A ghetto hairstyle? Or an out of touch celeb?

That’s the only explanation I can think of in my effort to understand why they continue to say and post some of the most incredulous things to social media – unaware of the implications of what they are saying. 

For more than hours, social media users have looked on in disbelief as media personality Minnie Dlamini repeatedly referred to the bantu knots hairstyle as “ghetto.” 

Media personality Minni Dlamini has been lambasted for uploading a picture featuring a braided hairstyle and calling it “ghetto” | Image: Twitter

Dlamini first took to Instagram to show off her new hairstyle along with the caption “I can go from lady to ghetto in a second.” A few hours later, she posted the same image on Twitter, with a different caption this time: “Just because it’s ghetto, doesn’t mean it’s not fabulous. Loving my #BantuKnots.”

This comes just days after CNN published a report citing new research that shows that black women with natural hairstyles are less likely to get job interviews than white women or black women with straightened hair.

According to the report, participants in the studies, carried out by researchers from Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business, perceived natural black hairstyles as less professional, and the effect was particularly pronounced in industries where a more conservative appearance is common.

And this is not a coincidence. This is as a result of years of misinformation and indoctrination by white, supremacist leadership. 

This “education” project was so successful that its teachings have innocuously burrowed their way into the everyday thoughts of people across the world. Some of the negative associations made with people based on their appearance or race are so fleeting and so natural that people barely stop to think about why they think, feel and assume the things about others that they do. 

And it doesn’t help when people like Dlamini, with such a public platform, amplify these white supremacist teachings. 

Dlamini can claim that she didn’t mean anything by her post but she did. As someone who religiously wears wigs and weaves, what is she trying to say by choosing “ghetto” as the adjective for the first time she wears a hairstyle that is not a long, flowy weave? 

The same can be said for 947 Breakfast show host Anele Mdoda, who refuses to give American musician Kelly Rowland a break.

Mdoda, who is also a judge in the Miss South Africa pageant, stated that Rowland (a dark-skinned woman) is not as pretty as people think she is when she is not wearing makeup. 

Upon being questioned about this, Mdoda dug her heels into the ground and continued to cyberbully Rowland – even going so far as to insinuate that she is not as successful as her lighter-skinned friend, Beyonce Knowles. 

Rapper AKA is constantly reminding his social media followers that they do not and will never have as much money as he does. These are the very same people he relies on to buy his albums, attend his live performances and subscribe to his pay-per-view app. 

Fellow rapper Cassper Nyovest demands to be prioritised over American rappers but raps things like “you’ll never catch me in Carducci (a local menswear brand), maybe Gucci.” 

These are just some of the examples of the thinking displayed by some of the loudest voices in our society. A society grappling with high unemployment, widespread poverty, the residual effects of systematic racism and a deep-seated hatred for women. 

If only they would just take the time out to think before they speak, we would not have to be subjected to all this. 

Kaunda Selisho.

Kaunda is analogue girl navigating a digital world using the perspective provided by news. She has always had a desire to amass a wealth of knowledge on a range of varied topics and this is reflected in the content she produces. As a digitally adept social media user, you can always trust Kaunda to bring you up to speed on what’s going on in the world at any given moment.

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