Celebrity hairstylist provokes controversy with a racist statement
Note from BW of Brazil: You can always count on it. The racism that is so widespread in Brazilian society will always come out in the very people who either deny that it exists or admit that it exists but that it is always someone else who is actually racist. Remember the report that revealed that 92% of Brazilians admit that racism exists in Brazil, but only 1.3% of the same people admitted to personally harboring racist sentiments. On the one hand you could actually say this is improvement considering how for decades many Brazilians flatly denied the existence of the social disease.
Consider todays story as just the latest example of how Brazilian society deals with its racist sentiments. In the latest controversy, a hairstylist of the stars basically excuses herself after making a racist association between black people and certain negative attributes. In typical Brazilian fashion, the racist is never him/herself but rather someone else. My assessment? I guess it is actually possible that the woman in question doesn’t actually harbor racist sentiments. I doubt it, but it IS possible. Giving her the benefit of doubt, her excuse explanation that she used to always hear such sentiments simply affirms that it is very common to hear such comments about black Brazilians.
When so many individuals of a given society feel the same way about a given topic, the individual becomes the collective.
Celebrity hairstylist provokes controversy with the racist statement: “Black, ugly, stinky and poor”
Eliana Martins takes care of the extensions of Marília Mendonça, Hariany Almeida, among others
Courtesy of Marie Claire
Eliana Martins has already done hair extensions for singer Marília Mendonça, reality show personality Hariany Almeida and Simone, of the sister, singing duo Simone & Simaria, and caused controversy in social networks during a lecture.
The stylist, who has a salon in Goiânia state, said to guests of the event:
“I didn’t have the money to pay for college; total poverty. At that time, 16 years ago, who had megahair (weaves)? Preto, feio, fedido e pobre (black, ugly, stinky and poor). I said ‘no’. That’s what I’m going to do with my life, I want to put wigs on people. In the beginning it was slave labor because you had to stay six, seven hours on one head.”
Monday, via her Instagram account, the businesswoman gave her version of the facts and apologized to those who were offended by her words.
“I expressed myself badly, yes. Unfortunately, the video went viral, but I meant for those people who were there to never give up on their dreams. We have to believe in our dreams. At the time, when I said that I wanted to specialize in mega-hair, many said that this doesn’t bring money, this is something of low-income people, who wore it and they were black. I always said that that was no problem, that it was my passion.
The society I’ve lived in for 17 years has been aggressive, and I ended up talking the way I used to hear. I was very offended and I understand that whoever saw the video felt offended. It’s a very offensive way that I spoke in the video. That was how I used to hear it.”
Source: Marie Claire
Leave a Reply