Posted on 08/28/2009 5:47:16 AM PDT by nickcarraway
When the First Lady attended a country-music event in July without a single strand of hair falling below her jawline, the blogosphere exploded with outbursts ranging from adoration to vitriol. Things settled down only when her deputy press secretary clarified that there had been no First Haircut. In the aftermath, a didactic post on MichelleObamaWatch.com proclaimed that anyone "familiar with the amazing versatility of black hair" would have known that the new summer look was simply "pinned up."
Many Americans have dismissed this hair hubbub as simply more media-driven noise — like the chatter about Michelle Obama's sleeveless dresses, J. Crew cardigans, stocking-free legs or, for that matter, recent (shocking!) decision to wear shorts in the Arizona heat. But for African-American women like me, hair is something else altogether — singular in its capacity to command interest and carry cultural baggage. The obsession with Michelle's hair took hold long before Inaugural Ball gowns were imagined, private-school choices scrutinized or organic gardens harvested. It's not that she's done anything outrageous. The new updo wasn't really all that dramatic a departure from variations we've seen on her before (the "flip-out," the "flip-under," the long-ago abandoned "helmet"). Still, her hair is the catalyst for a conversation that begins with style but quickly
(Excerpt) Read more at time.com ...
I cannot believe Michelle Obama's hair is of interest to anyone except her hairdresser, and herself.
Making news out of something so profoundly unnewsworthy.....yawn, another 'journalist' smoking the hopium.
This article should have appeared in Ebony, not Time. But the comments on this forum indicate a level of shallowness about the subject.
"No, come back. Don't pay any attention to that nasty ol' Health care Reform issue...Look at MO's hair! Don't you remember when she changed her hair style for a night? Let's talk about that again!"
These idiots for BO are so desperate to change the focus they'll try anything. It won't work because we really do know what is important and we really will fight back!
If any ink should be wasted on Michelle - it should be about her looking like a 'Goodwill Bag Lady' instead of pretending that sbe is a fashion queen!
Actually, I had noticed that Michelle wasn’t sporting the straightened hair this summer. I have wondered if she had burnt it up with all of the processing, or had decided to “go ‘fro”.
I can see the issue that this article is referring to. When I see Michelle with glossy, straightened hair - I think to myself “There she goes, trying to look like Jackie O”. I think it’s sad that black women feel like their natural hair isn’t attractive.
I have a really good friend who happens to be a black woman, she spends endless time & money on her hair. Now, to be honest - so do many white women. For 30 years, I colored, permed and spent and fortune on getting mine styled until one day I just said enough is enough. At one time I figured I had about $1000 per inch invested in my hair. That is ridiculous!
But to get back to the point, I would rather see Michelle let her hair go natural. If she really wants to be seen as a “fashion role model” - this would be the opportunity to show black women that it’s OK to go natural. That black really is beautiful. I would actually respect that.
As funny as it sounds, there really are a lot of cultural issues when it comes to black women and their hair.
Me too and I must include her rotten insides and ugly outsides.
If she is a “lady” how does she qualify?
In other words, when she straighens it she goes white-y. How many african hair product companies will be closed when she and Tyra bring back the nappy look.
>>The choice many black women make to alter their hair’s natural texture has undeniable historical and psychological underpinnings. It has been attributed to everything from a history of oppression and assimilation to media-influenced notions of beauty and simple personal aesthetics. But one thing is certain. For the many who wear straightened styles like Michelle’s, the decision is deliberate, and the maintenance is significant. <<
The woman who wrote this is denying her own race.
Michelle needs to look black for a change. Her hairstyles are lazy. She wears wigs and the tiny ponytails of a woman who needs straightening.
Let her walk out in Pineapple waves and we’ll talk.
That's when she looks like she is not embarrassed by her race
I think “corn rows” would be nice. GAG!
That’s why I put my kids in karate from the age of 4.
I see nothing wrong with this...
Those are cornrows and it's fast becoming a lost art. My sister does them.
Traditional/natural black hair styles have a connotation associated with them, and it's mostly bad. It can even be read in some of the comments on this thread. Mrs. Obama’s hair styles are entirely unnatural and “white”. Whether she wears wigs or straightens her hair, she takes great pains to make her hair not look natural.
Mrs. Obama obviously has a reason she does this. I'm not convinced the looking “white” is the only reason, but I do believe it's a factor. I wouldn't be surprised to discover that part of it is the deceptions which are part of the Obama illusion.
Is wearing a cheap plastic belt up high under the boobs also a symbol of slave-era oppression? Sheeze.
I am also impressed with these sorts of elaborate braidings. They are elegant and harken back to the days of intricate styling of the nineteenth century. I understand they take hours to accomplish, but last a long time, and can be washed without undoing them. This is a particularly pretty one!
The best photo of her was taken at her wedding. She had her hair cropped short and it was natural. It looked OUTSTANDING and that’s the way I (as a white person who once worked with a black friend who . . . with my permission... used to run her fingers through my hair because it was so soft).
If I felt as she does about race . . . I would not be spending my time or my children’s time doing unimaginable things to my hair. I’d crop it like the wedding photo and other people would just have to deal with their biases.
And I can say this as I have shaved my hair down to the skin many times in the past couple of years for no other reason than because I can.
I failed to finish my first sentence. . . that’s the way I would suggest she wear her hair and her children’s hair.
I’m more interested in her character. To heck with the outward trappings.
That’s because we don’t give a crap about her hair.
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