It won’t make me popular around here, but I admit that I sometimes listen to NPR. Nerdy-cute guys like Ira Glass are kind of my thing.
So I was intrigued by NPR producer and blogger Teshima Walker’s criticism of black recording artists like Beyoncé, Rihanna, Mary J. Blige, and Roberta Flack for showing up to the Grammys with blonde, straightened, white-girl hair:
I know that blond hair is associated with white women and beauty. I saw how men respond to girls and women with golden hair. Men (black, white, Asian, Latino and Native American) can’t get enough of Marilyn Monroe, Madonna, Pink and now this Lady Gaga chick. Trust me – all women want to feel desirous and beautiful. We all want some of that. And some of us dye our hair blond to get the job interview, get a second look and get the man or woman (don’t you?).
But now I think maybe Black stars should help African-American women release the hold that blond hair has had on us. It’s not a natural hair color. It’s not really a good look if you’re over 30. It’s not particularly healthy for your hair. We don’t need the woes that blond hair brings. Black women, let’s do something different.
I quibble with the notion that men are drooling over Madonna or Lady Gaga — I think more men are terrified of them. But I digress. I was curious what Teshima herself looked like. And guess what?
Yup, girlfriend is blonde.
I actually totally get what she’s saying, but if she’s telling Hollywood to embrace their roots (literally), don’t you think she ought to lead the way?
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“all women want to feel desirous”
Of what?
Hypocrite has a job above her pay grade.
i just think we ought to stop believing blonde hair will get us that job or man. Why cannot we be just ourselves. I am white, with darker hair. Does that mean I am at a disadvantage because of my hair.
Teshima doesn’t look blond to me. And she definitely isn’t trying to be white with those curls. I see what you were going for here, but I’m not buying it.
eh… i wouldn’t technically call it “blond” — i get the point trying to be made but i think it’s a stretch as far as being “deceiver worthy.” i don’t personally see anything wrong with the celebrities dying their hair blond. would she feel better if they dyed it purple?
and did she mean desired?
Her hair is the exact same shade as she excoriates Roberta Flack and Rihanna for having. You only get that brassy color when you apply bleach to dark hair. And in any event, she admits in her post that her mom once yelled at her for bleaching her hair.
Worry less about what color your hair is, and more about being shaped like a Teletubbie. And Marylin Monroe, Madonna, and Lady Gaga? I think Teshima has too many gay friends.
“Worry less about what color your hair is, and more about being shaped like a Teletubbie.”
I meant Teshima.
I’m with anyone who thinks that men shudder and shrivel at the thought of Madonna or Gaga. Straight men, anyway; wouldn’t imagine they make a dent either way with gay guys.
If X or Y or Z, whatever her race, just wants to bleach (lighten) OR dye (darken) her hair, good for her. If she’s doing it to try to be “white”, well, that’s obviously a problem for her to deal with. Racial dysmorphia, just like body dysmorphia, is a harsh mistress.
Why does Teshima think she gets to decide hair color parameters for other women of color, anyway? Who died and made her the hair police? We’ve all got issues, dude. Hair color is usually the least of it.
the first few sentences of the article state “My first inclination is to start a Facebook protest but truth be told these locks on my head have blond tips.”
and at the conclusion of her post, she seems to be including herself in the call to “black women” when she says “Black women, let’s do something different. Hell, I’m not completely satisfied watching my crowning glory gray at the temples but I promise you, there will be no more blond dye added.”
like i said, i think it’s a stretch as far as being “deceiver worthy.”
Some people around here have described Lady Gaga as ugly, disgusting, and “has the face of a gargoyle.” One of them might have been me. But I’m not really sure right now. What is this a trial? But lately I have been softening my stance, and it’s all very confusing, and terrifying.
If only they spent as much time on their brains as they do on their hair…
Kinda funny, because Rihanna IS a blonde. She dyed her hair darker and cut it to change her image after her first record.
As for complaining about Beyonce or Mary J Blige for being blonde, she’s about a decade and 15 years too late respectively. Beyonce has always had long light hair (much like her mother), whether its real or dyed. Mary J’s hair has been a dozen colors.
@jenn that could be said for a lot of people. these ladies aren’t famous for their brains…
As a natural blonde (who is white, so it isn’t just light compared to my skin), I always envied dark haired girls for their “exotic” hair. Snow on black hair looks magical, like diamonds, snow on blond hair looks like dandruff. Dark hair with gray temples looks distinguished, blond hair with gray ANYWHERE looks dirty. As in unwashed. Most natural blonds have invisible eyebrows, and have to master the art of eyebrow pencil. (Try getting your brows the exact same color and shape every morning. Coloring in your brows gets old fast.) Most girls with that “perfect” blond shade are fake/enhanced blonds, and most adults with dark brows and lighter blond hair are either complete fakes or “helping” their hair go back to their childhood color. Now the majority of the world has no idea what a natural blond looks like.
Case in point: None of the blondes she listed are natural blonds.
Embrace your dark hair, girls! The grass is always greener…
P.S. I actually think most women with darker skin (not just African/Hispanic) look odd with blond hair. Doesn’t match, and often has the wrong undertones to match the skin. And Lady Gaga strikes me as more of a gay men attractor. I can’t imagine straight guys getting excited over her.
Okay — true confession time.
Sarah Vowell. Yummy voice. Yum. Mee.
Too bad she’s going to grow up to look like Helen Thomas. Ain’t that a weenie-shrinker?
I don’t know, I have black hair and am a white woman, and I get noticed more than any blonde I’ve ever met, and I have dyed my hair practically every color there is to dye it. I’m not trying to toot my own horn here, it’s just a fact. I don’t think hair color matters as much as the way a woman *presents* herself.
…and as an afterthought: blonde isn’t Beyonce’s best choice in color. She would look more striking with her natural, darker hair. With her hair bleached out, she looks like every other nondescript character Hollywood churns out.
Sarah Vowell? Ira Glass? Let’s go! We’re going to a strip club. You guys gotta get out.
I know that Beyonce got a lot of flack for being in a hair dye commercial before. Who cares if they dye their hair? I think there are more important things to look at then their hair color.
As for Lady GaGa, I cannot tell if she can sing or not. Her videos and dress is too nausiating to get past to actually hear her voice. If guys think people like her are beautiful, then we are in a lot of trouble as society.
More black-on-black racism! “You’re not black enough, Uncle (or Aunt) Tom!” Yes, do what the folks in the hood are doing if you want to be black enough.
@angry army wife search youtube for “vintage lady gaga” it’s a from when she still was Stefani Germanotta. even if you don’t like her music, at least the video shows you she can actually sing. and the comment at the end from a judge kinda gives some insight as to why she might be the way she is now…
I would like to note that anyone can become a blond. It ’tis very easy and most of the time, very legit looking, bottled blond. BUT to get a real, natural brunette color from a bottle, impossible.
I had my hair very light for a long time and the day I switched it to what’s closer to my natural hair color was the day everyone said how much better it looked. One guy even told me I looked younger.
Besides, everyone thinks brunettes are smarter.
I have to disagree with cara. A lot of people come out looking very washed out when they die their hair blonde. Blonde isn’t a color that everyone can pull off. On the same token, neither is brunette. It really all depends on skin tone, and whether a person is warmer or cooler.
i think the whole thing is really no big deal! generally speaking, people will always try to be something they’re not, whether motivated by what they’ve been programmed to know as beautiful or just trying to find what works for them. the only way to get rid of generalized-inadequacy would be to live in some sort of Utopian society a la Lois Lowry’s The Giver
I wish they’d focus less on external beauty and more of what women have to offer. But then again, we are talking about Hollywood. I wish we could change this mentality.
That picture appears to be from August ‘08. Maybe she’s not a hypocrite. Maybe she dyed her hair a year and a half ago and has since changed her opinion on the matter.
@stefany go to the link in the post to the original article.
the first few sentences of the article state “My first inclination is to start a Facebook protest but truth be told these locks on my head have blond tips.”
and at the conclusion of her post, she seems to be including herself in the call to “black women” when she says “Black women, let’s do something different. Hell, I’m not completely satisfied watching my crowning glory gray at the temples but I promise you, there will be no more blond dye added.”
@ shmolly–i completely agree! she’s saying she does it, too!