Analysis Of Taylor's Critique Of Dark & Lovely Hair Care

I will demonstrate that Taylor's critique of the Dark & Lovely hair care brand is flawed for multiple reasons (105-106).

First, Dark & Lovely products provide black women with the opportunity to indulge in personal aesthetics. The brand offers an array of stylistic options for black women, including products suited for damaged hair, dry hair, breaking hair, braided hair, and natural hair. With an exceedingly wide variety of products, and an abundance of options, black women have an increased flexibility of style. Such flexibility allows black women to establish an individual and unique sense of style. This is an essential concept for all women, as they have faced hundreds of years of oppression. For black women especially, possessing the freedom
Attempting to style one's hair on a daily basis is frequently a frustrating task, especially for black women whose hair is uncontrollable at times. Having hair care products which ease this task is a luxury which should be available to anyone who is concerned with managing their hair. Black women should have greater access to such products, as their hair presents particular challenges that other women do not have to face. While white women have the freedom to leave their hair in its natural state without it becoming a nuisance, black women must put in extra effort to achieve an effortless style. Dark & Lovely products free black women from the hassle associated with
Taylor points out that the brand name originates from a famous biblical passage in the Song of Songs which uses the phrase "Dark am I, yet lovely." He explains how darkness and loveliness are seen as being in tension with one another, and the brand name plays on that concept by changing the term "yet" to "and." Though Taylor views this shift as demeaning, the shift allows women to view themselves as inherently lovely, revolutionizing the idea that black women cannot fully live up to European beauty standards. The name suggests that black women are lovely, and encourages them to think of themselves as such. For many years black women were seen as unequipped for beauty, however, the Dark & Lovely brand along with a changing ideology reminds them that they are beautiful and cannot be diminished by certain beauty standards. Products which recognize the beauty of black women and work to accommodate their beauty needs allow black women to express themselves aesthetically. Initially establishing that black women are beautiful allows them to experiment with that idea, boldly shaping and styling their hair to suit the look that they are aiming for. Historically, black women were thought of as aesthetically inferior, which is demonstrated by the coupling of the words "dark yet lovely." Now, black women are beginning to be included in the standardization of beauty, making the name "dark and lovely" and