The Trial & Error of Dove’s Relationship with Black Women

Summer 2019 has become a milestone for hair in the Black community, and the allies that stepped up to rally for their cause have been essential in pushing this momentum forward.

It’s been only a month since the CROWN Act was passed in California, and the push to legally protecting Black women’s hairstyles has never been stronger. New York became the second state to ban discrimination against natural hair, with New Jersey and Wisconsin seeking to follow suit. 

These monumental rulings are to be credited to the CROWN Coalition, an alliance committed to advancing anti-discrimation legislation across the United States. One of the biggest supporters who founded the coalition is Dove, the (usually) reputable personal care brand. They were a huge component of creating the CROWN Coalition by funding the research study on how Black women’s hair affects their personal and professional livelihood. 

While Dove has been recognized for brilliant, affirming campaigns such as Real Beauty Sketches and Beauty Portraits, there have been some ads that have received less praise.

In 2011, Dove Visible Care body wash ran an ad featuring three women standing in front of two backdrops labeled “before” and “after”, the former having a cracked surface and the latter displaying a smooth surface. The women’s skin tone ascended to lighter shades from left to right.

More recently in 2017, Dove body wash released another ad showing a Black woman taking off her shirt, revealing to turn into a white woman, who then took off her shirt and turned into an Asian woman. 

Both of these ads were met with accusations of the brand being “racist” and “missing the mark”. Black women were especially vocal with criticism of the brand’s poor representation.

Dove has attempted to bounce back from their bad portrayals in ads; in 2016, they launched the “Love Your Hair” campaign. The campaign included a music video for the song, “My Crown, My Curl”, performed by Kelly Rowland. The song was meant to be an anthem for girls and women of all colors and curls to love their natural hair under any circumstances. Dove did seem to have great intentions for this campaign, and it would have been a great attempt to redeem themselves with their Black women audience. 

Unfortunately, the mark was missed again.

There are a few issues with this campaign, primarily all related to the actual music video. Firstly, Kelly Rowland. Kelly is an amazing artist that is widely adored and highly-thought of. But Rowland has served an injustice to black girls for participating in this. While the hairstyle she has in the music video is gorgeous, it is not her actual natural hair. Instead, it is a weave of the curly, 3B/3C textured hair that is already fawned after and favorited not only in society, but also the Black community. Black girls with coarser and kinkier curls will always need representation. For a black woman who does have a natural 4C curl to not wear her real hair out on a platform as wide as this is disheartening. 

Secondly, in a clip before the music starts, we meet a series of young girls explaining their hair woes. Two Black girls were sent home from school for having box braids. A white girl mentioned getting bullied for her short hair, so her sister also cut her hair short for support. Girls of both races speak of the hurtful names they’ve been called in association with their hair. 

These are not the same battles.

White girls getting made fun of for having red hair or short hair is not the same as black girls getting sent home from school for having extensions or apprehended for their afros. Bullying does not size up to discrimination. Not only are Black girls undoubtedly taking an emotional toll on being judged by their hair, but they are missing out. They are being denied opportunities and chances to advance in their education or careers due solely to their hair. Black girls do not deserve to be grouped with the majority. Their struggles deserve their own undivided attention.

Despite the mishaps and mistakes that Dove may have made, it is important to acknowledge how they are actively fighting for Black women and their right to simply exist with their hair. They have played a huge role in getting the CROWN Act passed, and are presumably still supporting the efforts to get similar laws passed. They have sponsored events that celebrate Black hair, such as the annual natural hair festival CURLFEST. As of recent cases, they are proving to correctly use their heads when it comes to prioritizing our heads.

While this allyship is noticeably becoming more beneficial to the fight for freedom of hair, it’s still important to hold them accountable to their past mistakes. Constructing criticism will take future partnerships very, very far.