Comments on: Glamour Magazine Faux Pas

By: REGAINING the KNOWLEDGE OF MYSELF

REGAINING the KNOWLEDGE OF MYSELF — Thu, 21 Feb 2008 20:52:46 +0000

SISTERS, THE ASIAN ( they are funded by their goverment come to our hoods

sell us their products , and refuse to share the market with bro & sisters

in the business)HAIR CARE MARKET IS AND IS BECOMING RICHER EVERY DAY BECAUSE

WE ARE BUYING HAIR OR WHAT LOOKS LIKE HAIR. JUST TO PLEASE THE OPPRESSIVE EX-

SLAVE MASTERS CHILDERN AND THOSE WHO THINK LIKE THEM. NOW EVEN OUR BABIES

ARE WAREING WIGS. KEEP THOSE CHEMICAL OFF AND OUT OF YOUR HEAD INORDER FOR

BRAIN TO FUNCTION SO YOU CAN THINK WITH YOUR GOD MIND..JUST KEEPING IT

REAL….BEEN THERE I HAVE AWAKEN

By: Libra

Libra — Mon, 29 Oct 2007 14:29:37 +0000

Hello All,

I came across this article while doing some research because we are having this same issue with women in the military. I trying to get in contact with any females that have (or use to have) locks (i.e African locks, sista locks, twist locks,etc)that are military. It doesn’t matter the branch of service as long as they have permanent locks other than braids.

I am trying to organize as a group to a federal organization that can
address this issue to the uniform board on our behalf, because I know of a few women that have been forced to shave their heads after addressing this issue individually

If you are military and are not afraid to voice yourself please contact me at philly_25st@hotmail.com

Thank you in advance.

By: Monica Hill

Monica Hill — Sun, 28 Oct 2007 03:10:12 +0000

It would appear to me that these Imus types (including Su) that they have a bigger issue with our hair than we do. You know smoething, they need to stop playing God and just lay off us and our young black male kids. Just leave us alone and let us be who we are. (Always have something to say, nobody asked you!) They are constantly on us like a plague.

We don’t make them a topic at our dinner table,(they are just not that interesting to us) we seldomly consider them even though they are our natrual preditors. It’s has if they live, sleep, and breathe black people. They really have a serious problem, I know, I am around them, I hide behind the curtains and listen to them talk about black people. I have so called reformed racist frends and know first hand how they think. Our very existance eat away at their souls. Too bad more black people don’t consider them the true enemies that they really are.

By: K Adams

K Adams — Sat, 13 Oct 2007 11:37:19 +0000

Heard about this all the way in England where many black women & other women of colour buy GLAMOUR magazine. The shocking comments were announced on one of the black radio staions I won’t be buying this magazine any more!!! I’m sure women in the UK will boycott GLAMOUR!

By: Olushola

Olushola — Thu, 11 Oct 2007 18:32:10 +0000

P.S. I simply excuse Glamour’s staff, we can only teach by doing not just saying. I think someone should emphasize to our black magazine owners that natural hair is “good hair” also. My daddy always told me “When you have hair, it’s good hair, bad hair is when you don’t!” Keeping smiling and keep combing/locking!!

By: Olushola

Olushola — Thu, 11 Oct 2007 18:17:20 +0000

First I would like to say, while there are differences of opinions, what I have read so far has all been intelligent thought and very productive.I applaud all of my sisters for showing your talents through speech and acumen. Now, I at 25 years of age have just recently resigned as a loan auditor, which is a very hard job to obtain in and of itself, at that age, and I did it with a fro. A BIG FRO too ladies!!! LOL. I agree in some cases one may have to play by the rules in order to succeed, as someone mentioned earlier, but it seems it also depends on how you wear your personality not just your hair. I am unashamedly black and I love it but I try not to let my love for myself and my heritage impose on another. I prefer to live through encouragement and hopefully my fro will inspire those not of African descent to be their natural selves also. Perhaps there will come a day when the fro will have to change but thus far I have not had the experience….and at 58 yrs. of age neither has my mother! Love yourselves, you beautiful bunch of proud, intelligent black women! Smile. RESPECT.

By: Treasured Locks

Treasured Locks — Thu, 11 Oct 2007 15:24:33 +0000

Wow. We love all the comments. Thanks for taking the time.

We can see this article has really resonated with a lot of you. We feel like natural hair should never be discouraged or (heaven forbid) banned. Professionals understand the need for grooming and grooming is expected of everyone in the professional workplace. But, to imply that natural hair is not well-groomed or is a political statement is just flat-out wrong.

We’ll have more to say on the topic of natural hair (and relaxed hair) in the coming weeks. Stay tuned!

By: pj

pj — Thu, 11 Oct 2007 01:25:49 +0000

I hope more people take the time to read carefully what Treasured Locks is saying. Read the response from the editor in chief of Glamour. The person who made the comments did not represent Glamour’s views. Personally I don’t buy Glamour because I never found much to my interest in the magazine. And I have been wearing my hair short and natural for about 4 years. Can you guess who I get more negative reactions from in my workplace. You got it; my sisters. Perhaps Whites have negative opinions of my hair but so far none have voiced these opinions to me.

The big Afro of my twenties was in part a political statement. Today I just love my short nappy hair. Washing my hair in the shower and then going off to work in the morning is true freedom. At first I kept all natural; grey and all. Now I find a little color rinse every 4 weeks doesn’t inhibit my freedom. I love running my fingers through my clean krinkly hair to the extent that you can “run” fingers through it. LOL. I feel liberated.

By: Mrs. Smith

Mrs. Smith — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 17:47:38 +0000

In addition, I forgot to mention that the majority of professionals, be they black, white or green, are just that “PROFESSIONALS.” They’ve worked hard to get to that point in their careers. I don’t know of one person at that level who does not care about their grooming habits. We shower daily (some several times), floss and brush our teeth, wash our hair, comb our hair, press our clothes, moisturize our skin, etc. I think you get the picture, so my point and question is “What is unprofessional” with these things. We teach our children proper self-care and grooming as well and I don’t know of anyone who was taught these things, who grew up, went off to college, made it in the professional world and stopped taking care of their personal grooming. So, if I chose to wear my hair in it’s natural state as long as it is clean and neat and I continue to do the job that I’m paid to do (especially if I do it well) what difference does it make? Also, for those that see it as a “distraction” if they were focused on the job that they were paid to do they probably wouldn’t be concentrating on how I chose to wear my hair.

By: Anjali

Anjali — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 14:47:12 +0000

I firmly believe that the attitude the Glamour staffer exsisted long before she made the comments on hair. I believe it was/is common to the mindset of the environment in which she worked. Let me explain-
I invested my money and time in Glamour magazine for the better half of my 20’s, I liked Glamour magazine more than the other women’s magazines out there, I found it to be much more practical. Last year there was a story run, where individual readers/writers shared their experiences (”My bikini line secret” P.64 May 2006.
The contribution that caught my eye was that of an African-American woman telling the world of her disdain relating to the personal grooming habits of African American women (I go Brazilian but it’s not easy). I’m not sure when she had the chance to meet all of the Afican American women in the US, but I digress, some of the statements in that article were so brazenly racist, I could not believe it. I started to think maybe because the piece was written by an African American woman, someone felt that the comments would not be seen “as” racist? I do not know. What I do know, and what concerned me the most was that an editor signed off on that story. Someone who approved that story must feel or must have felt the same way in order to have not pulled it.
I felt so strongly about the piece that I actually wrote Glamour of my disappointment in the piece, and the decision to run it.
Their response to me: It was that individual’s experiences.
Fair enough right? The thing is when you print something that says African American women call white women “Becky” behind their backs- without specifying that it was “that individual’s experience”.
It is a problem.
That was only one of many instances in that piece.
If the staffer who made the hair comments didnt feel comfortable in her work environment saying, thinking or even discussing it with coworkers- it would not have come so naturally outside of the office. It is one of the main reasons I do not buy the editior’s- “oh we didnt know, she didnt tell us, it was all done without our consent” statement. Don’t they read their own magazine?
After such a nonchalant response to such a serious issue, I discontinued my subscription to Glamour, and I have not looked back.