Dove Introduces A #CurlyGirl Emoji Keyboard.
Here’s Why That Matters (VIDEO)
The other day I had the following text exchange with my college-aged daughter (texting as you know, is the primary method of communicating with teens these days).
YASSS!!
“Where did you get that cute little emoji?” I asked?
“Sabrina showed me!” Sabrina, her college buddy and fellow curly girl had shared it with her.
And my heart soared.
See Dove saw a need and filled it by announcing a new emoji keyboard, filled with curly girls and, along with it, the hashtag #loveyourcurls.
Why does that matter? Let me take you back to Casey in about the 5th grade.
She asked if she could get a relaxer. My beautiful, curly-headed child wanted to relax her hair straight, even after watching what nearly three decades of chemicals had done to her mother’s hair.
I reminded her of that and then explained that once she got out of my house she could do what she wanted, all the while hoping she would, by that time, fall in love with her curls.
ANNNNNNNd…
She did!
Casey performing
Me and my lovely daughter.
She was my role model when I went natural.
Related: Natural Hair On Fleek! 5 Tips To Make Your Tresses GROW!
I attribute that, at least in part, to things like the Dove emoji keyboard. When kids see things around them in their everyday life that look, act, ARE them, they become acceptable, even admired by them. That, in turn, teaches teens to love themselves. I know it because I have seen it firsthand in my daughter who, just recently said, “Mom, I can’t believe I ever wanted to straighten my hair!”
Me neither, baby girl.. Me neither.
Because the facts are:
- 1 in 3 women in the U.S. have curly hair, and 74% of people in the U.S. report using Emojis daily. Yet there continues to be no representation of curly hair available in the Unicode Emoji keyboard.
- Girls are growing up in a world of technology, but 3 in 5 women say they cannot accurately depict how they look using emojis.
- 82% of curly-haired women say they would like to see more female emoji options depicting what their hair looks like.
- 72% of curly-haired women want to use an emoji that looks like them when expressing emotions via text
- While Emojis are diversifying (as evidenced by the last update), there is still a “one size fits all” for hair – straight and sleek, the traditional beauty ideal. Reports on the next round of Emojis to be added to the official keyboard still do not include curly hair, either.
Thank you Dove for teaching us to #loveyourcurls and in turn, love ourselves!
How to get the Dove Love Your Curls Emojis: Available for free download in the App Store or Google Play (this Smart-URL: http://bit.ly/DoveKB will direct users to the correct app store based on their device)
