Let’s Unpack This
Cultural ‘Cleanliness’ Wars Spotlights White Hypocrisy
Some White folk spend a lot of time monitoring Black cleanliness. Meanwhile, others barely wash up at all.
Over the last few weeks, White celebrities have been making headlines for their hygiene practices. On schedule, social media descended into the cultural “cleanliness wars” as everybody realized “proper” hygiene has a great many definitions. But, there’s a strange hypocrisy when one juxtaposes White people’s crusade against soap and water versus their constant critiquing of Black aesthetics.
Ashton Kutcher and his wife, Mila Kunis, said they don’t shower frequently and only wash their kids if they “see” dirt on them. Kutcher washes his armpits and crotch regularly but not the rest of his body. Kunis washes her face twice a day but doesn’t see value in a daily shower.
It echoed sentiments of a Twitter thread from roughly two years ago. Medium writer DarkSkyLady captured it during her request for White people to stop oversharing on social media. In that thread, White people were far too eager to tell social media they take showers but don’t wash their legs. Her article featured one White commenter mentioning they don’t use washcloths while another called showers a matter of…
