Oprah just got weave checked by Chris Rock

[wild curls raquelle]

I do see and know WW with some damaged hair. Damaged from daily flat ironing, curling, color etc. I also see alot of them with weaves and wigs for days.

 

[Junebug D]

The show is airing again right now, at least here in Chicago.

 

[JayAnn0513]

^^ if u look at her childhood pics she has had those bags her whole life. That's just the way she looks.

 

[JayAnn0513]

Not necessarily true. Come visit Southern CA and I guarantee you will see WW across the economic board rocking extensions, especially in my suburb!

Socal is different than the rest of the US. In Dallas weave is a big money (or wanna be big money) thing with white women. I live in the burbs and I don't see white women with weave on the regular.

 

[Supervixen]

I love this show!!!!

I do have to say, Solo's nails are not cute.

 

[LaidBak]

I am watching the late night showing (1AM). Why Chris looked so surprised when he found out her hair was real? LoL!! But I am glad she made it clear and represented for the healthy, long haired girls.

ETA: Well now the other question has been answered: Oprah has a relaxer.

 

[RocStar]

im sorry, but why do some black men always have to compare long hair to spanish women if its long!!!ughhh!!!! Chris Rock- "That's a J-Lo head of hair"

I don't think Chris was comparing Oprah's hair to J-Lo's hair. I think he was saying that like J-Lo's butt was a frenzy and hyped, Oprah's hair should be as well. What J-Lo did to show off women with curves, Oprah is doing to show off women of color can have long, real hair.

Maybe I am wrong.

 

[GeorginaSparks]

I love this show!!!!

I do have to say, Solo's nails are not cute.

what did they look like?

 

[jamaraa]

Socal is different than the rest of the US. In Dallas weave is a big money (or wanna be big money) thing with white women. I live in the burbs and I don't see white women with weave on the regular.

You probably DO see it, but don't know you're seeing it. Some probably get very good quality weaves, but as we know most don't!

 

[wild curls raquelle]

^^ if u look at her childhood pics she has had those bags her whole life. That's just the way she looks.

Really? I didn't know that. Thanks.

 

[Mizz Diamonds]

I love Tyra I do but after seeing a few clips of Oprah show I was like WOW.
I'm surprised that Chris was so bloody fascinated by Oprah's hair and shocked when he found out it was real. When I was relaxed by hair did look like Oprah's kind of blown out and big I like it that way so many people thought Oprah was natural but she just has super thick hair (same here)

But yeah if anyone knows where I can watch the full epiosde help a girl out please!!!!!

I always liked Solange and her hair looks cute.

Oh coz Chris Rock didn't know black women could have hair that long I wonder if in the Documentary he'll say something like "it doesn't grow that fast or as long" coz if he does I might need to make my own remix of his documentary to bring light to those myths you get me

 

[LaidBak]

what did they look like?

Long and black with the half moon area painted white.
I didn't like her bright pink lipstick either, but she is pretty.

 

[Kurlee]

i love how oprah showed her hair and swang it around

 

[Kurlee]

..Oprah has a relaxer. OMG I thought she was natural.....

mama nooooooooo

 

[Kurlee]

One of the things that stood out to me was how Ali said that she wanted to be pretty when Chris Rock asked her how she thought she was standing out by coloring her hair blonde when everyone else was blonde.

She tried to make a joke out of it, but I believe there was a ring of truth to it.

Also, I hate to jump on the Tyra-bashing train, but this show proves why Oprah is Oprah and Tyra is Tyra.

i love that oprah called out white women. I Okrah!

 

[Kurlee]

Thats kinda like how it is with relaxers. Many women cant remember what their real texture is like because they have been relaxed their whole lives.

I dont get the obsession with blonde. I've seen some pretty women with dark hair.

I loatheeeeeeeee blond hair and never understood the appeal.

 

[Pooks]

Somebody please post the YT link!!

 

[sheba1]

Not sure if this was posted already; but if you missed it you can watch the entire episode here: http://www.watchoprahshow.info/

 

[Supervixen]

what did they look like?

It's around the 0:56 mark and again around the 3:00 mark. I usually like her nails, but not this time.
http://www.oprah.com/media/20090916-tows-solange-knowles

 

[Hairsofab]

I didnt know white women color their hair so much.

Yeah I knew that. They start early. Usually middle school. I read a statistic that only 17% of white people are natural blondes. Yet look how many blonde haired white women you see. Also, compare the number of blonde haired white women with blonde haired white men. Men are less likely to dye their hair, and you see how uncommon it is among white men, at least in the US.

 

[pearlygurl]

im sorry, but why do some black men always have to compare long hair to spanish women if its long!!!ughhh!!!! Chris Rock- "That's a J-Lo head of hair"

...........unfortunately that's cause there aren't that many black womens heads to compare it to!

First off I hate that as a person of Hispanic heritage I'm offended because I know a lot of Latinas who's hair is jacked up, weaved up, damaged and what not.

On a side note I kind of wish Oprah would have swirled her face like people do on Fotki when she showed her natural hair.

And thank you Solange

I don't think he meant it like that. I believe he was trying to say that Oprah's hair is top notch. He could have easily used Beyonce/Halle or any other desirable woman but I guess J Lo is the first name that popped in his head.

 

[blackbarbie986]

boo, the oprah link isn't working for me. the survey never loaded.

 

[Br*nzeb*mbsh~ll]

Um. no. I've seen many run-of-the-mill WW wearing extensions. Glue-ins, to be exact. Not rich and definitely not fabulous. At all. Uh uh.

I live in Texas - Houston to be exact. Home of the big, blonde hair.

Here's an observation I've made about race and weaves/extensions and I might be wrong, but bear with me.

I don't know many WW in my day to day life who wear extensions; HOWEVER, when I worked at an upscale retail store, it wasn't uncommon to come across a WW with extensions. Extensions for WW are usually pretty expensive because they have to use a certain quality of hair and the techniques are not cheap, so seeing WW with extensions is more common when you hit higher income areas, but tapers off as you go down the 'income ladder'.

With black women, extensions are a little more affordable and are available in some form to all income groups. Because of this, we're more likely to see black women sport extensions on a day to day basis.

If extensions for WW were more affordable and accessible to the working and middle classes, you'd notice the same trend.

Lastly, I think the wearing of extensions vs long natural hair has different meaning for blacks and whites. Extension wearing among WW is usually reserved for the rich and fabulous. Though many wealthy BW sport extensions, I find that having your own long hair to us is a 'status symbol', and you're more likely to see longer hair in higher income black communities.

 

[afiya27]

Uh...I think I'm going to buy another copy of Solanges album!

ABSOLUTELY!!! If we want more wiggle room in our everyday lives and/or the standard of beauty that our friends, relatives (male and female), and boyfriends/lovers/husbands are holding us up to, we have to have our voices/sentiments heard in show-business! We have to "vote" with our wallets! Solange was willing to step away from the pack and show her natural self publicly. If we want to see more of this, Solange MUST be supported! ... Beyond that, the girl is actually TALENTED! Ideally, the Solange/India/Jill Scott/Badu/Lauryn styles and/or celebrities will eclipse the current "weave mafia" monopoly that seems to be at play ... Or at least rival it!

Shoot, the problem is that these little boys are starting to hold EVERY woman to the beauty standards of the women (illusions) they see in the media! As they grow into men, many of them may come to unquestioningly prefer that long, straight hair (weaves/illusions) that they grew up salivating over (and/or saw their female relatives bending over backwards to achieve). It's a viscous cycle that the beauty industry is using to its advantage. The standards are getting higher and higher. You can see how bad/intense it's gotten when WHITE women, the basic physical type around which the American beauty standard was based, have to go through significant financial/temporal gyrations to get their hair to achieve the 'look'. Just think about what Afro-textured heads must have to do on TOP of that! It has to stop/slow down somewhere...

I initially disagreed with Chris's attempt to place responsibility for this "hair issue" on (black) women's laps. After all, it's clear that (black) men play a strong role in this. But upon reflection, I suspect that his ultimate point may be true on some level. Yes, men hold their current opinions, but the ultimate call as to when all of this is going to stop/slow down may indeed be in the hands of women and/or the 'hands that rock the cradles' (sorry moms, one more thing to feel responsible/guilty for -- the mammalian female's dilemma is too much power/influence over her YOUNG! )...

The bottom line is this: Regardless of race, when faced with a) a FEMALE with a TWA, or b) a MALE with "beautiful" hair flowing down his back, the choice, for a heterosexual male is (by definition) BEYOND obvious ... Men are stronger/more resilient than we think/let them be in these matters. We just don't see that much because, 9 times out of 10, we agree with (and/or are MORE invested in) the beauty standard OURSELVES (black women AND white)! After all, even though men see them/find them attractive too, those women in the Pantene commercials are clearly talking directly to women, not men...

 

[afiya27]

But on another note I really don't think this show gave a clear explanation about black women's hair. I'm sure white women will now MORE inquired to ask or wonder about our hair.

If by this comment you mean that, after this show airs white women will be more likely to approach black women and ask "questions" about their hair, you're probably right...You seem to be framing this as a problem (?) If so, I understand EXACTLY what you mean by this... I grew up in a mostly white town in the Midwest. It can get VERY uncomfortable when whites attempt to express their "curiosity" about our hair:

"Why is your hair like that/nappy?", "Why is your hair so short?", "Can I touch it?", "You put GREASE in your hair?", "Wow, it's ACTUALLY soft!?", "You don't WASH it everyday?" ...

These statements (and many more) ring painfully in my memory. In fact, they would probably sting a bit even today depending on who said them ... But ultimately, I think it's important that, for the sake of our daughters/descendants, we try to suck it up and sit with/fight through the initial pain/sting of these comments and try to reply with patience and dignity.

After all, although it is indeed arguable that we may still need to heal, IMHO, Afro-textured Americans truly have NOTHING to be ashamed of with regards to their natural hair! In fact, IMHO, even the logic behind the ways in which our female ancestors/members attempt(ed) to cope with it's stigmatization in America are COMPLETELY rational/not shameful/embarrassing! ... If anything, if WW reflect deeply (which I know, many don't), they'd see that, in actuality, if anyone should be embarrassed/ashamed (which is questionable given that we ALL INHERITED this mess -- so pointing fingers is futile), it is moreso THEM in light of their ignorance about a physical trait that has been significantly represented in our country since it's inception ~200+ years ago (i.e. their ignorance is reflective of the shameful/embarrassing/disgusting things that their ancestors did to sustain segregation)!

I'd rather it sting a bit (at first at least) than to feel nothing at all (sentiments echoed by doctors testing their patients for paralysis). In other words, I'd actually be more concerned if white women DIDN'T become more interested/curious after this show ... B/c to me, that would suggest that even the great OPRAH couldn't get this aspect of the rusty machinery of our country's racial legacy to budge! ... That would NOT be encouraging in terms of our (and/or MLK's and Bob Marley's) dreams/aspirations/best interests to change the whole "racial" game-plan/construct (i.e. the 'dream'/aspiration for a world in which "racial" trait variants will be no more significant than variation in eye color currently is among whites) ...

So stay strong sis! Take a deep breath, and try your best to answer their questions with as much patience, respect, and dignity that you can muster! I'll be doing the same ... We all will (are) ...

 

[Daughter]

I couldn't see the show as I'm not in the USA... but is it me or the whole "well white women dye their hair" argument missing the point? I mean, if a white woman decided to not dye her hair, she could wear her hair to work and not really worry, whereas someone with nappy hair may need to think about "will anyone say anything about my canerows"?

Similarly, I'm pretty sure little white girls aren't teased about mousy/dark coloured hair the same way many little black girls have been made to feel bad about their hair texture. I daresay few white girls are dyed blonde at age 6, whereas too many black girls have relaxers at that age. It runs deep, but I suppose it all couldn't have been covered in one show.

 

[CurleeDST]

This is my perspective - we women place this burden on OURSELVES! Stop blaming the men - many of them have said time and time again they do NOT care but WE do. We do our hair for other women NOT the men so the sooner we are honest with ourselves the better.

And another thing - AA women - stop being so self conscious about the big hair and the naps! Seriously...no one cares more than WE do. So let me just say this - we can wear our naps to work and not really worry b/c no one would really care or notice! Trust me - I have done it for well over 13 years and have climbed the corporate ladder.

The bigger I make it the more compliments I get at work from the men and women (regardless of race). So we need to be honest w/ ourselves --- many of us have not grown comfortable w/ the naps so we project that on others and claim THEY will not be comfortable if we wore our naps out in public when really it is our own insecurity preventing us from doing it. Stop blaming others and take responsibility for your true feelings. It's ok really!

And young girls from ALL RACES are teased b/c it is simply human nature. Whether it be about hair, pee'ing in the bed, long stickly legs or looking like a peacock - women of all races are teased - why do black women feel we have cornered the market on being teased about our hair? Can someone say bowl cut? Who wouldn't clown that look on ANY kid who wore it?

So I think Chris Rock was DEAD ON. He said it best when he mentioned that black men aren't focusing as much on the hair (as long as your face is pretty) and you have a rump shaker!

My husband concurred (and he met me with boy short natural hair Solange's length).

This a small picture but you get the gist:

In the end the message was right on - do YOU and be happy with it!

 

[French Rouge]

Watching this on Oprah now....Still not hyped about this documentary, it just strikes me as a little condescending.

 

[JollyGal]

he weave checked oprah lol

oh dear.

i missed it

 

[msa]

This is my perspective - we women place this burden on OURSELVES! Stop blaming the men - many of them have said time and time again they do NOT care but WE do.

Men like to say they don't care...and I believe them...most of them consciously don't care. But when you look at their actions, they do care. Nappy hair is not considered desirable by men and if they have their choice they pick straight and long almost every single time.

I bet you Solange won't be making it to the top of the Maxim 100 list or any other list of the sort, regardless of how gorgeous her face looks.