Woman sues salon that told her, “We don’t do African American hair”

The hot topic of discussion on Jezebel today is Brenda McElmore, a California woman who is suing her local J.C. Penney salon for racial discrimination (and being represented by Gloria Allred, to boot). McElmore stopped into the salon because she wanted to have her hair dyed black, but was told by the salon’s receptionist that they “don’t do African American hair.”

Jezebel’s Dodai poses the question, “Should a woman be able to walk into her local salon and expect services, no matter her color, race or hair texture? Or should black people only go to ‘black’ salons, Asian people go to Asian salons, and so on?”

In a perfect world, I would say that you should be able to walk into any salon and not have to worry about whether they cater to your ethnicity. Although various cultures have different characteristics to their hair, it’s not like you have to spend extra years in cosmetology school to learn how to do different types of hair in a very general sense (such as creating an updo or putting in some curls).

But the reality is that not everybody can, or is willing to do, ethnic hair. I’ve had my hair messed up a number of times by salons (white and black) that didn’t know what to do with my curls – even though they may have tried their best to accommodate me.  I had a stylist at one salon tell me that my hair was “too… dark” for her to work with, and so I never ended up giving that salon my business.

My solution over the years has been to find a stylist who is very good at doing my hair (through much trial and error, usually) and remain very loyal to that person for as long as I can. My current stylist is a Jewish man who specializes in black hair, and is phenomenal at doing it (he’s booked up for weeks at a time).

So in my opinion, you don’t have to go to someone of your same race to have your hair done properly. You just need to find a stylist who understands the nuances of working with certain types of hair. And chances are, you’re not going to find that person at the J.C. Penney salon.

What do you think?

• Did J.C. Penney really discriminate against this woman when they told her they couldn’t do her hair? Or did they save her from getting her hair jacked up by a stylist who was honest (albeit in a tactless way) that she doesn’t know what she’s doing
• Should all salons have a basic knowledge of how to do everyone’s hair, or should people stick to salons that represent their race/culture? And what if you live in a town that doesn’t have a salon that caters to your hair (as is the case with my hometown)?

Woman Denied Service At JC Penney Salon For Having Black Hair [Jezebel]

Woman Says JC Penney Denied Service Because She Is Black [KTLA]

JC Penny’s Doesn’t Do “Black Hair” [Womanist Musings]

Ad Age columnist wants you to give a “fair shake” to bleaching creams

Mythili Chandrasekar, one of the top executives at JWT India, made a plea on Ad Age today for readers to give a “fair shake” to fairness creams – products created to lighten your skin that are marketed to ethnic people around the globe.

Her argument? In the past, fairness-cream ads claimed that having lighter skin will allow you to find a husband. But today, those ads show women with lighter skin will have an easier time finding a job. Also, men are being targeted as a growing market for fairness creams.

See how progressive that is? Fairness creams are promoting gender equity these days!

The ad that Chandrasekar uses as an example of how fairness-cream advertising has shifted is this one for Fair & Lovely cream, in which a man exercises furiously to lose weight and capture the heart of a fair-skinned Indian woman.

Fairness-cream commercials have shifted from showing women who say, “I’m worried about whether the man will accept me” to “See what an effect I have on the man,” Chandrasekar says. And that supposedly means progress.

Just one problem… I don’t think sexism is the primary argument against fairness creams or their marketing. How about the fact that these ads imply that a person’s worth only increases as their skin becomes lighter? Isn’t that the inherent problem here? Sadly, Chandrasekar does nothing to address that issue.

Also, I’m not sure fairness cream marketing has shifted quite as much as Chandrasekar claims… Take a look at this commercial that ran earlier this year in India for Pond’s White Beauty. The commercial, part of a five-part series, features a woman who loses her boyfriend to a lighter skinned woman, until she uses White Beauty to lighten her complexion and win back his affection:

If you’d like to see the full story of how lighter skin equals a more successful love life, check out the Japanese commercials for Pond’s Flawless White (can the names for these creams be any more offensive?), which follows the exact same story line:

Sorry, Ms. Chandrasekar. I don’t think you can claim “progress” until the cosmetics and ad industries stop telling people that their success depends upon bleaching their skin.

Related:

Life Is Fair [MulticultClassics]

“White Beauty” has an ugly message [Jezebel]

Skin-whitening adverts ignite race row in India [The Independent]

Obama vs. McCain: B-boying for ballots

Since voter fatigue is starting to set in for most people (me included – I just want the election to be done already!), maybe Obama and McCain really should just settle the score with a dance-off and call it a day. There’s probably not much else they can say or do to win over undecided voters at this point, anyway.

[via The Black Snob]