It is NEVER just hair!
In an article written by Reductress called: “Beautiful! This woman embraced her natural boring hair color”, they write about how 32-year-old Darcy Johnson took the brave and groundbreaking step of accepting the ‘boring hair color’ she was born with, and how her drab choice was so beautiful and brave!
They quoted:
“Johnson’s natural hair color might best be described as a sort of a brownish grayish mousy dishwater color—kind of like the color of a raccoon, if you took out the interesting black and white parts. In fact, her hair is exactly the color of a squirrel. Not the red ones—the other ones. Wow, so natural!”
They go so far as to call it an unremarkable hair color. Can you believe it? Notice that they are calling it a “beautiful choice” while dissing her hair color. How can this truly be empowering to women with darker features who wish to embrace their natural hair?
Let’s be real. I see beauty, I see shine and vibrancy! I think we could all agree that her natural brown hair shade is anything but boring, and nothing short of unique and truly gorgeous! And not to mention her skin tone, phenotypes, eyes and much more.
So what’s up with all this dissing of brunette women embracing their natural hair color? Articles like this leave me bothered and a little upset. Articles like these are what encourage women to do the very opposite as to what is ‘supposedly’ being promoted! Instead of uplifting and encouraging women with dark features to embrace their natural hair because it is beautiful, instead we see these shaming tactics put on the forefront, once again.
Heck, we even do it to ourselves! Anytime someone of a different hair color or type is celebrated, we automatically switch to 'inferior complex' mode and start putting ourselves down.
But.... its just a freagin' hair color! Why are you being so sensitive?? It just hair!!!!
Let me make something clear to all of you who think this way. A woman's hair is her glory! You insult a woman's hair, you insult the woman! Plain and simple!
To all European women and girls with dark features: I want you all to understand that we should stop allowing the negative opinions of others define how we feel about ourselves. We also need to stop criticizing our own looks. We need to stop trying to emulate those who are considered to be valued more. Why do we compare ourselves with woman with lighter features as if our beauty depends on whether or not we have them? Think about this, ladies. If it is just a hair color and nothing else, why do we base our value on it? Why do we care so much about what others think? And why are so many of us working so hard to change our looks?
The beauty industry is making a killing off of us. Bronze to light skinned women who have dark features literally spend billions a year on hair dye and bleach. All this money in attempts to get “beautiful hair”?
I, in particular; cannot afford root touch ups every other week, so that leaves me no choice but to embrace my natural look anyway. But I’ve also come to realize the beauty of my natural dark hair and have even learned to fall in love with it, embrace it and celebrate it for what it is! I do encourage others to do the same.
And yes, in an attempt to do so, we will also be confronted with some very conceited and high-minded individuals who honestly think that they are superior to everyone else due to their rare features and/or traits. Some of these people honestly believe that they are the only people who have the right to be celebrated. But in this I will also acknowledge that there are some women with darker features who are just as arrogant and high minded as some of these heady people who criticize our looks, and I am not justifying that either. But there are a lot of bloggers like these, even barbers and hair stylists out there who are very keen to encourage women to “spice things up” when it comes to their solid dark hair colors, as brown hair is perceived as a “plain” or a “boring” color and is extremely underrated and more common than lighter hair colors. But no matter how it is perceived by others, you can’t go wrong by going natural. It’s what nature intended and no bleached or fake dyed job will even come close to the natural beauty of dark hair.
On the other hand, if you are one of those women who do not feel like it’s a big deal then that is ok. But that doesn’t take away from the validation of someone else’s experiences, problems, insecurities or disposition.
Women with rare features have it so easy don’t they? It is so easy to stand out with light and bright features. But it seems that brunettes have to work so much harder to even get remotely noticed! They will never understand the struggle! This dark hair type on light skinned women has always been underrated.
So, in spite of all of this, why do I encourage light skinned women with dark features to embrace their natural hair and looks? In spite of it being called ‘boring’, ‘common’ and ‘inferior’, I see a special kind of beauty in natural dark hair shades that are unmatched by other hair colors and I consider it empowering to embrace it. Fair skinned brunettes are especially beautiful because dark hair has always had a nice shine and ring to it that makes it look elegant and different from your skin tone. Porcelain skin with dark hair is truly gorgeous, and especially unique to non-Western parts of the world!
So why is dark hair so devalued in our society? Why is light haired beauty so elevated above darker features? They've got magazines, sites, festivals and days dedicated to celebrating their rare beauty. We hear about it all the time. People from all over Europe, America and other places in the world flock to these `special events’ in celebration of this type of beauty. And no one berates these people for celebrating their hair. But what happens when we attempt to show pride and excitement for our given traits?
We are instantly met with criticism. Here is a list of the common criticisms you may hear from others:
Brunette Shaming Tactics 101
Brunette Women: ‘Celebrates her natural hair’
People:
‘Blondes and redheads for the win, brunettes are too common, nothing special’,
‘Brunettes are a dime a dozen’,
‘You’re too common, but our hair is 1 to 2 percent of the population,’
‘You’re jealous, aren’t you?’
'You women are so desperate for attention'!
'Dark features will never be esteemed as those with lighter features'
‘Give it up! You can’t make people like you!’
‘Brown hair is so overrated.’
‘Things that are rare are valued higher.’
'Default hair is not unique.'
'Why don't brunettes have solidarity? Because they're two a penny. That's why.'
Brunette Woman: ‘refuses to dye her hair’
People:
‘Maybe you should get highlights (or lowlights) to spice things up’,
‘There are like, so many brunettes, I bet you don’t even feel unique’,
‘Oh! Red hair is the best hair color in the world!'
‘Brown hair is so boring’ 'Blondes and Redheads over brunettes..." 'Too bad - you might actually accomplish something otherwise.'
'Why don't you hold yourself to a standard?'
'Sorry, blondes are much better.'
'Here is a brunette... nothing special.'
(Plus being overlooked a lot)
Brunette Woman: ‘Dyes her hair’
People:
‘Did you dye your hair?’
‘Why do you want to be blonde/Red/Raven haired?’
'Why do you hate your looks so much to be burning your hair?'
‘LOL, look at this insecure girl is dying her dark hair red because she can’t grow beautiful hair like ours naturally! I’m even more proud to be a redhead!’
‘Well, you can’t sit with us because this is for NATURAL redheads, only’,
"I prefer natural redheads/blondes, not the bottled ones."
‘Natural beauty is always better than fake dye jobs’
‘Your hair looks as fake as hell!’
‘Those root touch ups must be pretty expensive.’
Brunette Women: So what if my hair color is brown. I have a pretty face and a pretty heart. Shouldn’t that be what matters?
Men:
‘Welcome to jealousy. I personally prefer red hair from ginger to classic range.’
‘Blonde is still more beautiful. Nature can’t be fooled’.
‘Brunettes are too overrated in the media’.
'Last I looked, "default" isn't unique.'
If it is just a hair color, then why is it that when a woman with dark features embraces her natural hair, eye color and texture, and attempt to celebrate it, they are often met with criticism by other women who have lighter and brighter features and men who prefer other beauty types?
It is NEVER just hair!
Certainly, this does not apply to every white woman with light features or every man who prefers blondes, but we can’t just pretend that this shaming does not happen, when obviously it does! But why are we so underrated? It’s our natural hair? Sadly, it is perceived that way. But we also must realize that just because others may express their negative opinions or distaste towards us doesn’t mean that we have to surrender to a low self-esteem. Its ok for you to choose to embrace and celebrate your natural beauty, and if this makes others feel uncomfortable, well… sorry but not sorry. I’m not sorry if this makes others feel uncomfortable! I’m not sorry that some people are so arrogant that they can’t deal with the fact that the whole world doesn’t just revolve around them! Others deserve to be celebrated, too!
So let’s be honest with ourselves. Lets stop believing in the shaming tactics and the ‘it’s just hair’ nonsense! It’s not just hair! It’s more than that! Get it? Awesome!
It's all about the brunette! 🙌 #classy #darkfeatures #nohate #lovebrowneyes #LoveBlueEyes #LoveGreenEyes #brunettes 👸🏻😍👌
Also read:
Comments