Dear gentle reader, Can we talk about Beauty Justice?
Dear gentle reader….
If I start that way, will you stay and listen?
What we are facing is a thousand papercuts - each one meant to be small and insignificant. Until it’s too late. Until we realize each papercut wasn’t actually alone. The goal, like many other things around us, was meant to overwhelm without alarm. The goal was to have an overloaded and fixed system for decline and failure before the harm was noticed in its entirety.
We have a few tangible examples of that swirling around us right now.
And my fear is the continuation of ignoring the very thing Malcolm began to warn us about when he said:
“The most disrespected person in America is the Black woman. The most unprotected person in America is the Black woman. The most neglected person in America is the Black woman.”—Malcolm X
And to elevate what Feminista Jones said when she elevated Malcom’s own words:
“Who taught you to hate the color of your skin? Who taught you to hate the texture of your hair? Who taught you to hate the shape of your nose and the shape of your lips? Who taught you to hate yourself from the top of your head to the soles of your feet?” Malcolm asked his audience. This remains not only a collection of potent quotables but also a testament to his commitment to the upliftment and empowerment of Black women.
Look, you can call me dramatic. That would be par for the course.
We all know of the canary & her coal mine.
We all know about strange fruit & the stories the trees hold.
Knowing and holding are different.
Holding requires absorption and application of wisdom.
Knowing, knowing allows you to move on. Or worse… pretend it won’t affect you.
It’s just a papercut after all.
Right?
Okay then, let’s talk about the papercuts. Let’s really outline what Black women are up against.
Papercut #1
The FDA knows that formaldehyde causes cancer. They said they would ban it in December. They didn’t. AND now they are increasing the amount they’ll allow.
Papercut #2
Ten of the most popular synthetic braiding hair brands Black women use were tested and every single one contained cancer causing chemicals. The brands are ignoring us - or calling science a lie. The FDA says that’s not their problem.
Papercut #3
Black women face the highest breast cancer mortality rate of any racial or ethnic group in the United States. A rate that is at least 41% higher than that for white women. Black women also face higher incidences of endometrial and ovarian cancer. (source)
Papercut #4
Black women have higher instances of fibroids. Black women face earlier puberty.
What do these things have in common? Hormones.
What do the toxic chemicals in personal care products heavily marketed to Black women do? Disrupt hormones.
Let’s keep going…..
Papercut #5
Black women face a dangerous intersection for developing Alzheimer’s. Women are twice as likely to develop the disease, and Black people are 2-3 times more likely to develop the disease.
Do you know what has an impact on modifiable risk factors for dementia? Estrogen. Do you know what hormone is often disrupted by personal care product toxic ingredients? Estrogen.
Hold on a second.
Papercut #6
We also now know that preventable deaths due to stress, hypertension and cancer take 35 million (yes, I said what I said) of potential years from Black women. That’s 628,464 lives over a 22 year period of time. One more note on this, there was progress seen from 1999-2015, then there was stagnation from 2016-2019 before regression was made in 2020. That regression reversed nearly all progress made in the past 20 years.
Let’s keep building.
Papercut #7
2025 saw approximately 297,000 jobs that were taken from Black women, 223,000 were unemployed in addition to that, and 75,000 had careers completely removed.
Papercut #8
Employer-sponsored health insurance, Medicaid roll backs, medical debt due to financial strain, abortion clinics, affordable medication. These are all things that directly affect a Black woman’s access to quality care.
Papercut #9
Defunding of long-term studies that centered women’s health.
Papercut #10
Maternal health. Globally there is a goal to improve education and access to address maternal mortality. However, as we have seen in the recent discrimination stress study, as well as here at home where mortality rates are increasing & wealthy Black mothers are still affected due to implicit bias, it’s more than education & mobility. Social determinants of health being addressed and improved are the only lever that shifts improving public health overall.
Plus. Hold on.
Papercut #11
Where you live and use your products that contain more toxic ingredients than others, you also dispose of those products in those communities. You use the water systems of those communities. The interaction between you and that chemical is not a one-time thing.
And to add some fuel to the fire, we’re now facing Data Centers impacting Black communities and neighborhoods & EPA rollbacks that affect Black communities and neighborhoods.
What isn’t good for you, isn’t good for the Earth.
Beauty justice is
Racial justice
Beauty justice is
Environmental Justice
Without the Earth.
Without Black women.
Well.
Now. This is important…
When we learn the truth, we can make room for the truth.
When we make room for the truth, we can build capacity.
When we build capacity, we can hold the truth.
We have to hold the truth so we can change the situation we are in.
And we can.
Take a look at what researchers learned about the power of your voice with the POWER Project.
Black women spend $7.5 billion dollars on beauty products a year. That is loud.
Do you know who learned this the hard way? Our ‘ol friend with the red & white dot.
We learned that. We can hold that. We can use that.
Power.
The only thing holding us back is whether or not we feel like we deserve to be well.
Here’s the goal & how we can direct that power-
Demand brands get it together.
And don’t let anyone tell you it isn’t possible.
Don’t believe me? Check out: Washington and California . They’re already making progress.