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‘Making Black More Beautiful’: Black Women and the Cosmetics Industry in the Post‐Civil Rights Era
Author(s) -
Baird Melissa L.
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
gender and history
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.153
H-Index - 30
eISSN - 1468-0424
pISSN - 0953-5233
DOI - 10.1111/1468-0424.12522
Subject(s) - beauty , mainstream , cosmetics , commodification , cosmetic industry , civil rights , black women , advertising , television industry , aesthetics , sociology , business , political science , art , gender studies , law , economics , economy , medicine , pathology
Abstract This article explores how the ‘Black is Beautiful’ movement transformed attitudes towards beauty standards within black communities and how the cosmetics industry tried to capitalise on these shifts in their marketing strategies. It charts how redefined beauty standards generated a proliferation of cosmetics companies and products exclusively for black women, and their success attracted widespread attention from across the industry. However, this article demonstrates that while the cosmetics industry removed certain racialised barriers to mainstream American beauty culture, the commodification of the language and imagery of “Black is Beautiful” in cosmetics advertising often reinforced gendered expectations as well as heightening tensions within black communities in regard to colourism and business ownership.