Editor’s note: The following article is an op-ed, and the views expressed are the author’s own. Read more opinions on theGrio.
Being a Black content creator in these social media streets is a hard row to hoe.
There are so many opposing forces that can disrupt the success of Black content creators, and those opposing forces include everything from algorithms that seemingly favor the content of non-Black creators; non-Black creators co-opting the content of Black creators and going viral for it while the original Black creator languishes in obscurity; harassment and bullying from trolls who don’t like to see Black creators win; and those in power who amplify the content thieves and not the original Black content creators because, as I’ve said time and time again, Blackness is only profitable when it is being commodified by non-Black people.
I was reminded of this again this weekend when this whole Cetaphil Super Bowl ad thing came up.
In case you missed it, skincare brand Cetaphil released an ad campaign this weekend that features a white father and his biracial (Black and white) daughter bonding over football. Included are scenes of the daughter doing her skincare routine as her father comes in and talks to her. At one point, he comes in to give her a football jersey, and he dabs some of her face cream on his face. The spot ends with them sitting on the couch together watching football.
The ad itself is playing into the hype that has been generated since pop singer Taylor Swift began dating Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce. As Swift has become something of a regular fixture at Chiefs games to cheer her boyfriend on, her fans – known as “Swifties” – are said to be tuning in to football now as well.
The ad is basically saying now fathers and their daughters can bond over football together, and it all sounds so cute and sweet, right?
Except,…
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