Black Women'S Hair Debate - Grazia Lupita Nyong'O Cover Row

A breakthrough performance in 12 years, a slave, while Lupita Nyong'o an Academy Award. Now the actor has criticized Grazia, claiming they smooth her hair to fit their notion of what beautiful hair looks like she said she wouldn't have agreed to it and said removing her hair amounts to an omission of what is my native heritage on the streets. Today, readers opinion was divided. I take pride in my every single one of my Grace and I love her and it's me so leave them. I think there's a there's a lack of understanding, sometimes about how important a black woman's hair is to her, and I think that's maybe been forgotten here and that's why it's been airbrushed. I don't understand why she's upset, I think it's mainly more because she's famous she's a superstar. She feels entitled to be asked if they can airbrush or change images Grazia magazine, apologized and said it would like to make it clear that at no point did they make any editorial requests to the photographer for the Piton young goes hair to be altered on this Week'S cover, nor did we ultra sour selves well joining me now, Michelle DeLeon founder of world afro day and nicole vassal features an entertainment editor at pride magazine Michelle DeLeon, I mean you saw a woman stopped randomly in the street there, a black woman saying, don't know What she's worried about what is she upset about? She'S upset, I mean I can't speak further people. What are you upset? What am i upset about? It'S the fact that our hair shouldn't be changed by altered by anybody to fit into a European Beauty standard. That'S what hair bias is about about saying our hair is not acceptable by the beauty industry. Do you think that's what happened Nicole well, I can't really speak on Garcia's behalf, but I know that there are a lot of people who oversee before a cover goes to print and even if it wasn't intentionally offensive, that's not what the impact was, and it ended Up really offending the PETA and making her feel as if her hair was not great for the brand cover, so I mean we saw some people sort of reaction as the world doesn't Photoshop go on all the time. What is different about this editing out well thing is Photoshop and editing is a process that happens in a lot of magazines. Unless it's specifically said that something is not airbrush, you can basically assume that small things have been all you you do it on your magazine. Yeah right magazine, there'll be small things that are changed, but never to change a cultural aesthetic - and this is quite extreme - it's actually removing something, as opposed to just altering, and I think that's a much bigger discussion. The really big thing she says this question of what is beautiful, most regarded as beautiful yeah. Do you feel dismayed that you're actually having this conversation in 2017? It'S ridiculous in the sense that we've never had this conversation about Madonna Julia Roberts. Why are we having conversations - and this is the second time within three weeks, Solange Knowles three weeks ago, the beauty industry can't pretend that they're not aware that it's an issue to do with our hair. They clearly are unaware on their. The people who take decisions are clearly not thinking about this on big magazines. Well, there's a difference between diversity and inclusion. I think a lot of them are jumping on the natural hair bandwagon. Let'S put these stars on the front of our cover: if they understood about natural, hair and identity, they wouldn't make the mistakes that they're making I'd have to say that that's you know, I'd agree with that. I think there's a whole difference between wanting to kind of be a part of the you know, woek movement and really wanting people to see you as more open to different races on your own covers. But it just goes to show you the kind of work force that is behind the teams, because you know if they were essentially more of a diverse workforce. This might not have happened, but do you think things are changing? I mean we're senior the new, the new black editor of Vogue, putting yeah put a bit of putting a black woman on the front cover of his first issue and saying he wants to tackle diversity. Did you think that is the way to change attitudes about what is beautiful in the world of fashion and beauty yeah? I think it's very important to show different variations of be c.b.c goes from all scales and all colors, and I think if you do want to use black women on your magazines, to kind of show that there's a diverse beauty, you have to take black women in Total and in all that they are, and not just edit them out. How far do you think there is to go? We don't we're talking about it's, not just hair. It'S it's skin, color and skilled skin lightening, but she's also talked about you know. Did you feel that these are still uphill struggles? They are because there's an education that needs to happen. It needs to happen across the world really to say what is acceptable. What is beautiful was including, I think, the magazine industry and the beauty industry. They have a responsibility to the young people going up children who are looking at these images and and want to feel accepted and want to feel proud of who they are they're, not going to feel that if they hear that all my head's my acceptable but well, I mean I don't want Scouts around this, I mean. Do you think large numbers of white people don't think of African hair and dark skin as beautiful is that is that what you're up against on a unconscious bias level, yeah I'd, say that perhaps nobody's ever thinking that this is ugly? This aesthetic is not. You know beautiful to me, but it's because that's over as long as media's been around, there has been a certain kind of aesthetic that is more straight. Hair lighter skin those that is represented as beautiful and so in showing Nikita with her kinky hair and with her dark skin that would be so effective and proven that there are different ways of beauty. How do you think you can stop this happening again? I don't think you can stop it happening again, but you would think that they're going to learn from their mistakes. You'Ve got two major British magazines making the mistake within three weeks of each other's. They can't learn with all this media spotlight. Then they're gon na lose leadership. You work you a Lyon magazine at women of color yeah. What would you say to the big brands? I'D say if you want to put across a message that you're diverse you know in terms of print, you have to be the change you want to see. You have to have a diverse work posture. You