We’re in the midst of a black culture renaissance in media right now.
Black Panther went on to set a superhero record of 5 weeks leading the box office.
And going to become one of the largest superhero domestic box office ever.
All that wonderful Wakanda hair
well, this film might have the largest showcase of natural hair onscreen ever.
Natural hair is finally having its moment on the big screen and on the small screen.
In TV shows like Insecure and Grown-ish.
Black women have been rocking natural styles like this since—well—forever.
And Hollywood is finally taking notice.
In this episode of Mane, we’re going to discuss the impact of the natural hair movement
and the long road to acceptance in Hollywood.
And joining me today are Renee, McKenzie, and Sharisse.
Hi.
[Laughing] Hi.
I’m McKenzie, I’m 26.
I’m a natural hair and beauty YouTuber.
So I make videos on how I style my hair and just trying different products, etc.
And then I’m also a online content creator and digital ghost writer.
[Exclaims]
Sharisse, you just recently went natural, what do you want us to know about you?
I was born here, but I was raised in Guyana,
in South America- my family is Guyanese.
Is natural hair big in Guyana?
Sort of, now with this new movement coming along, it made its way there slowly but surely.
And Renee...
I was born in Trinidad.
I’m a mom of two.
Hair has been my work, it’s also been my study.
There’s a lot that goes into hair moisturization.
Okay, so let’s talk about hair moments in history.
1963, Cecily Tyson is the first woman on camera to be seen with cornrows in East Side/West Side.
Perhaps we’ve been natural on camera
longer than we realize,
but it wasn't something to be taken note of
perhaps until the civil rights movement
and now with a new wave of black natural hair movement.
Do you think that we’ve been natural on TV?
I feel like we’ve made pop up appearances.
Like Nina Simone wore an afro for a while.
And then you had Cecily.
But I remember growing up-feeling like natural hair was for adolescence.
And then when you grew up, you had to relax your hair.
When you wanted to become a Claire Huxtable, you had to relax your hair.
It’s 1971,
We have Melba Tolliver, who is a correspondent for ABC News.
So she’s covering Patricia Nixon’s wedding.
Apparently Melba was always wigged.
Alright, Melba snatches her wig off and covers the entire wedding wig-less.
Yes Melba.
Right. And what happens to Melba?
Melba was coincidentally fired
because of it.
We’re still having these discussions about ‘Can I wear my fro for my job interviews?'
For her to say, ‘I’m covering this majorly publicized event and I’m going to do it
as me, I think courageous is the first word that I think of.
I always appreciated Pam Grier putting her sexuality forward,
with a fro.
When you think of Pam Grier, you’re immediately brought back to the hair stealing scene
of Foxy Brown.
Of her whipping out her hidden gun from her fro.
That sh** was iconic.
To me, what’s so important is that she was received as sexy with her natural hair.
Tracee Ellis Ross— like now a hair-con.
That is my new word for “Hair Icon”.
She has been killing natural hair looks since 2000.
I live for what girlfriends did
in terms of representation of black women.
Black women can exist in many different types and forms.
Many different hairstyles, many different lifestyle choices-
everyone was just living their best black lives—
and I’m like "Yes! I’m here for it."
Yara Shahidi on Black-ish and Grown-ish
I feel like the texture of Yara’s hair is what we consider to be acceptable—
and what many women strive for when we’re talking about natural hair.
So is it fair to say that it’s almost “easy” for her to wear her hair on camera?
Versus someone who like— our girl Melba,
who had a tight, tight fro.
We’re still hiding the fours and still trying to deliver the threes.
And so it’s just kind of like "But it’s an improvement from the relaxer."
For sure, but it’s still more palatable.
Like what Yara has and what Tracee Ellis Ross has.
The reception to Yara’s hair to the reception of Viola Davis’s hair when she smashed the wig on
people were almost appalled— like clear distinction between
”Yeah—go girl—liberate yourself” and then like...
”What is she doing on TV like this?”
No one’s really condemning Yara for wearing her hair out.
There’s something really attractive to me about Issa Rae and how she has a different—
like her braided styles are so ornate. Like she stands out to me like somebody from a
tighter, kinkier hair pattern that’s really killing it on TV right now.
We can’t have this conversation without talking about the
the cultural impact of what Black Panther did in terms of visibility onscreen.
It showed- almost like afro-futuristic hairstyles.
Like it wasn’t just like regular box braids or just like a shaved head.
Shuri’s braided styles: I’d die for them.
They were so intricate, it was just super cool to see natural hair twisted in that way.
Black Panther was such a moment, because it was like,
this is for us- we’re in Wakanda, this is for us. There might be a couple
non-black characters but they’re peripheral, right?
So it’s just like: we’re seeing our skin, we’re seeing our hair, we’re seeing all of this
in all of its glory, but it’s also like: do we see
that 4C in a show where it’s not about—where it’s not for us, necessarily.
When we’ll really see that things are starting to change is
can we have a Scandal where Olivia Pope doesn’t have a press?
Like you know, can she have a 4C afro?
The context is these black families, you have black friends, and that’s just not
that’s not our world, you know, like you know the majority is still predominately white.
Like if I go to a family reunion, my hair can be whatever.
And I feel like my family would probably be like “Oh, cute."
But if I’m walking out of my house, different audience.
And so like how I’m perceived matters to all of us.
And so what would be nice is if a newscaster just decides- like Melba-
to be like “we’re going to wear it natural."
Because ain’t nobody firing you today for that.
So, the question of the day:
you know, we’ve gone over history,
we’ve given out personal testimonies,
do we think that natural hair and the representation of natural hair has changed over time?
And if so, how?
The most visible way would be in terms of visibility.
The fact that it’s there in all its different types-
you can do whatever you want to it, you can be a superhero,
box braids, you can be a working professional.
With your hair pressed or with a wash and go.
There’s like so many different ways that
black people with their natural hair can thrive and survive in society
there’s no one uniform narrative for us.
But I would say like social media—I think—is a blessing and a curse.
But I think social media is really, really helpful in terms of broadening our perceptions
and our visibility of all different textures.
That’s where I kind of see
the full spectrum of celebration of all styles
I think on TV we see a lot more natural hair, but it’s still a lot:
Tracee Ellis,
and Yara,
and their hair’s beautiful.
But I still don’t really think we see so much of our kinkier—
Yeah, I think there’s a lot more room
for growth in that arena.
And so that’s why I think Black Panther and all those are great because
because those are for us, you get a heavy dose every time.
But I would like to see it be like, you know, on regular television shows.
It’s always in black
movies or shows where
these things and looks are celebrated, and so
to agree with McKenzie, I feel like it does have a long way to go.
So that it’s everywhere- it’s not just in a TV or a show,
It’s on the news station, I don’t know, it’s on all kinds of coverage.
Like when you click on your TV, you see a black girl, you see like
a natural hairdo or just- yeah.
I think I would celebrate the day where this conversation was had and it wasn’t just a group of black women.
Ignorance is what stops people from learning,
right?
And so a lot of people get comfortable within their ignorance
and I think if we had more open dialogue,
if there was more curiosity from other cultures and the people who were putting people on camera,
and on the big screen,
then we would find ourselves in a vastly much different place.
It’s about changing who’s in front of the camera, changing who’s behind the camera
also, who’s making the decisions for both.
I think that’s what’s happening in social media
and that’s what’s happening on TV, just more of a conversation.
And like, white girls are learning.
White girls are learning about our hair textures, and I think they can identify a loose curl
and a tighter curl.
And some of these questions are embarrassing for them to ask.
They’re like, 'Oh shoot, I don’t know that?'
So, they’ll go and they’ll YouTube it and they’re learning in their homes, in their privacy.
Like they’re becoming more informed and also, I believe we’re becoming more informed to inform them.
And I think it’s getting there, it’s a process, but it’s certainly getting there.
Most definitely.
Thanks, ya’ll.