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Should my friend boycott a racially-insensitive bachelorette party?
- Thread starter Blent
- Start date
Of all the things to try and defend, putting on an afro wig so you can 'play Beyonce' as you learn to perform her dances isn't one of them. It's pretty obviously rooted in stereotypes and is more 'dressing up Black' as a costume than trying to imitate Beyonce herself. It's particularly gross when you consider the focus of Beyonce's output the past few years too.
Yeah getting an afro wig and calling it "the Beyonce wig" is an immediate red flag. I'd call that out, try to get them to stop, and bail if they're that insistent on it.
The video for her single Work it Out (still a bop, too).
But again, this was more Austin Powers promo. All instances of Beyonce in a fro is tied to this one movie from 20 years ago that nobody talks about anymore or remembers. lol
Boycott? Is your friend going to picket outside with a catchy chant?
I'm a Beyoncé super fan though and I agree, Bey in an Afro is 100% an Austin Powers thing. There has been one or two times since then she wore her hair in a way you could possibly describe as an Afro, but not the perfectly rounded and massive version the word Afro brings to mind for most people.
I'm a Beyoncé super fan though and I agree, Bey in an Afro is 100% an Austin Powers thing. There has been one or two times since then she wore her hair in a way you could possibly describe as an Afro, but not the perfectly rounded and massive version the word Afro brings to mind for most people.
User Banned (Permanent): Racist trolling over multiple posts and arguing in bad faith; account in junior phase
Surprised no one is calling out the store that sold them the wig in the first place. They really should be more diligent about not selling costume supplies to people who are the wrong etnicity.
...are white people who have hair textures course enough to naturally form "afros" themselves culturally insensitive?
I don't think this is the drag you think it is.
It's to point out that, although afros are synonymous with Black people (as one of the more common hair textures among Black/African people naturally forms afros), Black people are not the only ones who can have them. There are non-Black people with hair textures that can form afros. Believe it or not, there are also Black people with hair textures too loose to naturally form afros. So why would it matter that a costume shop sells afros to non-Black people?
The problem isn't "white people wearing afros." The problem is "white people wearing afros to represent a Black woman who never wears afros."
Like, I really want to stress how unintelligent this is. It is a racial association so basic I would honestly expect it from a 6-year-old.
That might be the quickest backpedal to a JAQoff I've ever seen.
Edit: Maybe JAQ is not the right term here, but it's dead obvious the poster is upset that white people can't freely use black culture as a costume, so feigning outrage at the costume shop apparently sounded smart to them.
Edit: Maybe JAQ is not the right term here, but it's dead obvious the poster is upset that white people can't freely use black culture as a costume, so feigning outrage at the costume shop apparently sounded smart to them.
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Are you for real or is this satire? Who, pray tell, is going to be in charge of analyzing a customer's ethnicity to properly judge whether they're, I don't know, black enough (or whatever the metric is) to be able to buy a specific wig from them? Can't you see how quickly that'd build into a massive mess?
I feel like the line you're drawing doesn't exist. A white person in an afro can only really be doing it for the purpose of cultural appropriation. Like under what circumstances is it ok for a person to paint their face black?
I'm not saying that I'm saying why sell afro wigs in the first place if they're insensitive?
...So, you're segueing to blackface and skin tones. In an argument. With a Black person.
At what point do you think you should just...I dunno...listen?
A white person in an Afro is so not even in the same solar system as a a white person in black face. What. The. Fuck. I'm not even sure you're arguing in good faith anymore.
I'm in agreement that white people shouldn't wear afro wigs, it just seemed like a natural comparison to make.
Maybe I should have said the manufacturer instead? If people are using their products inappropriately don't they have some kind of responsibility to try to mitigate that?
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afro wigs are guns now? a bit smokey in here i can't quite make out what you're doing.
I'm not the biggest beyonce fan but when has she ever had her hair in an afro i can only think of that austin powers movie?
As an aside, did you know Bob Ross did not have naturally curly hair like that? He happened to get a perm for the pilot and the producers made him keep it up, much to his chagrin. He hated it.
I don't see a problem with a wig. As long as no dark makeup is involved, it sounds just fine to me.
Literally the next comment after this.
I'm sorry but exactly for this reason I won't make assumptions about people. Beyoncé is adored by millions of people worldwide regardless of color.
And those millions of people also know she doesn't wear a fucking afro.
Like, I really don't get what's not clicking at this point.
We both seem to have different life experiences. Then again, im Canadian.
She is. Did I say otherwise?
Possibly. Or maybe people need to stop giving passes and the benefit of the doubt to white people?
but they're so easy to relate to. i can look at them and just think "what it that was me, i would want someone to give me as many chances and benefit of doubt as possible."
I don't believe that at all. How can you watch the single ladies video enough to learn the dance moves so you can imitate them; but you never somehow SAW Beyonce in the video you watched enough to learn the choreography🤔
Mmmmm-Nah... Let's keep it honest here. There ain't no way in hell their only view of Beyonce is 1/3 of a movie from a decade ago.
What are you doing right now? Do you not understand that doing/saying a racist thing is not the same as being a virulent racist?
or maybe and hear me out here, people judge people for who they are...not...you know...the color of their skin
Black person here. This thread has really gotten in the weeds. Beyoncé is an icon so the event sounds like fun. As far as the wig, I'd probably just avoid it.
Your friend knows if the wig ( an Afro for Beyoncé? SMH) was bought with negative intent behind it. She also knows if the people going are likely racist or not. The wig will not be what breaks the camels back at the party. If they are truly doing something wrong, there will either be more stuff or comments. Either way, it sounds harmless until it isn't.
sounds like your friend is worried about latter. I'd probably start there and ask why.
Your friend knows if the wig ( an Afro for Beyoncé? SMH) was bought with negative intent behind it. She also knows if the people going are likely racist or not. The wig will not be what breaks the camels back at the party. If they are truly doing something wrong, there will either be more stuff or comments. Either way, it sounds harmless until it isn't.
sounds like your friend is worried about latter. I'd probably start there and ask why.
I was kind of eh on the idea of a wig. But then you added that it's an afro wig and I'd say that's a no-go.
I like how OP was picking up racism hotspots on their sensor before even they knew about the afro part of the story.
A truly valuable lesson in never giving the whites an inch.
A truly valuable lesson in never giving the whites an inch.
If a white person have to ask "Will this be considered racist?" 99.99% of the time, the answer will be...Yes.
Wearing an afro isn't trying to imitate Beyonce, it's imitating a stereotype of black people. She doesn't wear afros usually so it's not an imitation of her. You're giving these people way too much benefit of the doubt.
This is basically what i thought when i was reading and then I saw the edit lol. I think it's fine to do the whole theme and everything, but Beyonce never really wears an afro (like once??). The first thing that came to my mind was blonde straight hair or a pony tail or something which is still fine because I mean people dress up as others all the time and I don't think there is a problem with that. But if the first thing you think of when you see a black singer who rarely wears an afro is an afro wig makes me think you got the wig to make your white friend look more black without full on dropping black face on her. That's when I think it ends up being a bad idea lol.
White people in the UK are really oblivious to stupid racist shit like this. There's definitely no malice in this. Just ignorance. If you tell them they'll definitely get all defensive, so I think just making an excuse and not going is the best bet.
As a white person, it's definitely safe to assume that most white people you meet are either racist or are racially insensitive at best.
I feel like there's more than enough out there about the myriad ways black women are infringed upon solely over their hair (let alone everything else) that a wig in general is a bad idea. That it's an afro is not only just inaccurate as to the person they're attempting to portray, it's cartoonishly stereotypical.