“I am sick of seeing all those commercials with ethnic/nappy/natural hair!”
I’m not gonna lie and say I remember WHERE I actually read this comment, I must also admit I am paraphrasing because I was only skimming a mag and my mind was actually somewhere else. Later that day, when I slowed down for a minute, I was really shocked and wished I would have paid more attention to the comment.
After I let the thought sit and fester I started asking myself why someone would be offended or angry by Black women with Natural hair being used in commercials.
Could it be some relaxed women are feeling the media thinks all Black women are Natural?
Could it be some Naturals feel these are merely marketing ploys to get Naturals to buy their products?
Are these just some Black woman who find the ‘ethnic’ or Natural look embarrassing?
Not a clue but I thought it would be interesting to give my take on them.
When I really noticed Natural hair was being shown in commericals I was still relaxed. I was shocked to see it but I found it cool, new and ground-breaking. It was right up there with Aunt Jemima getting a perm. Hey, don’t judge me but I was loving to see that woman without her head rag on that bottle any more.
I also remember, after a while, that it was catching on and at first…AT FIRST… I felt it was a marketing ploy from the major corporations saying….’hey black folks, we see you and we want you to KNOW we see you.’ I didn’t care what their reasons were. I was more happy with the fact we were out there and we weren’t all wearing weaves down to our asses. So maybe they were trying to hook us into buying their product but isn’t that the whole purpose of commericals??
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If you are as old as me (or older) you remember when you didn’t hardly see ANY black women in commericals at all! I mean our dollars weren’t considered and we were all but shut out in the media. Now, if you watched Soul Train you did see commercials geared specifically to us. We were dancing and smiling to the counter of McDonald’s as well as us dancing and shaking our hair in the mirror for hair ads…..BLACK hair ads. We were so damn proud of those ads weren’t we?
Well, now we’re out there selling everything from diapers to diamonds. We’ve made it! Now, can we stop critiquing what and why we are out there? I’m personally very happy to see more Natural haired actors and actresses selling products and not just because I’m natural. It’s because we are a very diverse people and the media should be expressing that.
Maybe I’m making a mountain out of a molehill or maybe you’ve seen or heard others saying the same thing. I’d just love to know why the anger is there. I’d also love to know what you think of all the Naturals in commercials and if you had a DIFFERENT take on them before you were Natural.
Does Natural hair in advertising offend you? Share below!
Take care Naturals,
Sabrina
I love to see all naturals in commercials and I never paid any attention until I was natural! I was glad to see it! It's especially good for our youth so they can see that all hair types are embraced. If they chose professions that put them in the media's eye, they don't feel like they have to change their appearance/hair to be successful in that field. It also let's youth see that someone who has hair like theirs is in no way an issue and is completely acceptable, as it should be.
You and I are close in age so I definitely remember when blacks were absent from commercials I love seeing natural women in commercials. Its nice to see different representions of our beauty.
Here here! I so agree and love seeing it. i guess you can't please everybody…
What a wonderul take on the diversity of our hair witin the media and how it affects the youth. Yes, they won't have the same hangups as us because they are presented with a clean slate showing our beautiful hair whether natural or relaxed. Thanks for sharing!
I am glad to see natural hair commercials; but I realize that promoting natural hair and hair care products is really about the almighty dollar. If you go to the beauty supply store, you will find so many products for natural hair now that you can't even decide what to buy! I am old enough to remember the 60s and 70s when the Afro was so popular. We were proud to make a statement and there were only a few products available for naturals. I don't plan to go back to chemicals myself as I think natural hair is very liberating. I really want to try dreads, but my hair is naturally curly and I like the texture of it. It's just wonderful to see so much diversity among African American hair textures and styles!
I am natural and have been for maybe a little over two years. I find it refreshing to see African American women and men in commercials with fros and kinky curly hair. I don't feel like I am bombarded with it on television but I do from social networking. When I began the transitioning phase I felt like my hair had to look a certain way and had so so many products that were unnecessary for my hair. At times it does feel like an competition where instead of competing to see who has the straightest hair we are competing to see who has the better curl pattern. That annoys me and I feel defeats the purpose of going natural.
I love my afro hair. but it's not huge.
awesome blog thank you this participating 😻