Yesterday, I saw a picture circulating around the internet that caused a small stir across various social media platforms. People were posting articles and turning to Twitter to share opinions of Michelle Obama flaunting her natural hair (see below).
Had a white celebrity, like Jennifer Lawrence or Mila Kunis, went out with her natural hair, there would be hardly a ripple across the internet except for a post in “Celebrities are like us!” or some other gossip column. But why was Michelle Obama not “like us?”
Black female hair has always been a contentious topic in modern society. I thought back to a discussion I attended last year about cultural appropriation; the most debated topic was cornrows. We reviewed images, ranging from little girls on vacation in the Caribbean to the runway to pop culture icons like the Kardashians, all sporting these braids. The consensus was that white women who style their hair in this way fail to appreciate its historical context and meaning. Cornrows originated in Africa and the Caribbean and was worn by slave laborers working in the sugar cane fields. Rather than recognize this significance, white culture is appropriating it as a “fresh” and “edgy” hairstyle. To me, this puts out the message that we are “erasing” or “ignoring” the parts of our history that are tough to address.
Back to Michelle Obama, I realized that very rarely had people seen pictures of her with natural hair. Instead, it’s always relaxed and perfectly coiffed. As an iconic African-American female figure, many people were overjoyed to see the photo. Still, others questioned why it took so long for her to step out in public with natural hair.
There has been a recent movement for black women to embrace their natural hair because it is symbolic of embracing one’s culture and heritage. Much like Pedro’s post earlier this semester about his naturally wavy Brazilian hair compared to a Korean friend’s straight hair, our hair is very indicative of our unique ethnic background. Black women have started to turn their backs on chemicals that make their hair look more “neat” or “normal” or “white” in favor of embracing their natural curls.
Michelle Obama’s natural hair debut is a step in the right direction for encouraging this natural hair movement. I myself straighten my hair often, and when I sit down and think about it, maybe I do so because of the cultural norms imposed upon me. Straight, silky hair is a sign of beauty in recent American culture, but what if I leave my natural waves? Am I suddenly not “pretty enough?” I know the pressures I face are a lot smaller compared to the pressures black women face in terms of hair. I’m sure as the First Lady, Michelle Obama experienced pressures to appear perfect and put-together, and oftentimes natural black hair can be construed as “unruly.” However, constant pressure like this is unrealistic. If a cultural shift happens towards acceptance of natural hair in all its forms, we would be one step closer to denying culture appropriation and embracing the story our natural hair can tell.
Whiteness in USAmerican Culture 
Hi, Jackie! I think the questions you ask yourself at the end of this post are very interesting. It is also interesting to think about what we thought about beauty before societal norms were a part of us. For example, I’ve always had pin-straight hair – my friend, who is a quarter black, has a half-black mother who I still swear to this day could be Beyonce’s twin (caramel skin, dyed blonde hair, big smile). She often wore her hair in a big, afro-like style with tight pin curls – when I was younger, all I wanted was for my hair to be big and curly like hers rather than boring, flat, and straight. It is interesting to consider how jealous I was of her African hair when I have the straight, soft, naturally blonde hair often put on a pedestal as a beauty norm in our society.
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I love that you have brought this picture into discussion!
For the 8 years that Michelle Obama was in the white house, I always wondered why I never saw her natural hair. Michelle is an incredible role model to me, but also more importantly to black females everywhere. She is someone that young children aspire to be. She is smart, strong, funny, beautiful, and so much more. I also believe that she is aware that she has such a strong following, and that is why she was and continues to be so outspoken about the issues she believes to be truly important, for example healthy eating. However, this knowledge that she has the ability to influence young children everywhere is exactly the reason I never understood why she always relaxed her hair. To have someone so smart and powerful show the world that natural hair has absolutely nothing to do with social class, cleanliness, or intelligence (as some people tend to assume) would be an absolutely amazing influence on black females to show that they do not need to conform to white beauty standards in order to succeed or be seen as beautiful.
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Phenotypes are often involved in the discussion of race, and how whiteness dominates the norms of beauty and “professionalism.” Once the former FLOTUS relinquished her duties as a politician and public figure, her natural hair returned-thus begging the question, can you be taken seriously as a professional woman with natural hair? For Michelle Obama, she clearly felt more comfortable with straightened hair in the white house. Jackie, I really liked that you talked about white-normative hair styling appearing “neater” and more “put-together.” And although I do not have the same hair type as Michelle, I do have pretty unruly hair that I felt was sub-par when I was a younger teenager. After seeing celebrities with silky straight hair, I thought that was the only beautiful style and I damaged my hair in the process of adhering to that norm. I have always wanted to wake up with hair that wasn’t only beautiful 1) to my grandma or 2) at the beach; however, as you said, the problem lies within American culture. We need to foster a greater appreciation of every hair type/color/style so people can view diversity as beautiful and professional, without the damaging effects of a whitewashed standard.
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