I don’t have children — just a cat who gets on my nerves — so I really try to not be that girl who disses how folks choose to raise their kids. But when I saw this Snapchat image of Kim Kardshian and Kanye West’s daughter North West rocking cornrowed braids down to her waist, I gave a double take.

Why in the world is this incredibly cute and expressive two-year-old rocking a weave?

Seriously. Like what’s really going on?

While I thought maybe it was just me, clearly that’s not the case because a lot of folks in the Black Twittersphere wasn’t really feeling it either.

Now, no one is doubting that North West is clearly #BlackGirlMagic. And no parent should have to dim that shine for those around them. Celebrate your child’s amazingness, because the world sure won’t. And even though this is just hair and "fun," this right here seems like a lot.

And to be clear: I hate conversations about little Black girls being deemed “too grown.” There seems to be this double standard that our girls are constantly being viewed as “oversexual,” “fast,” “threatening” and even aggressive at a young age, when they are just being their carefree selves. Meanwhile white girls are deemed as “innocent” and “little angels.”

And no we are not responsible for how the world views us — that’s their shame, not ours — but as parents, we do owe our little Black girls to be able to be little Black girls, too. I’m just not sure that letting a baby wear Yaki (or having a Snapchat account) is the best way of celebrating that girlhood or the beauty of their natural hair.

But honestly, this goes beyond toddlers and tracks.

And while I empathize with the difficulties of parenting in the public eye, I just truly want this little Black girl to win outside of being born into an extremely wealthy family. I don’t want her to grow up thinking that plastic surgery, naked selfies and talking about how much money she has is true success or empowerment — or that "no pictures" has to be part of her vernacular. Finally, weave or not, I want her to know that it’s possible to live a life where you can go to the bathroom without documenting it.

Guess only time will tell. 

The opinions expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of BET Networks.



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