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7 Times Mainstream Media Wrongfully Attacked Black Women For Embracing Their Natural Hair

Posted byBy Taylor Gordon | Published on: CommentsComments (4)

Zendaya dreadlocks

Fashion Police’s Racially Charged Dig at Zendaya’s Dreadlocks

Zendaya garnered mostly praise and respect when she rocked a faux dreadlock style to the Oscars this year, but Fashion Police’s Giuliana Rancic took aim at the petite biracial star saying she looked like she smelled like “patchouli oil … or weed.” While the natural hairstyle wasn’t the star’s own natural hair, she explained that the style was inspired by the many loved ones in her life, including her father, who do wear dreadlocks. Zendaya took to Instagram to explain that natural Black hairstyles are already constantly being attacked by the media and paid homage to the many influential and prominent Black figures who wear dreadlocks.

Black women embracing natural hair

In Touch Compares Solange to a Dog

When songstress Solange took to social media to support actress and singer Zendaya after a Fashion Police host attacked her for wearing faux dreadlocks, she assured the young starlet that she had been in her shoes before. Solange said the media has been taking aim at her natural hair for years, and she wasn’t lying. One of the most recent examples happened in 2014 when In Touch Weekly compared Beyonce’s sister to a dog. The magazine ran a picture of Solange next to a picture of a Black yorkipoo (a Yorkshire terrier and poodle mix). “It still is tasteless (not surprising for a gossip magazine) and a sobering reminder of the resistance some black women face when they choose to rock their natural hair unapologetically,” BlackGirlLongHair.com’s Leila Noelliste wrote of the article. “The comparison feels particularly shady given that Solange’s recent media coverage has mainly involved her stunning, stylish, and universally praised wedding.”

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