Tabloid Compares Solange Knowles's Hair to a Yorkipoo's Fur
In Touch Weekly’s “Double Creature” feature. Photo: Bossip.com
Tabloids aren’t exactly known for their accuracy. Week after week, each reports that Jennifer Aniston’s pregnant, Brad and Angelina are getting divorced (or also pregnant), or Kim Kardashian is up to something (anything!). So yes, their content often strays far from the truth, but it’s usually not downright racist.
In a recent issue of In Touch Weekly, a feature called “Double Creature” compared Solange Knowles to a dog. The reader-submitted blurb reads, “Yorkipoo Jackie is ‘basically twinsies’ with Beyoncé’s sis, says the 5-year-old pup’s owner, Brian Murray Jr. ‘They rock the same hairdo and he’s very loyal to his…’”
Related: Emma Stone & Jennifer Lawrence: Celebs Have Bad Hair Days, Too
The publication likening a woman choosing to wear her hair naturally to a dog has outraged many, calling the association ignorant and racist. “[It’s] a sobering reminder of the resistance some black women face when they choose to rock their natural hair unapologetically,“ Leila Noelliste, the creator of blackgirllonghair.com, writes on the site. She notes that the offensive photo is especially disconcerting considering the positive press attention Knowles received surrounding the afro style the singer wore to her recent wedding.
Patrice Grell Yursik, founder of the blog Afrobella, tells Yahoo Style that while she thinks that the article was an attempt to be cute, it’s actually a total fail. “It’s obviously offensive to compare a woman of color’s natural hair to a dog’s fur,” she says. “Even though this was reader submitted, I think it was ignorant and ill advised of In Touch to publish it.”
Related: Black Women Cheer Halle Berry for Saying ‘No’ to Straightening Daughter’s Hair
In a statement, the magazine explains that they publish a weekly story called “Animal Overload,” including a regular column called “Double Creature.” It insists that the recurring series is meant to be fun and each one incorporates a diverse selection of both people and pets. “In response to recent articles printed, we want to make it clear that there was never any intent to be insensitive and no harm was meant towards anyone.”
Those that choose not to style their hair with relaxers, or in a traditional way, have continuously received negative attention for their look. When Blue Ivy Knowles, Solange’s niece, appeared at the Video Music Awards this summer, the 2-year-old was condemned for having “unkempt” and “dry” hair. During Gabby Douglas’s stint at the London Olympics, critics called the then 16-year-old’s chemically straightened ponytail a supposed failure to properly “represent” the African American community.
But while this continuous disparagement is obviously maddening, Petra, a writer for blackhairinformation.com, notes: “People say crazy stuff all the time about our hair and general appearance, we are used to it, we depend on each other to know what is right, what is mediocre and what is down right wrong to say,”
