Two white women went viral on social media for wearing bonnets on a plane, sparking debate about whether it's acceptable for them to wear the protective hair accessory predominately used by Black women for decades.
Hairstylist Melissa Guido shared a video on Instagram where she and a friend appeared to put their curls inside of a bonnet as they prepared for takeoff. The video garnered backlash as some social media users accused the pair of cultural appropriation while others called out the double standard of white women being able to wear bonnets in public without being labeled as "ghetto."
The divided response led Guido to update the initial caption of her video.
Guido said she didn't intend to "be controversial, create a mockery of anyone, appropriate or be 'disgraceful' in public for no good reason" by wearing a bonnet.
"The unfortunate reality of many black women can include stares from people, being called 'ghetto', receiving mistreatment, and general disrespect for the way they protect their hair. It’s awful, and I truly can’t imagine the pain that many of you may have experienced," the hairstylist acknowledge in her revised caption.
Guido said she still intends to wear bonnets in public to protect her curls and "reshape future perceptions" around the hair accessory.
"So if you see us wearing our bonnets proudly on an airplane, just know we are honouring the hair protective methods by joining in with love and in solidarity," she concluded her post.
The initial post and updated caption received mixed responses from Black social media users.
"Now that you 2 white or white-passing women have made it “okay” to protect your hair by putting in a bonnet, it will become a trend," one Instagram user commented. "It will be something white women decided was okay and black women will still be called ghetto for doing the same thing. Regardless of your intentions, the outcome is not & will not be what you hoped."
"I have mixed feelings. I’m 90% joyous, 5% shocked, and 5% side-eyeing. We just need time to digest it, but in reality…it’s kinda cool to see the solidarity," another said.
"Lovely ladies. I want y’all to know there’s nothing wrong with you wearing bonnets to protect your hair or wearing it for whatever reasons," a third social media user chimed in.
"White women wore bonnets to protect their up-dos in the 1950s. This isn’t new," another pointed out.
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