People Are Pissed At This Magazine For Using A White Model In An Editorial About Afro Hair
Update: Allure responded that "Using beauty and hair as a form of self-expression is a mirror of what’s happening in our country today."
The current issue of Allure magazine features the stunning Salma Hayek on its cover.
Inside of the special issue, called "Amazing Hair," readers find pages of hairstyle tutorials — including one for Afro hair...
Featuring a white woman...
Who ordinarily looks like this.
The editorial, titled "You (Yes, You) Can Have An Afro*", stars actress Marissa Neitling from the TNT TV show The Last Ship. It offers a step-by-step for how to get what Allure calls a "Loose Afro."
The "Loose Afro" is a part of the magazine's "Retro Modern" '70s-inspired styles, which seem to feature only white women.
Not only did the magazine choose to not use a black model with straight hair, it failed to reference the very sacred and political context of the natural style, worn during the American Civil Rights era as a symbol of black pride and protest for equality.
The reaction: PISSED!
.@Allure_magazine, why would you ever in your life think this was okay?
Someone should have warned you, @Allure_magazine Black Twitter comin'. Stop the foolishness. http://t.co/t5mQ5HVR9F
Peak caucasity in allure magazine y'all
Everybody want their hair styled...but don't nobody wanna be profiled @Allure_magazine
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"Everybody wanna be black but nobody wants to be black ! 😂😂😂 #allure #Afro #naturalHair #mediaTakeout"
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"Shout out to @Allure for their tutorial on #CulturalAppropriation (i.e. teaching white girls how they too can make their hair into an afro). Here's to the authentic Afro ✊🏾👊🏾 To quote the incomparable @amandlastenberg, 'Don't Cash Crop on My Cornrows' #TeamNatural #Afro #RockRoughAndStuff #NappturallyBeautiful #Beautiful #Natural. #Wellesley #AmandlaStenberg #Allure #AllureMagazine"
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"This is a perfect example of when a staff has no Diversity on their team to tell them to rethink their delivery. 🙏🙇
#afrochicas #allure #realtalk #blackhaircare #curls #rizos #america #magazine #wewantwhatwecanthave #race #alluremagazine @allure"
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"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO.
We are #people, not #costumes.
Not #fashion statements.
Not #trends.
Not #jokes.
Not #pets.
I thought #Afros were #dirty NSFW #ugly smelled bad #controversial #inappropriate a #distraction #attentionseeking TOO BLACK.
Man, I'm so sick of this mess- I promise.
Either #love us [not what we create] or you leave us alone ✌️ P.S. THAT'S A #TWISTOUT, GIRL. #BLACKGIRLMAGIC"
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"I knew this would happen but I'm surprised at how fast it happened. We are really the trendsetters. They admire us but we never get credit. #afro #kinkycurly #naturalhair #naturalbeaty #kinky #allure"
Allure tells BuzzFeed Life that the Afro has a rich cultural history.
"The Afro has a rich cultural and aesthetic history. In this story, we show women using different hairstyles as an individual expressions [sic] of style. Using beauty and hair as a form of self-expression is a mirror of what's happening in our country today. The creativity is limitless—and pretty wonderful."