Our views of the world we live in and how we subsequently see ourselves is largely shaped by what the mainstream media feeds us.
As multitudes of little black girls scramble to wear the Sho Madjozi-inspired rainbown braids, the experience – if nothing else – teaches us how representation in the media creates relatable and powerful role models.
This point was made abundantly clear as the social media continues to be consumed by the Sho Madjozi hair inspo in ways never before imagined this holiday season.
This is particularly important, considering that many people seem to take for granted the power of having a role model that we can look up to and relate to.
This must be precicely how the BET award winning Sho Madjozi felt when she decided to incorporate not only her native Xitsonga musical elements into her sound, but adopted an image that many of the kids around her can relate to, and subsequently made it ‘big’ as a musician.
That is why we cannot dismiss the media portrayal of different racial groups and their varied cultures as mere entertainment if we are to take seriously its postive impact on society.
After-all studies have shown that an average person consumes traditional and digital media for over 1.7 trillion hours, an average of approximately 15 and-a-half hours per person per day.
This is versus an average of six hours of media a day for children (eight to twelve-year-olds), and nine hours for teenagers.
Sho Madjozi rainbow hair inspo
The Twitter thread below shows how much of an influence the ‘John Cena’ hitmaker’s rainbow hair craze has on parents and their children’s lives:
