As 2014 comes to a close, it’s time to consider all things pop culture: what was hot, what was not, and who had the most winningest year of them all. In this case, it’s not a who, but a what: natural hair.
It was everywhere and on all of our favorite shows. Orange is the New Black. Scandal. How to Get Away with Murder. And most recently, Black-ish, just to name a few.
Natural hair was big, bold, and beautiful, and the good folks at Entertainment Weekly chatted with Black-ish star Tracee Ellis Ross about what the trend meant to her:
“I think what is important about Viola Davis taking her wig off on How to Get Away With Murder is that it illustrates that there is a mask that women are thought to have to wear. For black women, it can be a more complex mask. Our culture has created a very limited view of what beauty is and can be. I think right now television is one of the places where women are pushing up against that and saying, “You know what? I don’t need to play this game anymore in order to be considered beautiful.”
Ross’ curly coif was inherited from her diva mom Diana Ross, who she said helped her to embrace it early on:
“My mom [Diana Ross] is known for her big hair. So me embracing my big hair was not outside the frame of reference of where I come from. What I think is exciting is that to a certain extent, there is a revolution happening where black women are owning their own beauty, despite the standard of beauty that in the past has not had space for it.”
And now, the entertainment industry is finally catching on:
“I think it’s huge that I’m wearing my natural hair texture on ABC in prime time. As Dr. Rainbow Johnson on Black-ish, I think my hair is part of the reality of this woman’s life. She has four children and is an anesthesiologist and a wife. She doesn’t have a lot of time to fuss with beauty, so her look is pretty simple. I’m very conscious of how I wear my hair on the show, and yet it’s the way I wear my hair as Tracee. You hire me, you hire my hair and you hire my ass. It’s all coming with me.”
She never fails to keep it—and that amazing head of hair of hers—really real. Just one of the very long list of reasons why we love her.
PHOTO CREDIT & SOURCE: Entertainment Weekly
