Just like at a hair salon, I grab an old issue of ESSENCE magazine and flip through the pages. This magazine is targeted to black women, "Where Black Women Come First", the magazine says. Before I am confronted with any articles in the magazine, I see seventeen advertisements, SEVENTEEN. Going through the magazine, I find tons more advertisements for hair and beauty products, clothes, cars, and much more. A common theme I noticed in the advertisement and article pictures, is that about 80% of the women showed have long, straight, and relaxed hair. African-American woman are most commonly born with kinky, coily, textured hair, but in these pictures, they are sporting a long sleek look. You do not get to see any natural hair until the very last pages of the magazine. We live in a society that has built a solid frame around hair. Hair favoring the texture of White Americans and Asians are what are most commonly seen in advertisements, television, and anywhere else the media can support it. The empire has sucked in many black women making them think that their natural hair is not beautiful. These women go to extreme extents such as relaxers, weaves, wigs, and high-heat appliances to achieve what society sees as beautiful. These women need to understand that in the Kingdom, we are all made beautiful in God's image, and that "we" should embrace what he has given us. With black hair being so versatile, black women need to use their hair as a canvas to express the beauty of what God has created.
1.What ways have the media put frames around women? What about women of different races?
2.Women, what can you change in you daily routine to get closer to the kingdom?
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteCourtney you have some very interesting thoughts on hair. I never thought about how black women are supporting the empire by not embracing their natural hair as a gift from God. I can see how seeking man-made fixes for gifts from God is putting the empire before the kingdom, but do you think there can be a balance? Since our creations are inspired by the Holy Spirit, do you think that there is a way to embrace the gifts from God and to embrace the creations He has inspire us to make? For discussion question number two, I think women can get closer to the kingdom by not using appliances and make up to alter the gifts God has given us-- at least not all the time. I think it is okay to use these inventions, but that we should also set aside time where are natural beauty can show as a way to show God how thankful we are for how He has made us.
ReplyDeleteGood observations, Courtney. It seems like most fashion magazines are now simply vehicles for advertising. I'm not sure how any of the ads can be effective when they are in the middle of so many other ads. And yet, you're right, they do have a way of shaping our perceptions of "normal."
ReplyDeleteWhat's driving this? Why are the companies that make these products and the advertisers who market them so intent on shaping our perceptions?
Oh, and it's also interesting to consider what this same culture is doing to white women -- very few of whom match the industry's beauty standards. And yet, are they unconsciously forming perceptions of their own hair as normal and better? I imagine this is the case and yet it is rarely discussed.
ReplyDelete