Growing up, we weren’t given many choices in role models and people that inspired us. Magazines and TV shows didn’t give an accurate reflection of representation. Our brains were bombarded with images of what beauty was. Long, straight hair. Light skin. Skinny. Blonde.
A lot has changed since then. Now, our kids see people who look like them on their screens. The same beautiful dark skin. When it comes to hair, the conversation is still a tender one.
Ask any Black woman about her relationship with chemical hair relaxers, and she’ll say “It’s complicated.” And the truth is that she’s right. Ever since the hair straightener cancer lawsuit started playing out in the news, it’s reminded many Black women of a stark reality.
However, things have changed over the years. Pop culture has a massive influence on how Black hair is portrayed. These days, it’s not uncommon to see kinky afros dominating our screens. It’s a sign that Hollywood is finally heeding our calls for more representation, and viewing Black hair as a cultural symbol and womanhood.
In this article, we’ll discuss three fictional characters that celebrate black, beautiful hair.
Tracee Ellis Ross as Rainbow Johnson
When Black-ish burst onto our screens several years ago, women were taken with Rainbow Johnson.
Fun, daring and unapologetic, how could a successful businesswoman wear her kinky hair in an afro or curl her coils for the workplace? It was unheard of for a Black or mixed-race woman to be so outwardly proud of her hair texture and wear it like a fashion accessory.
Rainbow Johnson made it socially acceptable to rock up at work in braids and dress for the fun of fashion. The premise of the show was about a middle-class Black family and how they navigated conversations around slavery, racism and inequality within their community.
Issa Rae as Issa Dee
The main character in Issa Rae’s Insecure, the 29-year-old Issa Dee is a free spirit trying to find her place in the world. A complicated role with many layers, the show producers made Issa’s hair an extension of her personality.
In season one, she starts with hair extensions and braids. As her character develops, she lets go of her insecurities and goes for the Big Chop, resulting in a curly pixie cut – kinky texture and all.
Insecure tapped into Black culture, sparking streams of conversations on “Black Twitter,” from situationships to careers. Following the comedy-drama series, Issa Rae went on to star in Barbie and America Fiction.
Susie Carmichael From The Rugrats
A recurring character in the Nickelodeon cartoon series The Rugrats, Susie Carmichael was a straight-talking three-year-old who could talk rings around a salesman.
Intelligent and confident, Susie bounced around our TV screens with her curly hair tied in braids. Finally, kids could relate to a character in the world of animation. Screen Rant described Susie as having a lasting impact on the franchise and the cartoon making its mark on 90s kid culture.
Hair Straightener Lawsuit
When talking about these curly-haired divas, one thing that pops up is the harm caused by chemical relaxers and the legal battles that followed.
How could the pursuit of “perfection” lead to cancer-causing toxins found in hair relaxers? The findings of a 2022 study blew the lid off the hair relaxer industry’s marketing strategy.
The National Institute of Health (NIH) published research that found hair straightening chemicals were linked to higher uterine cancer and breast cancer risks. But the most shocking revelation was that Black women were the most at risk.
Beauty brands like Revlon and L’Oreal now have to answer some uneasy questions during the chemical hair straightener lawsuit.
The NIH study and others highlighted that formaldehyde found in hair straighteners, can be carcinogenic when absorbed through the skin. Once in the body, these chemicals act as hormone blockers and disrupt cell growth.
TorHoerman Law says legal pressure has been put on beauty brands that sell dangerous products specifically marketed for health and beauty purposes. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) now too has missed its proposed deadline to ban formaldehyde in hair relaxers.
The lawsuit has also given women who use chemical relaxers food for thought. The tide is slowly turning. According to The Examination, hair relaxer sales in the U.S. are on a steady decline.
Real or not, the fictional characters this article highlights have played a role in changing the narrative about natural hair. Hopefully, the hair straightener cancer lawsuit will open many more conversations between parents and their kids about the dangers of hair straightening products.
As litigation takes place in courtrooms around the U.S., hundreds of plaintiffs will get some sort of closure and answers to their urgent questions.
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