Black TikToker Admits To Love for Wearing Hair of other Races

A Tik Toker went live a few weeks ago to voice her boldly outrageous opinions about natural hair as it relates to femininity, men and beauty.  The woman who goes by the name @theblackshea on Tik Tok probably didn’t realize that her opinions on black women and natural hair would be discussed at such a viral level.  The Tik Toker stated in a video last week that she personally feels prettier wearing straight wigs and extensions that are made with hair from other races.  She even went as far as to admit that she knows that her personal belief about her appearance stems from internalized self-hate.      

What Influences Attitudes such as the One TheBlackShea Displayed?

One of the most outrageous comments that the Tik Toker made is concerning her belief that black women do not look feminine and pretty with natural hair.  TheBlackShea was honest enough to confirm that her beliefs about her appearance stems from a place of self-hate.

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There is a question that begs to be answered regarding women who hold views like her.  Can she really be to blame considering that racial discourses and constructs throughout history have always purported that black people are less than?  If one focuses on the history of black people in the United States, it’s easy to understand why black women such as TheBlackShea have problems viewing themselves as beautiful or pretty.  Society has reached a point where laws such as the Crown Act have to be passed in order to protect against race-based hair discrimination in the workplace and schools.  Unfortunately, there are women like theblackshea who think that they need to wear straight or wavy hair in order to be successful.

Media and advertising can influence the way a woman thinks or feels about herself.  Advertisements, ideals and images depicted in the media never really idealized the Afro-centric look throughout history. Beauty and commercial advertisements have mostly featured and promoted Eurocentric appearance and beauty ideals.   The natural hair movement which occured in the early 2000s changed the way many black women thought about natural textured hair. During this era, a fire was lit and a pathway was created for women to begin learning about and loving their natural hair.  It led to women desiring more options to wear their hair including exploration of natural and kinky textured wigs and extensions.

Pinpointing Where Negative Beliefs About Natural Hair Begins

It isn’t too late for women like TheBlackShea to embark on a journey of self-acceptance and self-love but it has to begin somewhere whether it be through reading and education, exploring one’s origins and ancestry or by attending therapy if these issues are as deep rooted as hers.  Negative familial beliefs or attitudes about afrocentric features can be passed down to a person unknowingly.  When reflecting on childhood, women like @theblackshea should recall how their natural afro hair was viewed within their historical or familial background.  Reflecting back can help a black woman struggling with self acceptance where appearance ideals are concerned because they’ll be more able to pinpoint when, how and why negative ideals about their body image began.  

TheBlackShea also repeatedly stated that she doesn’t look good with natural hair but refrained from answering why.  It would be interesting to know whether she is able to do her natural hair or if she familiar with all of the various styles that can be done on natural hair.

It’s possible that this tiktoker experienced an egregious situation in a past relationship with a man as she made a hasty generalization concerning the choices that black men would make when choosing between a woman with natural hair and one without.  She generalized that if one puts a woman with a [straight] wig beside a woman with natural hair, a man will not choose the woman with natural hair because people only like natural hair in theory.  TheBlackShea should be able to understand that she cannot draw such a conclusion when beauty and appearance ideals are often very personal.  Every man has different likes or preferences.  Men have actually been questioned on this topic and a large majority have stated that they prefer the look of naturally kinky hair compared to [straight] or [wavy] weaves.  

 

Lack of Self Esteem and Narrow World Views in the Black Community

While there are various reasons why some black women like @theblackshea have negative views about their afrocentric features, lack of self-esteem, narrow views about the world at large and a lack of knowledge about ancestral origins should primarily be blamed.  Members of the black community should make it a priority to understand and explore their ancestral origins which is where these afrocentric features derive from.  

Learning about different cultures around the world and how people of these cultures live, appreciate and preserve their traditions are crucial to understanding and accepting one’s own origins.  When all is said and done, you can’t love what you don’t know. You can’t embrace the unfamiliar if you don’t become familiarized.

If this Tik Toker became familiar with other black women who wholeheartedly love and appreciate natural hair and texture, she would have never made the grossly fallacious statements that she did in her video. Again, these are simply her opinions and she should realize that all black women do not share in her views.  It’s very crucial that people who engage in discussions about appearance ideals (as it pertains to black women on social media) ensure they make clear and understand that their statements are their sole opinions and they do not apply to all the other members of a said group.