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There’s something to be said about the parenting of Will and Jada Smith that spawned two superstar kids with their own individual flair. 

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Willow Smith shocked the world when she buzz cut her hair, ridding herself of her crowning glory at just 9 years old, an action to which a number of people had a negative reaction, and Jada Pinkett was taking note. 

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The actress and mother of two took to Facebook to post an open letter to the critics of her daughter’s hair, and the end result was a beautifully eloquent letter liberating Willow from her hair. 

It read: 

A letter to a friend…

This subject is old but I have never answered it in its entirety. And even with this post it will remain incomplete.

The question why I would LET Willow cut her hair. First the LET must be challenged. This is a world where women, girls are constantly reminded that they don’t belong to themselves; that their bodies are not their own, nor their power or self determination. I made a promise to endow my little girl with the power to always know that her body, spirit and her mind are HER domain. Willow cut her hair because her beauty, her value, her worth is not measured by the length of her hair. It’s also a statement that claims that even little girls have the RIGHT to own themselves and should not be a slave to even their mother’s deepest insecurities, hopes and desires. Even little girls should not be a slave to the preconceived ideas of what a culture believes a little girl should be.

More to come. Another day.

J

Right on Jada! It isn’t easy raising a woman, let alone a woman as strong and independent as she is raising Willow to be.