Just Pearly Things — Of Self-Inflicted Wounds and Lessons to Be Learnt
What can we learn from the storm which has rocked the Black manosphere and their fandom over Just Pearly?
Once upon a time, the Black manosphere couldn’t get enough of Just Pearly Things. As a matter of fact, both young and middle-aged men rallied to this White woman who had professed her love for them and made all the right noises.
Tragically nicknamed, “the female Andrew Tate,” Hannah Pearl Davis, known as just Pearl on Youtube, has over one million subscribers. The channel has significantly grown in popularity with a brand of anti-feminist content that lands differently since she is a woman herself, which also caught the attention of Black men who quickly gravitated to her conservative, racist rhetoric. It didn't hurt that she proclaimed her love of Black men.
But at first, it was a match made in heaven. Or so it seemed. Until things fell apart, the center could no longer hold and mere anarchy was unleashed upon the manosphere.
The Monster They Made
The truth is that Just Pearly Things is for all intents and purposes, the creation of the Black manosphere.
UK YouTuber Sa Ra Garvey admitted to having helped Pearl grow her channel — for a fee. And he was by no means the only one.
And yet Sa Ra Garvey in a recent video describes Davis, as being possessed with a colonial mindset. Something he claimed to have been aware of from the start. He had schooled her, he assured his watching audience on occasion, as to her quasi-right-wing views.
But the real shocker came when he found out to what extent she was actively colonizing the Black red pill space, offering contracts to YouTubers in which they signed away their labor, and their very own YouTube channels for a mere pittance — think 10%–15% for the privilege of shooting in her studio — while they did all the heavy lifting. The duration of those ironclad conditions? Three whole years.
According to the YouTuber, Just Pearly Things admitted having had King Richez and Aunty Jenny on such exploitative contracts too. A truly frightening thought, all things considered.
Hell Hath No Fury: The Hand of Vengeance
Following his revelations, it wasn’t long before Sa Ra Garvey found himself staring at a copyright strike against that same video.
A vindictive move according to central pillars of the manosphere which could cost him his YouTube channel, painstakingly built to 100k followers — allegedly by the one person he help build a following of over a million subscribers.
And now they must all wait with bated breath to discover the outcome.
Nothing New Under the Sun: A Sense of Déjà Vu
Davis’ intentions should have been clear to anyone with a single-functioning neuron from the start. Because panderers to the Black community are by no means new.
Case in point Murad Merali, who hoodwinked naive Black women into supporting his platform to the very cusp of TV stardom. Before being revealed to have certain rather disturbing proclivities and being an out-and-out racist. No surprise there. Now the black women who had supported him? That was astonishing.
How on earth could they have ever let themselves believe that a product of two of the most anti-Black cultures on the globe — known for profound apathy and disdain — even hatred of Blackness, could ever have had their best interests at heart, remains a mystery. Or, perhaps not.
Yet, the truth is Murad laughed all the way to the bank at them as they watched his content and donated their hard-earned cash to his Patreon. All the while thinking precisely of them just as he thought of his male Black clients. Yes, the truth is bitter. But it remains indisputable, even so.
The same also applies to those Black women who supported Jack Harlow, until they found out that he too, had been enjoying a laugh at their expense. A consequence of Black parents, elders, and caregivers failing to teach Black children the ugly truth about the world we live in.
To Catch A Narcissist: The Psychology of a Panderer
Spotting panderers is easy. They say all the things you want to hear and they are often part of a demographic that cares nothing for yours as a collective. Also, they typically are a little too invested in the goings-on in your own community and a bit too bold too.
But more importantly, they believe you are too dim-witted to have a clue as to their true intentions.
Somewhat disturbing is their intimate knowledge of the inner wounds of their target and their innate belief in their greater social capital which will see them elevated by said demographic bringing them closer to their ambitions — and the opportunity to jettison the supremely naive on whose backs they have risen. A la Just Pearly Things.
And yet those pandered to must also hold themselves responsible. Because at the heart of their vulnerability to the manipulative tactics of the panderer is low self-esteem often sprinkled with a liberal helping of self-hatred — a truly debilitating cocktail.
When all is said and done, a panderer is in the simplest of terms, a user. Nothing more, nothing less.
Thou Shalt Not Be Used: A Lesson in Prevention
What then is the antidote to such slightly megalomanic tendencies seasoned liberally with narcissism?
A healthy sense of self-esteem. And an astute observation of society. Had the manosphere had the former they would have been aware enough to realize that outsiders have no place in family disputes. Ditto Murad’s followers, too.
Had they followed the latter, they would also have been impervious to the flattery of these individuals and seen their hyperfocus on Black men and women, for what it was: supremely suspicious, and a tad insulting.
The shockwaves from these ‘betrayals’ yet reverberate. However, there are other eyes watching, waiting, and scheming on how just to use the Black community, or factions in it to climb their way to the very top.
The question is will we continue to let ourselves be used?
