Source: Grace Cary / Getty
A Nigerian female preacher was lambasted for telling single women in her congregation to wear wigs instead of their natural hair to secure husbands.
The viral clip has garnered thousands of comments on Instagram and gotten the attention of Nigerian singer Simi. It even served as a trending topic of discussion on TVC, a 24-hour broadcasting channel based in Nigeria.
In the Instagram comments of @its_onsite’s repost of the clip, online users tore into the woman for preaching that single church ladies wouldn’t bag a man by rocking their natural hair. People bashed the woman for berating churchgoers that don the hair growing out of their heads. Netizens noted that an unappreciation for the beauty of natural hair was rooted in Western ideals and internalized self-hatred. Additionally, several pointed out that wearing wigs wouldn’t help a woman get or keep a good man anyway — as a true partner would love them regardless of whether they wore wigs or not.
Others even made personal attacks on the Nigerian preacher and accused her of bleaching her skin.
Many were confused about what the woman’s message had to do with the word of God.
“She could’ve kept this to herself lol! The colonizers did a number on Africa too.”
“And that wig ain’t go keep your husband!! Y’all don’t let this lady lead y’all astray.”
“You can have natural hair, braids, a shortcut, or wig — they still gonna cheat on y’all… and what this gotta do with the lord lol?”
“This what they talk about in church these days?”
“THEY PREACHING SELF HATRED.”
“What this got to do wit the word smh? Making a mockery outta church smh.”
Notably, one user said, “Y’all missing the message. She’s saying keep yourself looking good and up to par, basically. Act like you give a damn about your appearance.” That said, a more extended sermon clip provided more context around the female preacher’s message.
She cited Proverbs 18:24, which says, “A man that has friends must show himself friendly.”
Based on that, she encouraged her listeners to be social after beautifying themselves with wigs and makeup. In addition to implying that it would bring the church girls more male attention, she said, “Show yourself friendly, and then you will have friends.”
The preacher heavily stressed that being a natural hair-wearing prayer warrior wouldn’t get you far if you sought a husband. She warned against being a “Kathryn Kuhlman” — an American, white woman Christian evangelist who made a name for herself in the 1960s.
“All of you with natural hair — you better wear your wig and be [tossing your hair],” she said before demonstrating the motion with the long, auburn straight wig she had on.
The woman asserted that natural hair was something to indulge in after getting a man locked down through marriage. Otherwise, she said, “Spend that money on hair, draw on your eyebrows, buy lip gloss — look good.”
“Package yourself well,” she continued before seemingly speaking in tongues. “There’s a time for everything… In the evening, when he wants to take you out, say, ‘I’m available.'”
“Truly and truly, these are the issues. This is why sometimes men will leave church and bring a Jezebel. Because all the sisters are unavailable — [they’re] always busy in prayer meetings or fasting.”
While discussing the sermon, a female TVC presenter removed her wig while on air and stated, “To be honest, natural hair is liberating.”
Then, she and another female colleague firmly let a male on stage know that the standard of a woman’s beauty wasn’t based on the hair extensions or makeup she wore.
Former gospel singer Simi critically condemned the rhetoric spewed by the preacher in tweets posted Oct. 31.
“Even when you hide self-hate inside ‘good advice,’ it’s still self-hate. This is why 90% of skincare products in countries full of beautiful dark skin girls/women are ‘whitening creams.’ And girls are told that the hair that grows out of their hair is not special enough. It’s not that you’re not good enough, it’s that they said you’re not good enough. She’s on the pulpit too. A role model. Lol…”
Church girls who want husbands don’t have to adhere to Western ideals of beauty to get them. Women shouldn’t be shamed for how they choose to present themselves — especially from other women and especially at church… Whether in wigs or without.
Peep the more extended clip of the Nigerian preacher’s problematic sermon via Simi’s X post below.
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