Black Girls Deserve to Bloom
⤏ ON BLACK GIRLHOOD, ITS SACREDNESS, AND THE DIRECT INFLUENCE ON Y2K CULTURE
⤏ WRITTEN BY SHANDREA EVANS
I can still remember the first time I bought my own outfit. I was used to the typical mall routine —getting an Auntie Anne’s raisin pretzel from the food court, looking for cute boys and window shopping. But this day was different. As a newly minted teen, I had an allowance and I was ready to spend it. I was too old for retailers like Limited Too, and honestly couldn’t afford it. Stores like Gap and Abercrombie & Fitch were also out. My world was rocked when my homegirls introduced me to stores like 5-7-9, Wet Seal and Claire’s. Finally, I had stores that I could actually afford and create looks that represented my style.
When I think of the early 2000s aesthetic and its resurgence, I look through old photos and reminisce with my friends about how Black girls —especially those from the hood— created so many of these looks. The colorful hair, chunky jewelry, low-rise jeans, Air Force Ones, and grills that were all once seen as G-H-E-T-T-O are now the trending styles of the “Y2K aesthetic” renaissance. Everyone’s rocking it. Yet society has a tendency to erase Black girls and their significant influence on popular culture from history.
My style was deeply influenced by my friends and the Black celebrities we watched on 106&Park. From Destiny’s Child to Ciara, to Blaque, and Nivea, these young women looked like the girls from our neighborhoods. It felt good to identify with beautiful Black women, who were also from the South. But from the onset, Black girlhood is truncated. According to Girlhood Interrupted: The Erasure of Black Girls’ Childhood, a study published by the Georgetown Center on Poverty and Inequality reports, “Adults view Black girls ages 5-19 as more adult-like, less innocent, needing less nurturing and support than others. Beginning as early as 5 years of age, Black girls were more likely to be viewed as behaving and seeming older than their stated age.”
”young Black girls are not allowed the freedom to discover their individuality or creativity through THEIR sense of style without being seen as grown.”
With prejudices like this, young Black girls are not allowed the freedom to discover their individuality or creativity through their sense of style without being seen as grown. Add on the systemic economic difficulties one faces when living on the margins of society, and it seems nearly impossible. In spite of adversity, Black girls bloom. Just look at Destiny’s Child. The group’s most iconic outfits —still referenced as inspiration today— were created from a lack of access. After being denied styling from major fashion houses, and stylists, Tina Knowles —like many Black mothers— made do with what she had and designed the girl’s costumes herself. And from there Y2K history was created.
Black girls have always created their own beauty standards by defying the norms. We can’t forget about the hair. The Kool-Aid colored cornrows? The majestically laid edges? Every week I asked my mom to try new flat twists and mohawk hump styles that I had circled in Hype Hair, Black Hair, and Right On! Magazine. You couldn’t tell me nothing when I walked into a room with fresh braids and some fruit-flavored Lip Glow lip gloss. I felt beautiful rocking styles that showcased the versatility of my hair and physical features.
Beyond style, Black girls were also pioneers of the Y2K digital world. During the Myspace era, my best friend was a coder before we even knew Women in Stem was a thing. Whether I was feeling cool, social, or emo, I could express my teenage rollercoaster of emotions through her customized designs. And I’m not talking with an editor like Pimp my Profile or a layout generator, I mean pages and pages of code she’d sourced and self-educated (before Youtube University) from the web. And when I needed a little more of a pick-me-up, I could count on her to curate a carefully mixed CD she burned (courtesy of downloads from Limewire). I still have my friend Atilia’s “CrUnK Sh!t” CD in my car. Although I now have all the songs on a playlist, it gets the job done when I need to hype myself up for any occasion.
Take a look at any social media platform (or any form of media for that matter) and you’ll see Black girls direct influence on pop culture, especially during the early aughts. It is imperative that we recognize these contributions and include the Black women that spearhead these trends in the conversation. Still, companies continue to miss the mark. A recent example of this was when the sports clothing company —Mitchell and Ness— rereleased their jersey dress to capitalize on the resurgence of Y2K fashion, noticeably leaving out the Black women —who pioneered the style— during the design and casting. Had they consulted and included those who originally popularized their item, this could have been a successful call back to one of the many DIY pieces created by Black women that made an impact on early 2000’s style and pop culture.
Since the beginning of time, Black girls and women have been forebears of the past, present, and future. No matter the decade or the industry, we have and continue to set standards by thinking outside the limited box of a culture that has never valued us. Imagine how much more innovation and beauty would manifest in the world if we nurtured Black girls. If they were just allowed to be. This can be done by preserving Black girlhood and allowing them the space to grow, express and bloom freely. But no matter what the world does, Black girls will always give each other our flowers. To all the Black girls and women who came before and with me, thank you.