On Tuesday we polled readers on whether TheBlaze‘s Amy Holmes should wear her hair curly or straight. NPR congressional reporter Juana Summers, who is black, strongly protested our poll.
“Don’t think we should be online polling on whether a black woman should wear her hair natural or straight on TV,” she wrote on Twitter.
Meanwhile, no one appears to take issue with repeatedly discussing the straight versus curly question of the locks on Caucasian Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.), chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee. It’s a subject that has been discussed at length (pun intended).
In December, 2014, Cosmopolitan Magazine asked if there was a stigma against curly hair. They included a section on Schultz. Naturallycurly.com, meanwhile, highlighted the congresswoman’s hair in 2011 by describing what life is like with curls. The site says “being curly is a minority of sorts.” It also reports that in that year curly hair was on the up and up, with wavy-haired models flooding the fall runways. There’s mention of a story in the New York Times that was quite complimentary of females with curly hair — Schultz was among the women featured in the story.
Naturallycurly.com is also a big fan of DWS’s curls.
“Schultz has wavy hair, and she’s not afraid to show it,” writes Tracey Wallace. “She has defied popular culture and worn her natural waves for as long as this curly can remember — and not without some fierce rebuttal.”
Coverage of her curls hasn’t been entirely positive. The story says journalist Monica Crowley once referenced Schultz’s hair on Fox News, saying, “She of the angry perm.”
In 2012, then-FishbowlDC‘s Eddie Scarry, now a reporter for the Washington Examiner, wrote that Schultz “moves in waves” and described her do as “Ramen noodle-like hair.” He conducted a poll: “How do you like Debbie Wasserman Schultz’s hair?” A little over 50 percent preferred her hair straight.
There was nothing racial about the question concerning Holmes.
No matter what race a TV journalist is, he or she (typically a she since she typically has more hair) can move between straight and wavy hairstyles.
In Holmes’ case, the poll showed that viewers prefer her to wear her hair straight.
But to each her own — Holmes can obviously decide for herself.
See below.
