Still Free

Yeah, Mr. Smiley. Made it through the entire Trump presidency without being enslaved. Imagine that.

Wednesday, July 14, 2010

Beauty Standards in African Communities


I've mentioned before my disdain at seeing skin-lightening creams in the predominantly black supermarket I go to. Recently I was in the UK and in the location I was staying were a number of "beauty" shops that had a majority African customer base (a few white women were observed in the shops). The attached photo is typical of the kinds of images that were the norm in those shops (I was with my aunt so...). Of particular interest to me was the number of African women with "perms" who didn't do anything else with their "newly" straight hair. By that I mean, here in the stats I'm used to seeing straightened hair styled. Many of the women I saw simply were "happy" to have the hair straight (and weaved) down their backs even though most times it looked ridiculous.