… at the end of the day, we as black women just have to love ourselves and OWN our beauty…don’t make excuses for why we can and can’t wear our hair how we want to then complain about cultural appropriation when the white women appreciate it for us…
Is Allure magazine serious?! I had to laugh, but I guess Rachel Dolezal-like appropriation is the new trend this fall. -_-
This is when someone black will think its “ok” to NOW embrace #teamnatural. Someone black who’s been holding out forever will NOW be inspired by an Allure magazine article. Oh, the irony. I can’t watch. Oh, and let’s not doubt that the whole “white girls do afros BETTER” narrative is soon on the way. Get ready.
….oh em geeee….AND the “brothers” that have been against it will NOW “see the light”. This could get ugly, y’all.
They will go in hard then move on from this quickly. White people go over the top with every “trend” they set their sights on then like a herd of sheep they all scuttle off to the next thing. I can see them all doing this for five minutes then they will all start saying black women who continue to wear their natual hair are behind the times. They actually already did this a couple decades back with the permanent. Then they decided it was unprofessional and that black people needed to follow suit with straightening and low cuts. Let’s just not this time. Also, by definition that is not an Afro, but whatever.
Isn’t this similar to women of color achieving a sleek straight look? I don’t think this is a terrible thing. I think it only become problematic when a culture is being exploited or credit is not being given where it is necessary. If someone wants an Afro let them! This is getting petty
i think you have it wrong its black people that don’t appreciate their own hair, their own skin, white people appreciate it. how many of us with long natural hair get stopped and asked if they can touch it. my husband is white and i became natural because he loved my natural hair, and i didnt and im the statistic and example of every other black girl out there who grew up hating 4c hair. if not then im the exception , but i think you are taking this post out of context and making it malicious when its not. but hey do you
You don’t speak for every black woman and you certainly don’t speak for every white man as I can assure you the majority of white men wouldn’t even look at a black woman.
Maybe the majority don’t, but you’d be very surprised of how many do look at Black women.
The interesting thing will be how many black women will abandon their silky straight weave to rock their natural fro just because it’s embraced by mainstream now..
I really see the curly hair, not an afro. It’s like Vogue dubbing North West the inspiration for natural hair! Very one sided! This is the reason why I don’t read magazines like Glamour, Vogue or Allure…in fact I haven’t read them in over 2 years…
I haven’t read them in a while either. Even the wording from the title of the article:
You (Yes, You) Can Have an Afro
If someone needed proof that the magazine isn’t intended for their consumption- there it is! I don’t recall articles that speak directly to black women in magazines like that. Boycotting feels so powerful and it’s easier than ever because there are so many brands that DO cater to/acknowledge us.
For hundreds of years we’ve been told we’re ugly black monkeys. We’ve lightened our hair and skin in an attempt to be seen as beautiful, because mainstream media and culture has just began to figure it out. Now that black women as a whole are beginning to see that we’ve been beautiful all along the fashion industry wants to take what makes us us and sell it to the world and call it this season new must have. Everything from full lips, bust and backsides. Tanning. Our colloquialisms. And now our hair. Rock it if you dare, but pause and acknowledge that a black woman did it first and give credit where credit is due.
Welcome to what us Latinas (specifically Mexicans) have been feeling for a while.
Ugh so what if a white girl want a fro, black women wear blonde weave so wtf is the difference
Amen, I know. The Dr. Rachel from the Doctors wears blonde weave, Nene weaves are always blonde weave, Tamar wears blonde weave/wigs etc…they do not look good.
I don’t think any person can sit here and deny that black women don’t own the Afro. That’s exactly why that gigantic asterisk is next to the word Afro. Since we are all reading the article with additional assumptions, it’s also safe to assume that the straight haired girl that try’s this style will either love and appreciate the hassle or hate the hassle or even the look then continue to wear it straight or wavy.
I think it’s great to express yourself thoroughly especially with Internet gangs ready to slay, but it’s also great to take a step back and understand the reasoning and perhaps allow the heart to accept the ‘bazaar’.
P.S. I’m guilty of following these steps on my 4C hair to get definition with the exception of flat twisting instead of using ‘cotton strips’.
Was alive in the 70s. (head tilt) It is cultural appropriation if the term “afro” is used. It is cultural appropriation if no mention of the origin or the impetus to even want an afro is mentioned. It did not headline or subhead with “Want hair like the black girls?!” It and the writer didn’t have the good or decent sense to include women of different ethnicities as its focus, because some of us can’t do an afro naturally. I’m not ourtraged, I’m not even offended. I’m just continuing with what I know…pursed lips and rolling eyes and dismissive hand wave. I love what we do and have done and will continue to do. Love BGLH! <3
I think the photo they chose looks nice……………… I dont see the issue.
Isn’t it the same thing when black girls straighten or perm their hair?
Well who are they appropriating straight hair from? Unlike the Afro, straight hair is a quality of basically every other race. There are Asians, whites, native Americans, etc and they all have straight hair. Aside from that, straight hair has literally 0 cultural significance to their culture as a whole.
the afro has cultural significance? so many black women run from their afro-textured hair.
No. Assimilation after years of oppression and discrimination is totally different from appropriation. think about it.
I think that’s dope. The best form of flattery is imitation. #TheNewStandardOfBeauty
People should be able to do whatever they want with their hair and bodies (for the most part). I would honestly have no problem with this, if it weren’t for the fact that they’re, once again, taking a feature we’ve always been persecuted or alternatively dismissed for having, and reinventing it for themselves to make it fashionable.
They also have a tendency to claim that since some White people are capable of having very curly hair (or bigger lips, rounder bottoms, etc.) naturally, it’s not imitation of Black/another ethnicity’s features. While at the same time, they don’t afford others the same reasoning.
Straight hair on Black people? “You guys copy our hair too!!” Yep, because that’s never naturally occurring, and/or has nothing to do with forced cultural assimilation in the US. (I can only speak for the US)
Asians using skin lightening creams, eyelid surgery, etc.? “They’re trying to look White!!” Of course, because there are absolutely no Asians with naturally ‘white’ skin, and ‘larger looking’ eyes whose features they are trying to mimic. Nope. Never.
To be fair, for certain situations, it literally IS about looking white. In South Korea, for example, when describing to a plastic surgeon what they want done to their eyes, it’s not uncommon to head “westernization” with complete disregard for the fact that there are certain Native American tribes with similar eyes to those found in Asia, and many Asian Americans.
Ok, the REAL problem with this article is NOT that a white person is doing something to their straight hair to “look different because they like it”. The problem is that they called it an Afro. We ALL know where the term “Afro” comes from. If your hair can’t make an afro naturally then it’s NOT an afro.
It’s just not.
But for those of you that think it’s a term only used for a hairstyle, here’s a very summed up history: it’s short for things/people/places relating to or from Africa. Hence why some people say “Afro-American” or “Afro-Latina” etc.
This would be different if they were showing straight haired people how to get big hair, big curls or how to create texture for normally straight hair but this is literally them saying “Hey this is how you make you hair look “Black!” That’s why they used the term Afro and not curls, bigger or voluminous hair. They know how someone else’s culture can be “exotic” and “trendy” so that’s the term they used. If you can’t see that, you need to take a closer look. Even if people are unknowingly ignorant of cultural appropriation/racism, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t explain why what they’re doing is wrong or harmful.
That’s not an Afro.
History: An Afro is a ‘well-defined coiffed natural hair style’, i.e. Angela Davis, Shaft, Florida frm Good Times tv show, etc. The Afro became prominent in the late 60s along with the Nation of Islam, Black Pride, Black Power, and the Black Panthers.
What the Allure article is trying to perpetrate is a ‘twist -out’ natural hair style; which on the model looks a hot mess! And a rag set! Please! They had to reach back to the 1800s for this stupidity!
..unless, of course, that was their aim and subterfuge: to subliminally infer and project
our natural hair styles as unkempt and messy.
…umm, Ladies, makes you wanna place your index finger to your temple and go ‘aah hah’…
So boring. Such a need to tap into the supposed counterculture and be cool. Such a double standard regarding what is acceptable for hair. So many times we’re scrubbed out of the backstory and criticized for wanting to be included. This is boring.
they should’ve called it tight/corkscrew curls because thats not even really an afro just curls….
Per the traditional definition (ca. 1966), yes, that is an Afro (what was also called “a natural” back then). Only difference between now and the 1970s (which was when the Afro became less of a political statement and more of a fashion statement) was back then white folks used Toni perms to get the look.
IMO it’s not cultural appropriation if the article is merely giving tips on how to get an Afro. If the article said something along the lines of “[insert young white celebrity here] is leading the way in the hottest new hair trend” then it’s starting to smell like appropriation (or, perhaps, “Columbusing”). If the article quoted a white hairstylist who claimed to have invented the style, THEN we’re talking appropriation.
They may be trolling with this article, but if that’s the case, please let’s ignore the troll…
I wonder if you guys would have had an issue with this in the 80’s when white folks had bad ass perms and fros(some natural) Google 80’s perms. It was a good time.
This is exactly why I hate white people
ALL of us? Or just SOME of us?
Not all white people of the same!!! Please don’t hate me because of my skin color!
Just all white people, huh? All of us.
I’m starting to believe the writers here only sit around waiting for something to be outraged about. So what if a white girl wants an afro? If anyone ever asked me why I wear my hair straight I’d tell them it’s just hair and I suspect it’s the same for them. Afros look good and I’m sure black people don’t own any one hairstyle. Just calm down, everything isn’t a plot against black women.
You have missed the point drastically. When you straighten your hair, you never shamed white people for having naturally straight hair. You didn’t shame them for their features. You didn’t even think about it.
A few things… We don’t have to ‘sit and wait’ for anything. Black women being copied by women of other cultures happens all the time and has been happening for decades and will continue to happen for the foreseeable future. It’s a cultural constant at this point. Also we pointed out that it is copying (which it is) but we never said it was a ‘plot against black women’. That is for readers to debate and discuss. Trust, if we had an issue with this we would have spoken on it. As for me, personally, white women can copy anything they want that I do, say or wear. All I ask in return is that black women be regarded culturally as the style taste makers they are and always have been.
…and that they do not make me change my hair for the job.
I understand the desire to clarify intent, especially when you work hard at your job. I’ve worked in journalism myself, however, as a website, unless there is a factual error, comenting on commenters is not a good idea. It makes “you” not the specific person who typed the response but the driven, talented, and intelligent people who work on this site seem defensive and petty- which we all know you are not. There will be enough people in the comments section to fight the battle for you. ?
You can’t argue with the mis-educated and uninformed- thanks for all you do..
youre petty
i agree.. with you and i am not a black.. lady…
who can’t see.. clear as glass… that for CENTURIES.. everything associated with being black..was deemed.. ugly…. or GHETTO.. .. not just by.. pink people.. but by black people.. too..
the body.. the features.. the skin color.. the hair.. EVERYTHING… and now.. look and see… when somebody of a pinkish hue.. comes.. and copies.. imitates.. etcetera… it all becomes.. cool… fashionable.. in style.. a must have..
and i am so ssssSick of people going.. well blacks get blonde hair.. and perms… fyi.. pink people go get blonde hair and perms too….!.. .
they are not all born with the hair color… of a golden retriever.. . or straight hair either..
just like not all the black people are born with curly hair.. or brown.. black hair!.. there are like 20 billion +++ people in this world..
and people want to come ..like everybody look the same..
if pink people can be born.. with different skin and eye color.. hair textures..
then why should the… black people case be different?..
be blessed.
That’s right blackgirllonghair I guess they missing the point or just don’t know better…. I totally Agree. Whites will AND HAS always copied our style looks and then will lie about it They have know identity nor culture..
yes, you hit the nail on the head. don’t so much have a problem with any woman copying us it’s the constant media reminders that supposedly we’re not as beautiful as everyone else.
To simplify what I’m saying, it’s a trend much like many other trends that have come and gone. All trends originated somewhere and it’s very rare that anyone takes the time to mention said origins. Those people that do find anything black to be ugly will probably stay away. Those that find beauty in black people will probably embrace it. IMO it’s just not that serious but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t understand your point of view.
I agree with you. I think they sit around waiting for things to happen too. Everything they post is a debate, an argument or something wrong with a white person achieving something as simple as a STYLE! It’s only hair!
Why would you imitate dog-hair? Ugh
But you would get denied a job due to your natural hair, could a white girl say the same? White people have this desire to be oppressed, they want to escape the reality of being an oppressor, white fragility, look it up. At the end of the day, our culture is NOT a costume. It’s a shame when you have to explain this to your own people. -_- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uphTBnSV-Ic
How many Black women have bwen denied jobs based on having natural hair? Where are the #s? Has an employer ever told you or anyone you know that the reason passing them over is natural hair? People see your skin color before they see yoyr hair. And, if you a made up, Afrocentric oor creatively spelled name, they’ve already tagged you as black from reading your job app or resume. Let’s stop being ignorant.
Just because you’ve never had that experience or never heard of it don’t call someone ignorant that makes you sound ignorant. I’m obviously much older than you and you’re probably not black so that statement seem foreign to you, but it’s part of american history believe it, one of the reason we black people start wearing the afro in the 60’s and 70’s because we wanted to stop being force by white society to simulate, and so we try to break free by going natural…but the drawback was if you tried to get a job in white companies you wouldn’t get hired so we would straighten our hair or wear wigs (that’s was what most did) and on the weekend we wear our afros…look at old movies with black actors and they all had their hair conked ( name of straightening style and then the name of lye relaxer) if they didn’t they couldn’t get work simulation had to be done to make whites comfortable with having black people around them. And again the afrocentric names was another way to not have to simulate whites. There I just gave you some american history you’ve never heard of in your white history books.
First of all, I didn’t reply to you, I replied to someone who used conjecture about blacks not getting jobs based on our hair. Yes, I am Black & I certainly don’t need a lesson in Black history from you, but thanks nonetheless.
It is ignorant for us to whine and complain about every insignificant thing that white folk say or do. It’s ignorant to base your beliefs on unproven, regurgitated information that you heard & then make generalizations based on that information.
We are discriminated against bc of our color, hair is just an offshoot of that. Was Sandra Bland arrested & mistreated because she didn’t have straight hair? What about the 9 ppl murdered in the Charleston church? We are discriminated against due to race & sex FIRST AND FOREMOST. In 2015, we shouldn’t still be talking about hair!
I had a Black CEO ask me “So, what r u going to do with your hair?” As though it wasn’t already done. I know plenty Black women who feel pressured to straighten for the workplace and not wear styles that are Black, ie: braids, twists, Afros.. Not to mention natural Black hair being banned from the army to private schools..the little girl who cried in an interview after she was suspended for having locs, sobbing “they didn’t like my hair.” We have never been embraced but copied, and even what is trendy for white women is STILL unacceptable for Blacks. Black women have endured MUCH hate that is painful behind our hair. Read Toni Morrison’s “The Bluest Eye.”
it has been a problem, women in general getting dress codes working — for example — in a law office and braids appearing on the “don’ts” list. The thing that bugs me reading all these comments is that now that white people are actively acknowledging how beautiful black hair is, they get backlash just the same. It’s enough to make anyone not even bother touching on the subject. This backlash is a good thing? How?
I agree.
Every.single.time. It never freaking fails. They shame us for our hair, violate us and steal everything. Can we not have anything? Now because white people want to do it, it’s cute and trendy? This is disgusting.
Tis the culture.. First they judge it, then they Jack it. Such is life, but they will never be black it is futile.
So, when black women wear long hair weaves or have their hair straightened, are they stealing style from white people?
You missed a very big part of her statement to get what she’s saying. Read this again: ” They shame us for our hair, violate us and steal everything.” If you can understand that first sentence, then you’ll see the answer for the difference.
You’re an idiot. The weaves that black women wear don’t come from white people.
Except Blacks never shamed white people because of their hair texture like white people did to black people for centuries. That is the difference. But if white people want to know the amazingness of Afros I say let them as long as they give credit where it’s due.
I know right!!!!! very disgusting
Mixed feelings. There are a lot of white people whose hair naturally looks like this. I can’t knock them if they decide to stop straightening and wear their hair as it grows out of their heads the way I did. It can’t be appropriation if they wear there hair as it is. Also this in the white people speak an afro. They usually call it Jewfro but maybe that’s not pc these days.
Jews call it a Jewfro… If they’re not Jewish, they shouldn’t use the term, but thank you for acknowledging that PLENTY of “white” (though even Ashkenazi Jews are typically at best half “white”, but that’s an entirely different topic, if relevant to why the kinky hair is a common feature) women have kinky hair naturally, and often face issues in the workplace when they don’t straighten or acquiesce to patriarchal standards of “professionalism”.
No different to what white women and the Japanese were doing to their hair in the 80’s. Europeans must suffer the most inferiority complexes since they are the biggest imitators.
So many of us still straighten our hair, pull back our edges, etc….we do things to our natural hair to make it more “palatable.” Go into ANY black beauty store (almost never owned by blacks..go figure). 99% of the products they sell are for US to make our hair look less black. It is slowly changing, but we have accepted their standard of beauty for SO long that it amazes me that anyone can really be pissed when they “take” ours. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery in some cases. Many black women who have embraced their natural hair have made some people envious of our crowns. I say let them try. They have been trying everything we do. From our lips to our asses, we have been imitated. Now it is time for us to call them out on it, but in a nice way. We have no reason to be angry about it. I always remember when the entire country made a big deal about Jennifer Lopez’s ass. Y’all remember that? Like she was the first woman in America to sport some booty….when Angela Bassett had and still does have a much better backside…and countless others. Now every white woman is going to their local surgeon to plump up their rumps. This isn’t new by the way…in the 70s white women permed their hair into infinity to achieve an Angela Davis ‘fro. We will always be copied. Maybe we should work on capitalizing on our beauty instead of getting offended that someone wants to add some soul to their glow 😉
“Now every white woman is going to their local surgeon to plump up their rumps”. (Not every white woman). “We will always be copied. Maybe we should work on capitalizing on our beauty instead of getting offended that someone wants to add some soul to their glow 😉 I agree, Suga Lion; why not be flattered? I don’t know any blacks or people of color who want to be white the same way I do not know any whites that want to be black. Hair is what it is. I have curly hair I wish was straight and I also wish it was not blonde sometimes, same as a sister who wants straight, light colored hair on ocassion. Its all about our making up our minds how we want our hair to look this month or this year; no woman is wishing they were another race or color. People of color DO set a lot of standards in style & in music – a lot of people try to emulate that. What’s wrong with that? Why not be proud of that? Black women have all the power in the US. They lead the nation in being the most educated and also lead the US in voting power. Please don’t let a few nasty white girls ruin it for you. http://shine.forharriet.com/2014/03/black-women-are-most-educated-group-in.html#axzz3hh5DlR39
I was thinking about this when I read this BGLH article and at first I thought the same thing you said but then I had to rethink it. I disagree with your statement about only being upset when they “take ours”. The problem is double standards. There are already testaments that Black women have been told that their natural hair will get them fired from work. Heck, the U.S. armed forces banned natural hair styles that are meant to protect and provide low maintenance. I’ve never heard that from a white woman. In fact, I’ve seen them roll into work and class with sopping wet hair and no ones says anything. We relaxed our hair so that we could look “presentable” which translated into economic benefits. If we looked “whiter”, assimilated aesthetically, then we could possible see similar success (education, finances, rights, privileges, etc.) or just be treated like humans. What do white women lose from wearing an afro? Nothing. What do Black women lose from wearing one? A job, a right to not be a petting zoo, or be seen as militant.
When was the last time Allure magazine featured a women/model with an afro that was of African descent and genuinely inquired of and admired her hair? Allure’s article is random and it comes on the heels on Rachel Dolezal. That’s why this smells so fishy to me.
i feel like the atmosphere you described is changing and instead of fighting articles like this maybe it’s good to step back and observe what happens.. if the problem has been white people rejecting black hair, if white people reconsider and present afros to white women -and black women who were also conditioned to view their hair as lesser- as something beautiful then why fight this change in the air?
you do know the real reason why we alter our hair and features right?
Also imitation is NOT flattery, it is THEFT. This is cultural smudging at its finest.
Jlo’s ass comes from PR. Lotta African blood on that island, it’s no wonder her assets are so pronounced.
I wouldn’t call what black women have been doing “accepting”. It’s been much more like “their way or the hwy”. At work, black men in our lives, at church, at school, etc. A thriving INDUSTRY was built on our so-called “acceptance” aka “insecurity coverups”. And TRUST, if their had been surgery trends to get RID of big lips and big butts, some of us would’ve considered it, no differently than the decision to pick up a jar of skin-lightening cream to get to THE WHITE STANDARD of beautiful brown, olive, tan skin, aka “white girls do brown skin better”. Kim K and JLo made big lips and big butts ok, not us. Black women are right where they always were on the beauty scale: admired on the DL.
White women can’t have Afro if they don’t have Afro textured hair. Curling your hair and then making it wild doesn’t equate to it being an Afro. What is wrong with these people?
That was my first reaction too, an “Afro” indicates that your hair IS AFRICAN TEXTURED. It’s IN the name “goddamn it!”
I’m with you on this one!
That’s what they think an afro is anyway.
Once again we have another example of “black is right when it’s on white”. That’s not even an afro. It’s just regular curly hair.
“black is right when it’s on white”
I SO LOVE THIS UP HERE^^^!!!
#TRUTH
#SUPERPHINE
#AAHJAMUSIC
Yep, but THIS is SOO REAL. Some folks don’t know about this!
*peeks in for the comments* *readies popcorn*
*brewing some Earl Grey Bergamont upstairs*
me too
Popcorn’s already ready… ?
I don’t see anything wrong with sharing how to achieve this
look. It’s a beautiful look that can be carried by most women. I’ve seen White and Asian women and men with afros, and it looks stunning.
**Missing the point**. It has absolutely nothing to do with the style of hair, and everything to with the history of persecution perpetrated and perpetuated NY white people. Now they are of course going to try and appropriate it. It’s a no for us but a chic go for them. Not having it!
Not all, Tristan – SOME.
Sherry, I see what you’re trying to do. I just hope when topics come up on non-black targeted forums and whites people are saying “black people” this and that you also keep saying “some” like you are doing here. I can’t tell your angle on this so I will say this: a person who cares or supports our experience wouldn’t keep tone policing people on a forum meant for them and would allow us space to vent frustrations/valid concerns even if it makes *you* feel uncomfortable.
Good point. So often I come across racist or clueless White people who make sweeping negative comments about Blacks. Hope Sherry and her ilk are emphasizing “not all” Black people when they come across such comments.
Except that isn’t an afro. That’s just a head full of curly ringlets.
Also, there are MANY white women who have hair that is in the 3b/c category. A lot of white girls literally flat iron almost every day because it’s not usually seen as beautiful to them when your curls are too tight. Anyone with curls can get “the afro look” if they brush their hair.
Wow you just totally missed the point. White people have made fun of our hair since they stole black folks and brought them over here. Afros are considered wild and unprofessional. Now because white people want to do it, it’s trendy.
SOME white people.
So that’s what made you comment? To protect whiteness. Im going to keep my comment the way it is, so much is going on with this article and you commented to make sure white people’s feeling aren’t being hurt so you decided to step in with “some”. bye
I think you are underestimating how much black women have redefined beauty, in everyday life and pop culture. White girls who want this look know it’s called an afro, and I can’t think of a single white actress or model with an afro yet; it is not yet a white style. Perhaps it’s annoying that now white girls get to have this too, but white girl hatred of their own curly hair is a form of racism and I’m glad it might be ending.
I didn’t say it was a “white style” . What I am saying is, it’s not right to spend centuries until PRESENT to make a race of people feel like crap about their own hair to the point where they have alot of black women SO programmed that they relax their children’s hair as young as 3 to 4 years old and some women don’t even know what texture their natural hair is…. and then be like “Oh here is a way to have an afro to look trendy”
At the end of the day, they get called trendy, fashionable and earthy, and we are told something way different!
U can’t argue with the mis-educated and uninformed. They got us drinking the Kumbaya Kool Aid while they steal our sh** and march us off to slaughter- let the sheep go first.
i think you have it wrong its africans that make fun of their own hair its white people that accept the afro. i beg to differ with your comment and this post in general. if someone wants to make their hair look like an afro, then so be it, its appreciation its not an insult but i tend to think african americans always have something to complain about even when its in your favour , so whatever
Well let me tell you something, as a young girl who often wore an afro, the only people who ridiculed my hairstyle were white people and most white people do not even like the kinks in their hair never mind a big ass afro.. The magazine is promoting a trend which they hope their followers will latch onto. This is how the fashion and beauty industries make their money.
the word AFRO litteral means AFRICAN, you do not have an afro if you are not African