I cannot believe stories like this are on somewhat mainstream online news-sources like Yahoo News. Michelle Obama's hair doesn't matter. What's next? Commentary about her nail polish? Why does the media get so fixated on little things? I wonder where the feminists are when stories like this make the news. When stories like this "break," I feel like the women's lib movement has been set back a few decades.
Why Michelle Obama's Hair Matters
By JENEE DESMOND-HARRIS
Jenee Desmond-harris Wed Sep 2, 5:15 pm ET
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 transcends outward appearance and ultimately transcends Michelle herself - a symbol for African-American women's status in terms of beauty, acceptance and power.
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1 comment:
I agree, Struke. Whenever I see news stories like these, I think it must be an awfully slow news day if this is all they can find to report about. Why would anyone care about that stuff? Isn't there anything else going on in the world they can find to talk about?
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