Natural Hair Vs The Media: The Battle For Black Women

How’S, my hair girl Is my hair: ok, It’s, looking good it’s, looking good. ‘Cause, you know, curls comes out and… Model. Jourdana Phillips was one of a number of black women to sport, natural hair on the runway during the 2017 Victoria's Secret fashion show.. But it was only two years before that that a model rocked natural hair at the prestigious fashion show, for the first time, Maria Borges in 2015., When VS says something is beautiful, it’s beautiful and we all know this, but to have more huge, influential brands backing that And supporting that is going to be nothing but amazing things coming for them., Since it first sprang up at the start of the 21st century. The natural hair movement has long battled to receive acceptance in the mainstream media.. But what exactly is it At its heart? It encourages black men and women to ditch artificial chemicals and substances to straighten their hair and instead wear their afro-textured hair in its natural coiled or curly state.. Many actors, singers and other celebrities have begun, embracing their natural hair, leading to an increasing exposure of the movement.. Ever since I started The Real I’m just so happy. Just imagine being told that this isn’t beautiful this isn’t sexy for so long and then go out there and be like ‘You know what Screw what everyone else says. I think this is beautiful.’ And then to see people be inspired by that Is encouraging. In itself. My co-stars Ashleigh, Murray and Hayley Law had their natural hair, and I remember being so inspired and so in shock that they were even able to wear that. And that was okay.. It honestly feels incredible, and I think it's so remarkable for little girls to be able to see that and know that, like it is acceptable. And yet having natural hair, accepted or even understood by both the media and public at large has been a struggle. American artistic Gymnast Gabby Douglas was the first African-American gymnast in Olympic history to become the Individual All-Around Champion at the 2012 games in London., But, along with praise of her performance, came stinging. Criticism of her hair on social media. And Solange Knowles and Lupita Nyong’o have both recently criticized magazines for editing out their hair on their covers.. Many women who rock their natural hair, have had to deal with the pressure of conforming to what other people believe is beautiful.. I remember my first job., I was 16 and I did Degrassi. At the time I was wearing my natural hair and I showed up to set and they literally had no idea what to do with it.. They didn't even want to touch it.. Nobody knew what to do and they were just going to send me to set with my hair looking a complete mess.. Luckily, my aunt was with me and she had brought a blow dryer and all that stuff and she was able to help me out.. I went out to an audition and the cast director said you know I did very well. I acted very well, but she couldn't get past my hair.. It was a distraction., So when you're growing up in the business - and this is what people are saying, it makes you feel self-conscious.. I went to this hair and makeup test for a huge show and the hairdresser is doing my hair and he's like curling it with this curling iron all through it, and I end up looking like Shirley Temple.. I ended up not getting the job, so I left feeling heartbroken. To help combat this African-American oriented publications like Ebony and Essence have promoted celebrities with natural hair on their covers. And it’s, not just famous figures who are receiving exposure. CRWN bills itself, as a new kind Of print magazine for everyday Black women., It aims to celebrate women with natural hair, share, more awareness and further the conversation about natural hair in America.. We want to go on a journey with a whole black woman who is yes, her hair matters, but it is not the entire representation of herself. And so really with CRWN. We are on a mission to celebrate and edify black women and to show them their own beauty and power in a way that I don't think has been shown before.. I think the most important thing that we can do to shape this conversation is leave it to black women to have.. I think it's most appropriate for them to tell their own stories. And that's sort of the way that we structured our platform is as really a home for a black women to express themselves. In recent years. Big name: magazines like Vogue Glamour, People and O the Oprah magazine have featured celebrities rocking their natural hair on their covers., But it’s still rare.. Every time this happens. It becomes a huge talking point.. It seems as though people latch onto the trends the # blackgirlmagic hashtag or the # teamnatural hashtag or whatever it may be, but sometimes there's confusion around what it means.. Sometimes people are so intent on getting the woman with the natural hair on the cover that they don't understand that you can't cut off her antenna. You know with Solange or cut off her hair, even with Lupita Nyong'o.. Clearly, there’s still a lot of work to be done to have natural hair accepted in society. To show to the world. There are different standards of beauty.. I think we need to start writing our own stories.. I think, in order for the conversation to continue, we can't rely on you know people in the industry who are dominantly Caucasian to give us the opportunity to sport our natural hair.. I think writing is one of the most important things.. It'S like. We need to start writing more for ourselves.. We have to make sure that, down from the hairstylist to the makeup artist, to the photographers to the creative director to the producers, they all make a difference because images are powerful and we have to [ take ] responsibility in creating these images. And we can only do that by making sure that we have diverse people that are also creating them as well.. I think the more we educate people, the more we say, no to those types of people and continue to embrace what God gave us. I think the more we'll be able to make a difference and to continue to show the world that different standard of beautiful