Singer Ari Lennox sparks conversation about 'tearing down black women' on social media
Ari Lennox has become known for her opinionated posts on Twitter and Instagram Live about appreciating the beauty of black women. On Wednesday, a social media user compared her to a Rottweiler, which sparked a greater debate about black men’s perceptions of black women.
On Wednesday afternoon, Twitter user @WineverUwantIT tweeted that Lennox, who recently toured in Atlanta, and singer Teyana Taylor look “like rottweilers” yet have “dangerously high sex appeal.”
Early Thursday, the “Shea Butter Baby” singer posted a tearful Instagram Live video about the Twitter user’s comments, which she equated to anti-blackness.
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“Why are you so comfortable tearing down black women and no other race?” she emphatically said on the 8-minute video. “Look around, when are Hispanic women ever compared to dogs? When do they do that? When do they do that to white women? They’re not doing it. They’re not.”
Her response comes after the singer has said she’s faced challenges as a darker-skin woman with African features in an industry that does not often celebrate that form of beauty. Matthew Knowles, producer and founder of Destiny’s Child, spoke on the matter in an interview in 2019.
“In the music industry, there’s still segregation, as you know,” Knowles said in a Sirius XM interview. “Programmers at pop radio, they have this imagery of what beauty looks like. They want that imagery to be the same as those records.”
A supporter of Lennox’s Instagram rant touched on the previous insults about the singer’s features.
The Twitter user’s dog comments and Lennox’s responses sparked a heated debate Thursday about the standards of beauty for black women and, according to some on Twitter, the lack of appreciation of that beauty by black men.
Some users did not agree with Lennox’s assessment that the comment posted Wednesday reflected the overall view black men have of black women.
There were others who commented about black men being compared to dogs on social media without as much backlash.
Twitter user Naira Banks used that tweet as an example of how African American women are held to different standards than their male counterparts.
About the Author
Stephanie has been telling stories her whole life. Her interest in the written word started with short stories and journal entries about run-ins with classroom bullies as a child and matured to writing for her high school newspaper over the years. She has written and edited for The Tennessean, Augusta Chronicle and American City & County.
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