Do Black Beauty Bloggers & Activism Mix?

Photo: WENN 

Beauty bloggers and activism are rarely grouped together, but with social media so heavily influenced by both and vice versa, how could they not eventually collide?

This week, black beauty mavens are the center of a debate ignited by Luvvie Ajayi, of AwesomelyLuvvie, whose impassioned words on Twitter and Facebook question the balance of business versus personal conviction during the anti-racism movement.

“While we were calling out white bloggers, hella black bloggers ain’t say A WORD about Charleston. That’s wack as hell,” she wrote, speaking specifically about the church murders in Charleston, South Carolina.

“That red lip tutorial and eyeshadow swatch wasn’t going a damb place. Keep being quiet about sh-t that matters b/c it’s not your ‘brand.’…You’re going after multicultural brand dollars but won’t say nothing as the people you “target” are being targeted in the streets…When Black people are being killed, and you are Black with a platform that IS your lane. Come on. You are a person, not a product.”

Unsurprisingly, the niche community had varying responses to Luvvie’s call to action. While some see it as a blatant attack on black women who are essentially working for themselves, others used it as an opportunity to explain their silence. And of course, there were those who continued to turn a blind eye and go about their day to day work; OOTD posts included.

Photo: WENN

Although the questions being asked are straight forward (see Luvvie’s words in full here), my somewhat loaded response poses a few questions in return. Through my experience as an editor, I’ve learned that a lot of bloggers stay in their lane simply because they don’t know how to do otherwise. Sure, a simple hashtag or retweet shows some glimmer of support, but going beyond that with a significant piece of writing or even lengthy Facebook post can easily go left for those who use visuals as their primary source for self-expression.

Now, this isn’t to say that those who work fashion & beauty fields are completely obtuse. If they were, we wouldn’t constantly challenge mainstream publications to embrace diversity and steer away from cultural appropriation. However, the women behind these YouTube videos are still human and speaking out about racial issues can be scary if you’re simply not comfortable talking about it in front of an online audience.

So, when essays and social media “reads” aren’t your forte, how can you still support activism and make a significant impact?

It might mean creating a separate, personal Twitter account for bloggers with a large following. Maybe your activism offline increases. More importantly, use your Instagram, Facebook and Twitter page to link your visual expertise with the black women’s experience; isn’t that part of your job anyway?

The beauty of being a blogger is that you are the creator of your brand and destiny. Some income may come from those big names, but that isn’t reason enough to suppress your personal choices; especially when the majority of these brands still struggle to create quality products for women of color. Long story short; there is more than one way to support a cause, especially when it directly relates to you.

And if you simply don’t care enough to address it…well, that requires an entirely new conversation.

What are your thoughts?

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