Unilever's Dove is joining with the Open Source Afro Hair Library to make open source code available to incorporate natural hair images into gaming, aiming at addressing what gamers see as underrepresentation of natural styles.
Unilever’s Dove is teaming with the Open Source Afro Hair Library to create the first complete guide for coding natural hair in video games.
The “Code My Crown” effort aims to address the fact that 85% of Black gamers believe video games poorly represent textured hair, and 91% want to see themselves as characters representing their own experiences, according to research conducted by Edelman for Dove.
The effort aligns with Dove’s support of Crown Act legislation, which has passed in 24 states and numerous municipalities. The legislation protects against discrimination based on race-based hairstyles.
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Dove, working with Open Source Afro Hair Library, identified the top natural and protective hairstyles currently missing or misrepresented in video games, including Twist Outs and Afro Fades. They enlisted a team of Black 3D artists, animators, programmers and academics to develop 15 original hair sculpts that can be used for hundreds of virtual hair possibilities that can be accessed for free at Dove.com/CodeMyCrown.
The move follows Dove last year launching Real Virtual Beauty, a program aimed at countering beauty stereotypes with tools to build self-esteem and body confidence, supported by Epic Games’ Unreal Engine and Women in Games. Dove also launched a video game, Super U Story, available on Roblox and designed to build kids’ self esteem.
“In the real world, there is an incredible variety of Black hairstles. But this is rarely reflected in the gaming world,” said A.M. Darke, lead code and Crown contributor and founder of the Open Source Afro Hair Library, in a statement. “When Black hair is absent from games we play or is consistently low quality, it communicates that Black players and our culture are an afterthought, that our stories aren’t worth telling.”
“At Dove, we believe every single person should see their beauty represented in the world around them—this is no different for the virtual world,” said Leandro Barreto, senior VP of the global Dove Masterbrand. “There is more to be done to ensure Black gamers see themselves in the games they play, but we can’t do it alone. We are calling on gaming developers and industry leaders to join us to help make virtual beauty a reality with Code My Crown.”
