My LHCF Letter to the Tyra Show... I NEED EDITS!

[PuffyBrown]

I totally agree. We also know that it is not Tyra who is footing the bill. For all we know, there have probally been suggestion about having a show addressing black women in general and their concerns (as Tyra is a "black woman") but just like other successful black women have stated that the entertainment industry is NOT interested in showing black women in positive images because they make MEGA bucks posing black people "in general" as something negative.

I would hate to see the caios, and exploitation that would come. American society is VICIOUS and VIOLENT and while it would be a beautiful thing for America to see us in a different light, to want to try to make the world a different place, it can only happen one person at a time and I really dont think a forum is going to make people change their perception. Instead, people would pick it apart and find every little negative thing they can find. Steal people's hair care regimines and get rich off of them.

Okay I will shut up now.

While I do like Tyra, I agree. Her show just like any other show is about RATINGS. It is what it is. Especially with her being a new talk show host. Her show is in its 3rd season which is good for a young black woman host. Oprah is the only one who's ever really stuck around. For all we know, Tyra may have thought about doing a show on black hair but thought it would be too controversial. We also have to remember that the majority of her audience probably isn't black. And it would be inviting them into our world a bit too much, IMO. They might not even be interested and change the channel. So that's probably why it hasn't been done. Yes, Tyra does talk about race but if you notice, she tries to stay neutral. She always has a variety of people on her panel and tries to balance things as much as possible. Like she's trying to cater to multicultural needs or a broader audience. Which in my opinion can dilute what you're trying to say. I noticed Vibe Vixen did that a lot in their magazine.

Oprah on the other hand has earned the right to say and talk about whatever she chooses. So I do think that it would be more likely for her to pull this discussion off.

 

[BeautifulFlower]

(psst...sigh of relief)

Now these are the comments I was looking for and they are really helping. Thank you all for all of your input. I am going to be working on this for a few days so that it is perfect.

 

[BeautifulFlower]

I like the idea of emphasizing black women of all shades and hair types, It's important for everyone to know that ALL black women including dark skinned woman with 4b hair natural or relaxed can grow their hair long. I think this latest version of your letter sounds great. Maybe you can make a list of what you would like to see on the show for better clarification. For instance you could include in the letter "A show about the practice and techniques of Black women with hair APL and longer could include:"

1. a gallery of 7-10 women of all shades and hair types with APL or longer
2. A section with each woman giving a 30 sec intro about her hair history
3. An open forum with the women explaining the misconceptions, surprise, disbelief from others about their long hair
4. A segment on how all black women can achieve long, healthy length through the use of proven methods like, stretching, low heat, bunning, etc. (video clips could be shown of these women at home doing their hair, etc.
5. A segment on fact vs myth that would dispel the myths that you have to be "mixed" or you have to have your hair bone straight or you have to put monkey spit whale sperm on your hair to make it grow.

6. Finally, a segment on the "new" revolution in black hair care. There are so many hair boards showing women achieving the dream hair they have always wanted. No, you don't have to mention this site, but some sites, blogs, message boards would LOVE to share their names with a show like this and it's great to get the word out and let other black women know there is a large community of women who are waiting ot share their knowledge.

etc, etc. I like the idea of laying it out like this because I really don't think the Tyras (or the Oprahs) of the world really know these things and breaking it down like this could really help.

You give GREAT advice. Thank you.

 

[BeautifulFlower]

To the OP: This is an excellent idea and letter...BRAVO! ..now stop editing it and get to sending it, LOL!.


That is a very important point I would HOPE they get, I am not looking to see a casting full of Halle Berry's, not being offensive just truthful. I am hoping they cast from the darkest dark to the lightest light...feel me?

 

[BeautifulFlower]

If you could add a P.S : could you not try to evolve every topic of every show to your modeling days and make every show about you? Thanks.

I'm just playing.

I'll write a different letter to her for that.

Funny but she stacking dollars with pushing herself (just like Beyonce) so can you blame her.

 

[BeautifulFlower]

Pretty, you wrote a great letter. Lisana has some great suggestions and facts. My suggestion would be to add more facts as well. the letter is really empty unless you back it up with facts. I can give you suggestions based on what I would like Tyra to talk about. I would do a bulletpoint list and list facts something to the effect of: Most cosmotology classes do not delve into how to care for black hair, but only detail how to cut/style black hair. Most women have been taught by their mother who may have had unhealthy styling habits. Most stylists do not even know how to 'care' for black hair. Majority of black actresses wear weaves because even the most successful stylists do not understand black hair. blah blah blah...and these are the key secrets to caring for black hair ***then give examples of good routines/products, and bad routines/products*** Then i would love to hear Tyra do a short section on good hair ingredients that we should look for, as well as the bad. For instance, they should look for water as the first ingredient in their moisturizer. they should choose a mild poo with sls. they should look for a silk protein in the moisturizer so the protein wont weigh their hair down. they should stretch and try to go 2mos without a touchup. Always use a heat protectant. they should only use heat sparingly. they should deep condition. Dont double-process. THEY SHOULD ONLY RELAX THE NEWGROWTH, NOT THE ENTIRE LENGTH. they should stay away from Petroleum/mineral oil... dispell the myth that trimming the hair makes it grow.etc etc. And what I would really LOVE for her to talk about how black hair products is not necessarily best. sometimes they are loaded with cheap/inferior ingredients and marketed to us. I think this fact would help out alot of black women because i used to always buy black poducts and they were loaded with petrolateum and my hair did not thrive. Then maybe this will expose these compannies and challenge them to make better/healthier products. Also she can touch on how we need to be knowledgeable and know what to ask for and quit letting these stylists have power to jack up our hair. If she wants drama, she can walk thru a BSS and talk about how some of them put bootleg products in bottles, so we need to be careful and buy from reputable sources. She can even dig into how all Asian BSS owners stick together and Asian suppliers will rarely work with any BSS not owned by an asian. These are the things that come to my mind when i think about what i've learned here at LHCF....possibilities are endless!!!!

Beautiful stated. Tons of great points. Thank you.

 

[BeautifulFlower]

I wont post that.

 

[Kurlee]

I am sorry but you guys are very discouraging. I was looking for support and suggestions. Not all the criticism. I can keep LHCF out of the light but what can I do to make the letter appealing. That was the point of the this thread. You guys have changed it to why you think the world will not except this. erplexed

Haven't read the whole thread becuase some of the post we're a little discouraging, however, I think its a good idea. Someone stated to show several women of several shades to show pics of their hair (apl ++) this is a good start. I think ur letter is on point also. It would be great to start breaking these stereotypes in the mainstream, because most balck people don't even believe it and judging from most of the posts on here sometimes, white people don't understand or think much of our hair texture either. Good luck with all of this and I hope it turns out positively!

 

[SvelteVelvet]

Great Idea!!

And I'd suggest her to make it a 2-part show during black history month or something to make it a "right-time" discussion on the beauty of black women that will expand the worlds perception, as well as educate and dispell myths.

And I say 2-part show because the first show should be about dispelling the myths, showing all the women with long natural hair and dispelling the myths about black hair care practices in homes, salons, and black hair products as someone else mentioned.

And the second show could be about educating all the women out there on how they can achieve the lengths the saw on that show. Then the same women can discuss their hair regimens, diets, lifestyles and the styling of their hair and how they retain it and show how they can too.

I also agree with the person who suggested Oprah would be a better fit, Hey, pitch it to both, edit your letter to swap every time you mentioned Tyra to Oprah and may switch up a few personalized points.

 

[loved]

That's cute. They just have to make sure they represent different textures. We don't need good hair vs bad hair hashed out on Tyra's show.

This was my thought. Someone did a good chart on this site with many more levels of 3s and 4s than Andre created. Maybe somebody needs to let him know that his chart is not working for ethnic sisters. He's still with Oprah. I saw him on the Favorite Things backstory show.

4z in the HIZOUSE

 

[SvelteVelvet]

Just a thought, I didn't read all of the thread, but as far as the tone of 'fear' that is present...If WE don't stand up for the worlds misconceptions of us in general that we are not in agreeance with, NO ONE else will. And who cares about backlash? Let the haters hate. If they think they can intimidate us, they've won, but for what? When we know what they really fear is us. Anything to do with the equality we have as people be it civil rights or simply how we are portrayed and treated didn't happen from fitting into a place the ignorant peg us all to be out of fear. It happened through boldness, fearlessness, confidence, and strong sense of self-identity.

That may have been rambling, but on another thought,

Tyra seems to be ignorant to the subject herself. For some reason with her show and with anything to do with race, it seems to be predictable with how the image of anything black is portrayed. I always get this feeling to that Tyra likes to mold shows to 'prove' her own ideals of how the world looks at things. She tries to be too relateable to everyone.

 

[cocoaluv]

Do you think she would get offended if we came up with a regimen for her to do? I read about her not wanting to date because of wig/hair issues. You think if we came up with some helpful tips she would like it....I would sent it in an email if its not a good idea for the letter.

 

[BeautifulFlower]

Just a thought, I didn't read all of the thread, but as far as the tone of 'fear' that is present...If WE don't stand up for the worlds misconceptions of us in general that we are not in agreeance with, NO ONE else will. And who cares about backlash? Let the haters hate. If they think they can intimidate us, they've won, but for what? When we know what they really fear is us. Anything to do with the equality we have as people be it civil rights or simply how we are portrayed and treated didn't happen from fitting into a place the ignorant peg us all to be out of fear. It happened through boldness, fearlessness, confidence, and strong sense of self-identity.

That may have been rambling, but on another thought,

Tyra seems to be ignorant to the subject herself. For some reason with her show and with anything to do with race, it seems to be predictable with how the image of anything black is portrayed. I always get this feeling to that Tyra likes to mold shows to 'prove' her own ideals of how the world looks at things. She tries to be too relateable to everyone.

I love this post. This is EXACTLY what I think. I understand the concerns but to me it is I feel fear coming from this. I decided a long time ago that fear attracts more fear and fear feeds fear. But fearlessness brings results all the time, everytime.

 

[Hair Iam]

I'm sorry but I don't want LHCF featured on the Tyra Show. And I'm sure I'm not the only person here on this board that feels that way. This site is like a safe haven for many people. Especially since we post pictures and discuss personal matters. And if you put it on the Tyra Show this site is going to become utter chaos. We just saw that earlier this week with somebody coming to the board and discovering they knew somebody here in real life. It just turned into a total circus at that person's expense and was not fair. Everybody is not ready to absorb all the resources and information on this site. They're not in the right frame of mind yet. I think you should still write into the show because I think this is a topic that needs to be done but I don't think you should put the site in there.

I agree

 

[BeautifulFlower]

What do you mean date?

Do you think she would get offended if we came up with a regimen for her to do? I read about her not wanting to date because of wig/hair issues. You think if we came up with some helpful tips she would like it....I would sent it in an email if its not a good idea for the letter.

 

[cocoaluv]

What do you mean date?

http://www.azcentral.com/ent/celeb/articles/1126tyrabanks-CR.html
Tyra Banks' sex life is being ruined by her wig.

The supermodel is said to be very "insecure" about her hair and refuses to spend the night with men because she doesn't want to remove her long fake locks in bed.

A source said, "Tyra is a confident woman for the most part, but she is really insecure about her hair. She doesn't want any guy to see her without her wigs or hair extensions.

"Tyra feels like guys are with her for her image that they see on TV and in magazines. If one wakes up without her glamorous hair, she's worried he may not call back!


I read this on more than one site.

 

[WomanlyCharm]

Got it. I am not LHCF only a part of it. I thought to ask my ladies about the letter. You all are ONLY offering criticism on the LHCF and getting long explanations about why. What about the other parts of the letter? I mean I do not need 100 people to tell me the same thing over and over again. I do not need 100 people telling me that they dont like the Tyra Show (I am a business women and I use everything for good whether it is accepted or not). I also do not need 100 people telling me that the world is not ready but the world will NEVER be ready for change. Lets focus on making the letter appealing.

Prettyface, as someone in the media, I have to tell you, the letter is good. It's really very good. It has passion and touches on what I think is an interesting subject.

BUT...with a talk show like Tyra's it's not about "enlightening" the masses or even doing good in the world. At the end of the day, RATINGS are the most important thing.
And a whole show focusing on black hair care? Not unless it's black history month of course.
I can hear her producers now: Naw, won't appeal to the rest of the viewers, who are predominately white females. With no viewers, you get no ratings...and eventually, no paycheck.

I say go ahead and send the letter, as well as the outline of how the show could go, and alot more facts, as someone else suggested. But don't be surprised if you never see anything materialize from it. But then again, she may take the idea and run with it, who knows?

I'm not trying to be discouraging, just letting you know what the real deal is on these shows.

And thank you for leaving out the part about LHCF. If Tyra does want to do the show, what her producers will do is send out a casting call for black women with long hair (knowing Tyra, it won't even have to look healthy, but that's another story).

Good luck!

 

[iaec06]

I think it is a good idea , However can you please let me know when you are going to do this so that I can erase every post that I made on all the hair forums because I frequent the fitness section an I am showing all ma bra, ma booty and stuff, ma no make up face and lawd ma napps. I found lhcf by doing a hair search and I lurked for a while and boy did I laugh at the women on the forums .. until I got focused, and learned how to take care of ma hair got to know people over a period of time, cried with them and such.. now I am doing the same things to my hair that I cracked up about and I love every result that I got ..
also I believe that tyra would have her people do a search and lo and behold lawd have mercy that one of us or our face show up all over the pc (ME) I would flip out for real. I think of the forums as a that i can escape away from my daily life to discuss hair beauty and health and I love boasting about my womens group ( this is what I refer to lhcf) to my friends and they say wow girl you have really found your peeps. So again when you do decide to send this letter let a sister know so that I can act fast. .

OBTW when I told my hubby the things I used to achieve the hair that i have now, he did a mini freak out . so imagine what a total stranger would think ...
also knowing how ghetto tyra can get I could see me catching a flight to NY and rolling up on her *** if she try to spin what you are trying to really say ...

 

[BeautifulFlower]

http://www.azcentral.com/ent/celeb/articles/1126tyrabanks-CR.html
Tyra Banks' sex life is being ruined by her wig.

The supermodel is said to be very "insecure" about her hair and refuses to spend the night with men because she doesn't want to remove her long fake locks in bed.

A source said, "Tyra is a confident woman for the most part, but she is really insecure about her hair. She doesn't want any guy to see her without her wigs or hair extensions.

"Tyra feels like guys are with her for her image that they see on TV and in magazines. If one wakes up without her glamorous hair, she's worried he may not call back!


I read this on more than one site.

Oh my gosh this is so sad.
My SO just said, "Damn is she that busted?"
He is trying to be funny.

 

[BeautifulFlower]

I think it is a good idea , However can you please let me know when you are going to do this so that I can erase every post that I made on all the hair forums because I frequent the fitness section an I am showing all ma bra, ma booty and stuff, ma no make up face and lawd ma napps. I found lhcf by doing a hair search and I lurked for a while and boy did I laugh at the women on the forums .. until I got focused, and learned how to take care of ma hair got to know people over a period of time, cried with them and such.. now I am doing the same things to my hair that I cracked up about and I love every result that I got ..
also I believe that tyra would have her people do a search and lo and behold lawd have mercy that one of us or our face show up all over the pc (ME) I would flip out for real. I think of the forums as a that i can escape away from my daily life to discuss hair beauty and health and I love boasting about my womens group ( this is what I refer to lhcf) to my friends and they say wow girl you have really found your peeps. So again when you do decide to send this letter let a sister know so that I can act fast. .

OBTW when I told my hubby the things I used to achieve the hair that i have now, he did a mini freak out . so imagine what a total stranger would think ...
also knowing how ghetto tyra can get I could see me catching a flight to NY and rolling up on her *** if she try to spin what you are trying to really say ...

I am not going to rep LHCF. The members are against it. You dont have to worry.

 

[VinDieselsWifey]

i like your edited letter that i read. I am SOOOO TIRED of the way Black women are portayed through the media. Just like some else said, "everybody wants to be black, but nobody wants to be black..."

I think you should also send this letter to Oprah, cause we KNOW how she can be with our hair. Just telling the whole world our hair won't grow, etc, etc, etc...And those clear people just eat it up...

but i'm glad you're doing this...i've actually considered sending a letter myself...

 

[nakialovesshoes]

Okay the OP said she didn't want opinions about the content but rather wanted edits. Of course I wouldn't have expected anything less than what happened. It got to be too much around the top of the 5th page of the thread & I decided to just jump in with yet another opinion and not an edit. Prettyface I commend you b/c your heart was definitely in the right place. I, too, have a habit of trying to save the world, especially the hair world. And for the most part I also agree with not caring about the exposure. My friends and family already laugh at my hair ideas so what's another 1 million laughing? My issue with the exposure (and maybe this is selfish of me) is how it will affect the site as far as shutting it down b/c of too much traffic. Perhaps somewhere between where I stopped reading & right here someone mentioned this but I don't think that there is necessarily a way to contact Tyra & avoid LHCF exposure. There are people on her show that would have to thoroughly research the topic. I just did a simple google search on "long hair" & LHCF was on the 3rd page (results 21-30) & the caption read, "The ultimate internet resource for women of color that want to grow healthy beautiful long hair, including discussion boards, health tips, hair recipes, ..." So I imagine (no I didn't try) if you googled long hair & women of color LHCF propably would've showed up in results 1-10. So I guess what I'm trying to say/ask is - is there really a way to enlighten people on what we already know without exposing LHCF?

 

[BeautifulFlower]

You're right. They will find out about us regardless. However, the good comes with the bad. But its all for a purpose - for us to show ourselves in a different light and not WAIT to be accepted or shown in a different light.

Okay the OP said she didn't want opinions about the content but rather wanted edits. Of course I wouldn't have expected anything less than what happened. It got to be too much around the top of the 5th page of the thread & I decided to just jump in with yet another opinion and not an edit. Prettyface I commend you b/c your heart was definitely in the right place. I, too, have a habit of trying to save the world, especially the hair world. And for the most part I also agree with not caring about the exposure. My friends and family already laugh at my hair ideas so what's another 1 million laughing? My issue with the exposure (and maybe this is selfish of me) is how it will affect the site as far as shutting it down b/c of too much traffic. Perhaps somewhere between where I stopped reading & right here someone mentioned this but I don't think that there is necessarily a way to contact Tyra & avoid LHCF exposure. There are people on her show that would have to thoroughly research the topic. I just did a simple google search on "long hair" & LHCF was on the 3rd page (results 21-30) & the caption read, "The ultimate internet resource for women of color that want to grow healthy beautiful long hair, including discussion boards, health tips, hair recipes, ..." So I imagine (no I didn't try) if you googled long hair & women of color LHCF propably would've showed up in results 1-10. So I guess what I'm trying to say/ask is - is there really a way to enlighten people on what we already know without exposing LHCF?

 

[winterinatl]

I think it's a great idea, but I'd rather see Oprah talk about it. She probably thinks like tyra, I remember some other segments about interracial dating that mentioned how we don't have hair or we have fake hair. And she has all those white women there...I can't say part of me doesn't want to show them all we can have hair too.

 

[Kacie]

Prettyface, as someone in the media, I have to tell you, the letter is good. It's really very good. It has passion and touches on what I think is an interesting subject.

BUT...with a talk show like Tyra's it's not about "enlightening" the masses or even doing good in the world. At the end of the day, RATINGS are the most important thing.
And a whole show focusing on black hair care? Not unless it's black history month of course.
I can hear her producers now: Naw, won't appeal to the rest of the viewers, who are predominately white females. With no viewers, you get no ratings...and eventually, no paycheck.

I say go ahead and send the letter, as well as the outline of how the show could go, and alot more facts, as someone else suggested. But don't be surprised if you never see anything materialize from it. But then again, she may take the idea and run with it, who knows?

I'm not trying to be discouraging, just letting you know what the real deal is on these shows.

And thank you for leaving out the part about LHCF. If Tyra does want to do the show, what her producers will do is send out a casting call for black women with long hair (knowing Tyra, it won't even have to look healthy, but that's another story).

Good luck!

I was going to say the exact same thing. Repairing damaged hair calls for long hard work, and alot of people (ME) are protective about their hair care beliefs whether good or bad. No offense, but it seems as though you only seek one-sided responses.

 

[BeautifulFlower]

I was going to say the exact same thing. Repairing damaged hair calls for long hard work, and alot of people (ME) are protective about their hair care beliefs whether good or bad. No offense, but it seems as though you only seek one-sided responses.

Ok thats your opinion. But Black women need to be represented and if I have to do it BY MYSELF I will bring recognition to Black Women. And even if I do not enlighten the world, I can spark the curosity of black women watching the show. If I reach one person, I am happy.

 

[Kacie]

Ummmh, yes "that's my opinion". I don't see how you are "representing black women" with a show proposing that black women can have long hair. You are speaking as if it a common goal of black women to have long hair. Further more, you are expecting all of these black women who desire length to engage in healthy hair practices (instead of getting weaves). I can only speak for myself. I came to this site because I received my first relaxer as a teenager and my hair became thinner, shorter, and just plain 'towe' up. I wanted to learn how to care for my relaxed hair and understand how my hair would react to certain products (moisture/protein). Since you have such a defensive attitude, I will simply refrain from posting.

 

[Nice & Wavy]

Man....I come into the Hair Forum...and I feel as though I'm in the OT forum.....wow

I think this thread is going for the "clank-clank" in a minute....

 

[Hidden_Angel]

Man....I come into the Hair Forum...and I feel as though I'm in the OT forum.....wow

I think this thread is going for the "clank-clank" in a minute....

you are not lying and this is why i stay on teh OT and teh chatroom.....

 

[Nice & Wavy]

you are not lying and this is why i stay on teh OT and teh chatroom.....

Girl, you know you still in that chat room right now....in the other box that's opened....