Alexis Ohanian Wants to Become Skilled at Doing His Daughter's Hair. So, Why Did He Get Pushback?

He may not have been the man weโ€™d expected Serena Williams to end up with (following beaus Common and Drake), but Alexis Ohanian has turned out to be quite the devoted husband and dad. In addition to his own work as a venture capitalist and part-time curator of family-themed social media, Ohanian accompanies his athlete-wife…

He may not have been the man weโ€™d expected Serena Williams to end up with (following beaus Common and Drake), but Alexis Ohanian has turned out to be quite the devoted husband and dad. In addition to his own work as a venture capitalist and part-time curator of family-themed social media, Ohanian accompanies his athlete-wife around the globe to cheer her on and co-parent daughter Alexis Olympia as mommy attempts to rack up more tennis titles.

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So, it should come as no surprise that Ohanian also wants to share the responsibility in grooming Olympiaโ€™s hair, which is a very different texture than his own. As reported by the Today Show on Monday (h/t Buzzfeed), Ohanian recently tweeted that heโ€™d attempted to join several natural hair groups on Facebook to improve his skills, joking, โ€œI hope they donโ€™t auto-reject my application when they see my profile photo.โ€

https://twitter.com/alexisohanian/status/1129155707201294336?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

While Ohanianโ€™s post got tons of positive feedbackโ€”especially from other dads in the same boatโ€”not everyone was enthused by the idea of a white man trying to enter spaces typically reserved for women of color (and primarily black women).

https://twitter.com/teehails/status/1129187970110631939?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
https://twitter.com/curltureuk/status/1129304882257833984?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
https://twitter.com/Mica4Life/status/1129345194854354945?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
https://twitter.com/M0moForrest/status/1129401005223927808?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

While we trust that Ohanianโ€™s intentions are genuine, as one white commenter thankfully pointed out to another, when and where we gather, we are not there to be viewed by outsiders. Safe spaces exist for a reason.

https://twitter.com/christine5512/status/1131521711931875328?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

Still others (including Ohanian himself) shouted out Matthew A. Cherryโ€™s near-bestselling childrenโ€™s book, Hair Love (soon to become a short film), which chronicles a dad and daughterโ€™s hair journey together. Another potential source of support in Olympiaโ€™s natural hair journey? The texture-affirming Healthy Roots Dolls. (Sorry, Qai Qai! We know bald girls are fly, too!) YouTube was also a frequent (and obvious) suggestion, as many dads claimed it helped them master the twist-out. And in the days following, Ohanian also got hip to transracial styling tutors Styles 4 Kidz, shouting out the orgโ€™s work with one of his frequent hashtags, #LookForTheHelpers.

https://twitter.com/alexisohanian/status/1130649431110557702?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

While we agree that a tutorial or salon appointment format might be more appropriate for Ohanian and fellow dads like him than potentially intruding on spaces intended for women of color, we donโ€™t want to overlook that heโ€™s raising one (as well as being married to one). Surely, the co-founder of Reddit can use this experience to create a community suitable for active dads like him?

Hopefully, Ohanian will take this teachable moment and use it constructively, but ahead of Fatherโ€™s Day, shoutout to him and all the other dads not relegating grooming their children to โ€œwomenโ€™s work.โ€ As the daughter of a hairstyling dad, this writer appreciates you.

https://twitter.com/jennleacole/status/1129238911136477184?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

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