Glamour Thinks Natural Black Hair is a "Don't"!

doriannc

doriannc

Well-Known Member
Hi, everyone! I'm a newbie (well, kinda) and the other day I was having this discussion with my grandmother. I'm trying to tranistion my hair out of a relaxer to a natural hairstyle. Of course, my family thinks I will never get a decent professional job with "natural" hair and I should just stick to something more "professional.

I ran across this article and wanted to know if any of you have came across this racism? And those who are natural and work in a professional world, what kept you from giving into the pressure of going back to relaxed?
 
Wow, This is very sad what they said...

"First slide up: an African American woman sporting an Afro. A real no-no, announced the 'Glamour' editor to the 40 or so lawyers in the room. As for dreadlocks: How truly dreadful! The style maven said it was 'shocking' that some people still think it 'appropriate' to wear those hairstyles at the office. 'No offense,' she sniffed, but those 'political' hairstyles really have to go."


I see why they won't release the name of the editior:nono:
 
I think it is totally racist and inappropriate. It's sad to know, but not difficult to believe, that it is 2007 and people are still calling natural hair styles, locks included, a "political style." What's political is the people who believe that all people should conform to a single set of hairstyles. I have seen many Black women with natural hair in white collar America and they all look beautiful and professional. Relaxed hair does not always equal a professional look either. Oh-- was getting mad. Stepping off of the soapbox now:rolleyes:.
 
MrsHouston said:
Wow, This is very sad what they said...

"First slide up: an African American woman sporting an Afro. A real no-no, announced the 'Glamour' editor to the 40 or so lawyers in the room. As for dreadlocks: How truly dreadful! The style maven said it was 'shocking' that some people still think it 'appropriate' to wear those hairstyles at the office. 'No offense,' she sniffed, but those 'political' hairstyles really have to go."


I see why they won't release the name of the editior:nono:
Click to expand...

Cuz they know they were wrong.... :nono: In my experience I've found that the black people are the only problems with naturals. Most of the white people I've met like it, or they just don't comment on it. I've never gotten dirty looks from white people like I did black ones though.
 
If you want to go natural you will learn to be tough and to simply ignore the negativity and ignorance. There will always be somebody with something negative say, but there will also always be people who will think you look professional and beautiful and unique. Just focus on what you want to do with your hair. If it is clean and neat and stylish, and you are educated, smart, professional, dependable and a nice person, you will have a wonderful career and future.
 
I didn't read the article and I really don't want to. The few post here already let me know that it is something that would really irritate me. After all these years why are there people who are still so ignorant. If it's not wh*te people talking about polital bl*ck hair then it bl*ck people talking about society holding them down. There's a little truth to both but DANG!! Get over it and let me do me and you do you. Why should anyone have to change their hair to be professional. My relaxed wrap dosen't type my reports and neither does their cornsilk tresses. Why people?!? (See I knew I didn't want to read that article- glad I didn't)
 
bmoreflyygirl said:
Cuz they know they were wrong.... :nono: In my experience I've found that the black people are the only problems with naturals. Most of the white people I've met like it, or they just don't comment on it. I've never gotten dirty looks from white people like I did black ones though.
Click to expand...


This is true. If anything white people just want to touch it. Some Black people will look at you like you just finished a marathon and didn't wear deodorant. Other naturals will give you the nod and smile. Old people seem to think it's a pity. I see alot of older corporate women with the TWA or short twists. As long as your hair is neat and well kept it's not a problem - and that's a rule that goes for everyone in corporate America regardless of race.
 
bmoreflyygirl said:
Cuz they know they were wrong.... :nono: In my experience I've found that the black people are the only problems with naturals. Most of the white people I've met like it, or they just don't comment on it. I've never gotten dirty looks from white people like I did black ones though.
Click to expand...

I have noticed that as well...its not the white people that are looking at me like "what the hell" but black folks. Whether I have known them or not when I started proudly sporting my TWA it was the black folks that considered my hair, not done.
 
OMG! That blackface is sooooo the new St. Baarts tan for the winter... but never hot for black people.

249064577_de4c8179eb_m.jpg


Am I the only one that feels the overexposure of hip hop and black culture has allowed whites a free-for-all?
 
Ha Ha---Some of the most successful black women I know have natural hair. I'd say it's about 50-50 of the women that I know who are successful in their respective fields. Some of them started out in their fields with naturals. Some went natural after attaining a certain level/status within their companies.

I say forget Glamour and their idiot editor. It's just one more thing to hold you back or that you can use to make an excuse for not succeeding in my opinion. Don't allow anyone or any article to do that. Sure you will find companies that will judge you based on your hairstyle. I think a private company has a right to enforce any rules they wish in regard to dress and hairstyles on their employees. Also there are companies where women in general--white, black, blue or green..with long hair, aren't allowed to wear it down but must wear it up or cut it to a shoulder bob or above style or wear in a bun or something. You are free to decline the job if you don't like their rules. However, I feel that if your hair is neat and professional (no weird colors, no unkempt hair, no afro-puffs (cute on the weekends or offtime but not the job) then no one should have a problem with your hair and your work is the only thing anyone should be worried about.
 
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I agree with all who say that as long as your hair is clean and neat and doesn't distract from business, it is appropriate. This goes for relaxed as well as natural.
 
I also agree with others who have stated that blacks give you more flack for being natural than any other race. I've been natural before back in college and went through more hassle from 'my own'--I got questions like 'why would you do that?' "What, are you militant now?" --talk about ignorant! Whew! My white friends, classmates and co-workers would always compliment my hair and want to touch it and play in it. I had one white girlfriend ask why 'we' straightened our hair anyway. I told her it's all just a matter of preference and for MOST black women, has nothing to do with trying to be white or hating who they are. It's just about choice, freedom and versatility to most and some are just used to it because their mothers started them out with relaxers so young they don't know any different.
I've been natural. I've been relaxed. I'm currently relaxed. I love my hair either way.
 
Who is willing to write a letter to the editor at Glamour? It would be nice if the natural (and relaxed sisters, too) would be willing to write individually (and collectively via LCHF) and let's see if Glamour is bold enough to include it....

Who is willing to cancel their subscription to Glamour Magazine? And yes, I think it's worth that to send a clear message....
 
doriannc said:
Hi, everyone! I'm a newbie (well, kinda) and the other day I was having this discussion with my grandmother. I'm trying to tranistion my hair out of a relaxer to a natural hairstyle. Of course, my family thinks I will never get a decent professional job with "natural" hair and I should just stick to something more "professional.

I ran across this article and wanted to know if any of you have came across this racism? And those who are natural and work in a professional world, what kept you from giving into the pressure of going back to relaxed?
Click to expand...

three words: ignorant racist fools.:rolleyes::wallbash:


@ the bold.......there's an entire website filled with women who do wear their natural hair in a professional environment; working hard to dispel the ignorance one step at a time.:wallbash:
 
They are straight idiots and on top of the article they have a woman of color on the cover(who is a natural) wearing a wig.
 
I am not natural and that just pissed me off. But on the other hand my cousin is and she is an attorney for a major law firm in New York, and believe me she was natural before she got the job, she has been since 1999. I know alot of natural talented smart professional women who work for major companies. Do not be discourage.
 
doriannc said:
And those who are natural and work in a professional world, what kept you from giving into the pressure of going back to relaxed?
Click to expand...

What keeps me from giving into the pressure of relaxing my hair is the fact that I never really felt pressure to relax my hair to begin with. Pre-LHCF, my mom always gave me relaxer touchups and I thought that's what all Black women did to their hair...I didn't know about natural unrelaxed hair until I discovered LHCF...I went natural to get away from the unconscious habit of relaxing. I also hated getting touch-ups because of the potential burning feeling on the scalp and the stinky smell. Plus, I don't care or worry about what other people think of my hair. I wear my hair in all kinds of ways at work: stretched out puffs, shrunken fros or puffs, twists, twistouts, braidouts, cornrows, etc. I work in an environment with predominantly white men and managers who were suits and ties (however, I will soon be leaving the corporate world after next week...I'm going through a career change). ;)
 
First slide up: an African American woman sporting an Afro. A real no-no, announced the 'Glamour' editor to the 40 or so lawyers in the room. As for dreadlocks: How truly dreadful!
Click to expand...

Why would someone do a racist presentation in front of a room full of lawyers? Does that not sound strange to anyone but me?

So I went to American Lawyer website and there are no articles from April forward mentioning Glamour.

I googled the managing directors name + "glamour" and nothing comes up.

I'm betting that this 'story' got pulled out of somebody's ass.
 
Now hold up - as a loyal Glamour reader, I have to DEFEND the magazine. I don't think we should stone their editor in chief just yet. Hear me out, please:

1. I don't know if anyone else reads Glamour on a daily basis, but they usually have something positive to say about being natural or minority beauty in every issue. In fact, in their Dos/Donts page - put together by Glamour mag reps, not people at a law firm - it is not unusual to see a black woman sporting natural hair as a do! As somebody who was nervous about her natural hair at first, reading those articles/seeing the natural hair dos really helped me.

2. Are we really going to jump to conclusions and say that if somebody works at a law firm, they have to be white? From my experience - and I'm sure many other people can relate - white America is either really happy for no reason about black hair or just doesn't mention it. Who is to say the person who made the comment was black?

3. I love Jezebel but you want to talk about some women on a mission. They aren't exactly giving up an unbiased opinion. If you're going to post the quote, why couldn't they post the pictures as well? We're ASSUMING that the photos shown were neatly styled locs - for all we know, they could have been a bird's nest or the dreads look like they came off some hippie who hasn't showered in months.


I'm just saying, I have a hard time believing glamour would put minorities on their covers for the past two months and then go ahead and engage in this. Anna Wintour may be batsh** crazy, but she isn't stupid.
 
IvyHair said:
2. Are we really going to jump to conclusions and say that if somebody works at a law firm, they have to be white? From my experience - and I'm sure many other people can relate - white America is either really happy for no reason about black hair or just doesn't mention it. Who is to say the person who made the comment was black?
Click to expand...

You are so right about this. I actually assumed the person was black from the start. The wording just made me believe the person was black for some reason. That's why I made the point of saying that black people are the ones who give more flack than anyone when it comes to blacks wearing their hair natural.

I also agree with you and the poster before you. I read Glamour and they are always positive about women in general. In fact, I like Glamour and Marie Claire. They are two of the only 'white' mags that I consider to be truly diverse/inclusive of all races---or at least they truly TRY to be--in their articles, ads and pictures. Someone may have pulled this article from their ass it seems:yep:.
 
As a young associate in Dallas, Texas, I pondered the hair question for a long time--like, from Sept '03 to Feb '05. Eventually, I transitioned with braids. I didn't receive too many comments because really, I was the only black female attorney in that particular office and no one wanted to stir up race issues. But I found the article somewhat ironic because my law school visits to NYC and DC law firms confirmed for me that "it's okay for black female attorneys in corporate law firms to wear natural hairstyles." And I may be mistaken but generally, not even private employers can take an adverse employment action against a black female employee for wearing her hair in a natural afro. Of course, it's on rare occasion that an employer would actually admit to such discrimination.

But anyway, since leaving the firm, I've prepared for many interviews and wondered whether my hair would prevent someone from giving me the job. Although everything went my way on the job front, my last boss always spoke candidly about my ever-changing hairstyles. The only style that really threw him for a loop was my free "flowing" afro!! Otherwise, he liked my scarves, two-strand twists, extensions, and single afro puff. I'm not much concerned about my next job because it's a fairly liberal environment (at least, on the surface).

But here's my rule of thumb (no different from some other posts), whenever on the clock, I'm dressed in professional gear with the hair under control. The only political statement is "me being me." And I also agree with another poster that observed this fact: many black female corporate executives wear natural afros.
 
I honestly think white people don;t understand our hair and all the things that go along with it. Hell alot of balck people don;t, so how would they?:perplexed

I had a few white friends who have asked me:
  • why don't i wash my hair everyday
  • they don't understand shrinkage
  • and they gasp if i talk about trims or cutting, because they say "oh no ur hair will never grow back"
  • they think we don't have curly hair
  • they think all long hair is bought or that u are mixed if u have it
This is why its so important that we represent ourselves properly in how we speak to each other about ourselves and how we perceive ourselves. After compiling that list i realize except for washing every day this is exactly how we see ourselves.
 
Does anyone get american lawyer mag? I checked the website (assuming it was the correct one) and I didnt see any reference to this story for august. Although it is possible they dont list every story in their issue.
 
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