“I am dripping melanin and honey.
I am black without apology.”
– Upile
(For more information directly from Jaynan herself on her experiences, and how she feel in love with cosmetology, check out the interview below.)
Examples of Jaynan Evelyn’s creative work (Images are courtesy of Jaynan Evelyn)
There remains an “elephant in the room” that must be addressed: the toxic standards of beauty in media and the fashion industry today. The publication, “Sadiaa,” which specializes in pieces discussing black beauty and health, stated that “Black beauty is a big business.” In their mini-article titled, “Black Women Make Up Nearly 90% Of Ethnic Hair & Beauty Market,” statistics have shown that black women “outspend other demographics nearly 9-to-1 (86 percent) in ethnic haircare and beauty aids.” The article goes on to say that black women are essential to the beauty world describing them as “trendsetters” and “brand loyalist;” even black men are more finicky when it comes to grooming as oppose to men of other backgrounds (I highly recommend reading this article at the hyperlink above; it is very thought provoking). So the question that arises is, why are black people the least valued or considered when it comes to diversity and marketing decisions regarding fashion and beauty? Unfortunately, this may remain a rhetorical question for a very long time to come. These social injustices however elicits responses in black entrepreneurs, such as Jaynan, to endeavor to create a safe space and inclusivity for black men and women in mainstream media. Nevertheless, even these endeavors occasionally meets opposition. The article by the Catalyst titled, “The toxicity of beauty standards: Societal expectations of women are unhealthy and unrealistic,” explains that until there is a change in how the media represents black
women in programs and magazines, we will remain in this limbo. A survey done by UCLA diversity reported that “women and minorities still underrepresented in film and TV,” a study taken at the University of California at Los Angeles this year (2019) found that in a sample of 167 films, people of color only made up 19.8% of film leads.” Seeing black women as the “sidekick.” or on the far left side of a photo indeed is not diversity. Showing black women who are only “fair” skinned as a mean to have “diverse” ethnic groups in a production is not diversity. A huge thank you to Jaynan and women like her that seeks to the redefine the image and unlatch stereotypes pinned on black women.
Q + A Time
I’ve seen a lot of your work and it is honestly phenomenal… how long have you been doing this and what made your get into [what you do?]
(Question #2)
“I started makeup while I was in High school, so originally… it’s kinda funny… I was in a club, the year book club, and part of our job was teaching people about the clubs. And so I found the cosmetology club and I was taking pictures for the yearbook and I realized…. I really like makeup. That’s when I really figured it out and was like ‘Oh snap… this is the thing for me!’ So after high school, I was playing with makeup, then in college I started finding all these content creators on Instagram… and that made me say, ‘I want to be a content creator too.’ Cuz’ it’s fun- it’s different when you are doing make up for other people, but when you’re doing make up on yourself and you’re changing the way you look… to a piece or a different type of thing…. I really fell in love with that. So yes, started in high school and I’m now doing it full time.” – Jaynan Evelyn
Wow, that’s nice… “And [you have] a huge following base on instagram and [your] work is really good and it’s growing… I think when we think of success for black people there is a very narrow stereotype… unfortunately. So, seeing what you’re doing, seeing that you are very self driven, is something I definitely want to share with everyone. Others who are like you to [take their passion to the next level,] where maybe they can even profit off of it. So I have one more question for you… in your own words, what would you say is important or special for people to know about Black History Month? I know that there’s a lot of focus on the history part, but are we paying attention to the contributions black people also make today?…. It’s interesting, [there are many inventions by black people that we enjoy today] …. so what exactly does black history month mean to you?
“I think… when we talk about black history month people talk about the pain and struggle….but we kind of shy away from the accomplishments that we actually have gotten. So…for me black history month is not just the pain and struggling, it’s also the things that black people have done…. there are hundred and hundreds of people – African Americans who have done great and amazing things that we kind of push away from it. So for me personally, when Black History month comes around, I am celebrating everyone’s accomplishments, whether [your are] small, big- it doesn’t matter. Once you’re black and proud, I’m always sharing your stuff. So, that’s what it means to me.”
– Jaynan Evelyn
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