Dare To Ask Talk And News About Our Differences By PHILLIP MILANO
Question
Why do black ladies always get fake nails that are so long that they can’t even pick change up off the counter or type on a register? They seem ridiculous, and look awful.
Julie, 27, Akron, Ohio
Replies
I’ve seen white women with the same fake, long nails. Do you find them ridiculous, too?
Christelle, Buffalo, N.Y.
I’m a black male and know exactly what you’re saying! I have no idea why they do that [stuff]. It’s disgusting. The real reason: ” ‘Cause they’re trifling.”
David, black, Columbia, Md.
What is more “trifling” is someone who labels someone else “trifling” because of their . . . fingernails.
Amber, 27, black, Raleigh, N.C.
How are long nails disgusting? Would you rather them be stubby and have dirt in them and see the imperfections? Which is more disgusting?
Lyrick, 20, black female, Washington, D.C.
The vast majority of black women do not wear long, false fingernails. Since I am a nurse, I know all about the health problems that may arise.
Sherry, 26, black, Fort Worth
It’s more a class thing than a race thing. Lower-class women of all races seem to do this.
Rick, white, Ohio
It’s for at least two reasons: 1) the African heritage of valuing beauty, flair and visual presentation – unlike the WASP values, which value low-key under-presentation. 2) African-Americans had to wear such junky clothes when they were enslaved or very poor that they value looking nicely dressed.
Laurie, 56, white, Boston
Fake nails, like “Big Hair,” are a status symbol. We’re inclined to think that women who wear these symbols have time and money to devote to them, and that they don’t have to do work that might “mess them up.”
Porky, 60-plus, white male, Austin
I teach at a small college and have observed that about half of my female students wear acrylic nails or get manicures. I think it represents a certain level of “finish” to these students, even if they are otherwise wearing jeans and no makeup.
Betsy, 48, white, Cazenovia, N.Y.
Expert says
And now a public health message for all our hospitalized citizens: The nurse in your room? She probably shouldn’t be doing her duty with phony nails on, especially if you’re lying there in serious condition.
The Centers for Disease Control and the Association of Perioperative Registered Nurses cite studies showing that health care workers with artificial nails are more likely to carry germs on their fingertips.
Both groups strongly urge that nurses nix nifty non-natural nails.
Now that we’re done with alliteration, we’ll turn to fashionization.
Long artificial nails are about style, which is about artistic expression, which for some African-Americans is about making a personal statement in the face of oppression and even invisibility, said Holly Alford, a fashion professor at Virginia Commonwealth University who researches urban style.
“During slavery, you were told you couldn’t wear certain things,” she said. “The way you dress says a lot about you, your age, your status. . . . Look at men of color: Even Quincy Jones says that ‘With all my money, I still feel a need to dress like this [stylish] to express who I am so people treat me as equal.’ ”
For African-American women, long fake nails can draw attention, said Alford, who is co-writing a book titled From Homespun to Haute Couture to Hip Hop: The Evolution of the Black Fashion Designer.
They also can mean being on the front lines of style.
“We’ve had a lot of obstacles. But one thing we can do is be on the forefront of fashion,” said Alford, who called her own artificial nails more on the “reasonable” side in length. “Black women may be thinking, ‘If you aren’t going to listen to me, you’ll definitely see me,’ And let’s get real: With those [very long] nails, you can’t help but notice.”
Alford disagreed that long fake nails are a class issue – saying there are “some women with serious money who’ve got some serious long nails” – but said they might be an age issue.
“Take the older generation. My mother will look at someone’s long nails and think, ‘What the hell is she thinking of? Oh my God!’ “