Hayfa el Mansur, Nappily Ever After (2018): Chasing Perfection

Abstract

2018 Netflix movie Nappily Ever After voices the relationship of Black women with their natural hair and try to free them from the white beauty ideals imposed by the modern culture. By delving into historical connotations, this film review aims to understand how and why stereotypical narratives about African-American beauty and hair exist in media and shows the societal and psychological consequences of underrepresentation.

Fashion, consumer markets, and democratization

“…For instance, consumers who do not meet the standard definitions of beauty and style, such as Hispanic women with larger hips, Indian women with brown skin color, Asian women with monolid eye shape, shorter women, and more are being marginalized by fashion industry (Cavusoglu, 2019a). When such diverse consumers do not see themselves represented in the fashion scene, they feel excluded and not worthy of being represented (Cavusoglu, 2019b), further obstructing democratization. As one result of normalizing the feminine into one ideal type, women of color are found to have higher levels of beauty‐product related chemicals in their bodies than White women due to greater use of cosmetic products in order to comply with the ideal (Zota & Shamasunder, 2017) and disproportionately experience social, economic, and romantic inequality due to their physical appearance, and face physiological, social, and psychological threats to their well‐being (Cavusoglu, 2019b).…”

“…Furthermore, over the past decades, critical scholars voiced their concerns about the challenges associated with the severe negative impacts of the fashion industry that bear disproportionally on the lower classes and the dispossessed, leading to social, environmental, and creative exploitation. Exploitation of labor and natural resources, especially in less developed parts of the world, promotion of artificial newness, encouragement of disposability leading to increasing textile waste, lack of diversity, and unethical business practices are some of the negative impacts (Beard, 2008;Biehl-Missal, 2013;Cavusoglu, 2019aCavusoglu, , 2019bFletcher, 2008;McRobbie, 1997;Morgan & Birtwistle, 2009;Ozdamar Ertekin & Atik, 2015, 2020a, 2020b. Still, most people around the world (including those who labor to produce fashion products) cannot afford even fast fashion.…”