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Home / Entertainment & Culture / There’s A Petition To Get Beyoncé To Comb Blue Ivy’s Natural Hair

There’s A Petition To Get Beyoncé To Comb Blue Ivy’s Natural Hair

By on June 12, 2014
Blue Ivy

Beyonce, Blue Ivy, and Jay Z

In more bizarre racist news, the popular site change.org, which allows regular citizens to launch large-scale petitions, was used by a woman  to start a petition to get Beyoncé to comb Blue Ivy’s natural hair. [Blue Ivy is her child].

The petition states:

“As a woman who understands the importance of hair care. It’s disturbing to watch a child suffering from the lack of hair moisture. The parents of Blue Ivy. Sean Carter A.K.A Jay-Z and Beyoncé has failed at numerous attempts of doing Blue Ivy Hair. This matter has escalated to the child developing matted dreads and lint balls. Please let’s get the word out to properly care for Blue Ivy hair.”

The creator of this ridiculously offensive petition, Jasmine Toliver, stated that it was all a joke. In fact, she’s natural herself. She says:

“My joke took off anything I guess with ‘sign a petition’ is funny…If I would’ve said ‘sign a petition to save Lebron James hairline’ that would’ve took off (too)! It’s a clever joke! Nobody came up with before.”

Toliver continued by saying:

“Yes I’m natural! Have a seat to most people. I can care less about Beyoncé or (Jay Z) but I do care for the kids hair. People make nothing out of something. I love being black! I’m proud my bloodline runs from Africa. I’m proud of my own tightly coiled kinks. I’m proud of my big lips and brown skin. People just need to (breathe) and chill out.”

The petition already has over 2,000 signatures. To provide you with some context, change.org is usually used to overturn or pressure organizations that are engaging with oppressive practices. There have been change.org petitions for dismantling systems of sexual assault, fighting racist systems of oppression, etc. So, it’s a bit odd that Toliver is using this platform to make a joke about natural hair, especially when so many people are still not comfortable with the sight of natural hair.

BLUE IVY 2

Blue Ivy and Jay-Z

In fact, we don’t know if the people who signed the petition were joking like Toliver was. Most people thought the petition was real.

Toliver may have ironically garnered support from racist folks. Though she may have created the petition as a joke, it still highlights the GIANT cultural panic over the sight of natural hair. Hair is political, and natural hair is powerful.

If Toliver wanted to make a joke, she should have poked fun at straight hair textures. It makes no sense to degrade natural hair even further, especially when so many black folks are still grappling with their hair in its natural state.

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  • Angela

    I’m very disgusted with how we, as a black community,tear one down each other over trivial matters. Disgusted how we feel privy to police and criticize each other on shared physical attributes in a culture that already tells us that we are not beautiful. What hurts the most? We do it on global scale for all to see. We prove how well trained we believe our worth lies not in the sum but in the parts of us. Of all things to petition for, why hair? Why not petition for clean water? Or for a store that sells wholesome food in a black neighborhood? Of all things, a petition for Beyonce to comb her child’s hair? We don’t know what goes on behind the scenes of this woman’s private life. We don’t know what was going on when that photo was taken that day. And it’s none of our business. On that note,this touches on another problem I see in our community: our idolization of celebrities and our preoccupation with their public and private lives. Abit over the place but my thoughts.

    • Aphrodite Kocieda

      Thanks for sharing your opinions Angela. I completely agree!! I think so many of us are exhausted with the tensions over natural hair. As you said, rather than petitioning for clean water or petitioning to end poverty, we’re petitioning natural hair. Thanks for reading and sharing your thoughts!

  • Sheba

    Her petition may have gained racist support, but she did not intend it as such. That’s like saying the declaration of independence is invalid due to it’s immoral supporters. The main point of the petition was exactly as stated. The child’s hair looks unruly in no positive light. Everyone is blowing this completely out of proportion.

    • Aphrodite Kocieda

      I agree; however, this isn’t the first time that a young girl’s hair is the source of conflict. So many young black kids are told to change their hair texture for school because it doesn’t fit the “dress code.” seriously. Black kids have been told that they need to comb their hair…i’ve even been told that…so for me, it’s not that funny. Or, think about the military’s recent decision to discipline black women who wear corn rows. Though the creator of the petition didn’t intend to be mean, she still hurt people and she has to take responsibility for it…regardless of her intention. Natural hair isn’t funny and it’s irresponsible to ignore the context.

      Just because you’re “joking” doesn’t mean you’re not responsible for hurting people.

  • Harris Burton

    No one’s hair,straight, natural or otherwise, should be made fun of….period.

    • Aphrodite Kocieda

      I agree; however, I think satire/humor *can* be an awesome medium to highlight cultural patterns and issues. [Think about the fake news source, The Onion. Rather than poking fun at people and populations who are regularly made fun of, they poke fun at the dominant groups to show how they can be opporessive].

      So, hair texture isn’t funny, but the idea that straight hair is more acceptable than a hair type that is traditionally common to black people is ridiculous, and can be used in a smart funny critique…which did not happen with the blue ivy petition. I think the creator of the petition was trying to be funny, but she didn’t look at the context: that afro-hair is always considered “funny.” Think about when white folks wear afros on Halloween..or even think of the traditional costume for a clown…where they regularly where curly afros. Making fun of natural hair can be extremely traumatic for those of us who have always had to hide our texture.

  • My daughter is mixed. I am Puerto Rican, which is a creole culture in of itself. Her dad is Jamaican and Trinidadian. My family is super in love with my kid. Her Jamaican side is constantly making comments about her hair texture and skin color. Her paternal grandmother made many comments, such as “I hope she doesnt get too dark. I hope she doesnt have bad hair.” My ex would make similar comments. When she was born, the first thing her paternal grandma did was take off my daughter’s hat to see if her hair was kinky. My daughter’s hair texture isnt yet clear. She has some silky smooth parts, some curly areas, and some very dry areas.

    I am always appalled when I hear these comments about her hair and skin color and tell her family that there is no such thing as too dark or bad hair. They dismiss me saying I dont understand the struggle that it is to “tame” kinky hair so I cannot speak on it. It is so sad to see how deeply racism lies.

    My daughters paternal grandma also told her son not to bring any black women home b/c she didnt want her grandkids to have “nappy” hair. One day I told her, you do realize that you are telling your son not to date women who look like you, right?

    It was just sad to watch all of this.

  • Kamisha Cook

    I know my kids hair looks like that when they just came from the beach or on wash day. I am truly hurt that we African Americans believe that hair and fashion makes us who we are. God makes us just as we are. Knowledge and wisdom is what He teaches. We won’t see our blessings if we continue on this path of hatred towards others. No matter what race God’s love us all. Look how far we have become. From marching towards freedom to now bullying children. Great accomplishments we have showed.

  • Jackie Brown

    Why the heck doesn’t everyone mind their business and leave these people alone. Must everything be a problem? There are so much more important things to worry about than to be worrying about people’s hair. GET A LIFE!!

  • Daryel

    Oh my – my youngest daughter was external extremely tender headed it was such an effort to comb her hair – I did it everyday because if I didn’t ‘it just got worse but the tears were unbearable – I tried everything to keep it untangled and I was so glad when she was able to do it herself. Maybe Blue Ivy – is tender headed – and as a 1 st time mom it hard to hear your baby cry while getting her hair combed or maybe she just chooses to leave her hair alone – as long as she washes and conditions it – it’s fine. I do not understand what the big deal is – Why is Blue Ivy’s hair big conversation. – there so much more going going on in this world – war, starvation etc.

    • Aphrodite Kocieda

      Sure, she might be tender-headed, but in reality, why do we even have to use a comb on our hair? I don’t comb my hair at all. While there are larger things occurring in the world [war, starvation], I think this issue isn’t so much about hair, as it is about racism…and that makes it a huge issue. Racism manifests in many different ways…not always through war or physical violence…but through internalized hate.

  • Sibo

    The creator of the joke should be charged with child abuse! Stick to your own space and let others live!

  • Cherryll

    I love the carefree, multi textured look of Ivy!
    Hair of confidence, beauty and allure

  • Hi, I’m hearing that the petitioner didn’t mean it it was a joke, no it wasn’t a joke, she got flack for it that’s why she decided to say it was a joke and even if it was meant as one, that’s a poor and distasteful joke. Why would you make a joke like that about a child and start controversy, she had to know that she was going to get this type of response, what was she expecting? I think this is disgusting and even to state that she herself is natural doesn’t make sense, smh 🙂 🙂

  • I am the white mother of biracial children (2 are black and 1 is hispanic). I LOVE and celebrate the individuality of each my children’s hair textures, and I also understand the unique challenges each one of them face due to their individual textures: one straight and limp, hard to hold curl or styles), one is a boy so he keeps is short but when it grows out it is curly in some spots and straight in others so he is often frustrated by it and is constantly combing it until he gets a fresh cut, so there no uniformity which is why he prefers a short style; and one with beautiful natural curls who is old enough to care for her own hair but often times too lazy or preoccupied with other things to brush it thoroughly and to moisturize and wrap it before bed. So with each child, we have experienced trial and error in hair styles and products and finding the style that meets their individual styles and motivation levels for caring for it.

    My daughter whose hair graces her shoulders in beautiful candy curls is now so thick and dense that she has such difficulty caring for it. She doesn’t like to brush it and doesn’t have the patience to care for it in its natural state. She begged and begged for a relaxer which I eventually gave into despite preference for her beautiful curls. The relaxer does not make her hair completely relaxed and straight, but it does aid in manageability for her. Some family and friends criticized me for allowing her to have it relaxed, but I didn’t see them volunteering to come help her care for it! It is not there business as to the choices we make regarding her hair and as she is getting older, more of those decisions are hers to make.

    Speaking of the same child, when I was a young mother in the earlier stages of trial and error experiences with her hair, I asked a beautician in my church who is black about setting up an appointment with her to do my child’s hair. She told me that she didn’t work on that type of hair and commenced to tell me that “your hair is not like our’s and I don’t work on your kind of hair.” My jaw dropped to the floor, because I was seeking her out due to the expectation that she could help me with my yours and ours child’s hair. I was appalled.

    As far as the beautiful Blue Ivy’s hair: if your name is not Sean or Beyonce Carter, then you have no right to say anything. Every toddler who starts the day bathed, with combed hair and clean clothes ends up looking pretty rough a few hours into the day if not sooner! No one has the right to judge anyone else’s situation.

    • Aphrodite Kocieda

      Thanks for sharing your story Shawna! I’m also biracial and I remember I asked my mother to relax my hair when I was 8. Our ideas of “manageability” are still quite guided by eurocentric standards. Letting our hair go whichever way seems to be an issue for a lot of us who assume that we have to “tame the mane” rather than letting the mane do what it wants to, lol.

      In regards to the beautician at your church, I totally understand the frustration! I used to *never* even go to salons because i was afraid they wouldn’t know how to deal with my hair. I recently went to a black salon, and they didn’t really work on natural hair. The whole time they kept telling me relax it and straighten it which was quite unfortunate. It trains us all to feel like we are never good enough as we are…that we have to consistently change and style our hair in order to be accepted. Thanks for commenting!

  • tut

    Greetings to everyone regardless to what race your are from my query is why do people fight against what is natural nature? And why is it wrong for kinky nappy hair to be in public negroids after all it is the natural you. I am not concerned about the petition what I am concerned about is my people are ashamed about there natural selves and they rather hide and cover up there crown for a lesser one. We are unique as a race and outstanding let me explain something if you cut a black animal fur and mix it up with a person who has black straight hair whether they are Chinese indian or Caucasian you can not tell the difference unless you test it by DNA and do the same with another colour animal hair and straight hair person you will get the same result it proves they are all of the same kind that’s why they are referred as man/kind anyway now do it with us as Africans whether you accept it or not immediately you can tell the difference so yes we are outstanding to the rest on earth and we are Africans and they know it that’s why they fight it and through slavery thought us to hate or be embarrassed about ourselves the creator created us in his own image and likeness so who’s image do you want to be in yours or someone else own and our creator is unique so don’t you think the children of the most high would be unique too dohhhhh. So study how to raise you all selves to become goddesses and gods again and snap out of the holy ghost spell they have you all in, black Africans world wide and start setting the proper example so our children would not follow that trend and keep giving other race who came after us the power to rule your minds. Hatap which means piece bye and thanks for your patience