Tyra Banks
Tyra Banks announced plans last week to reveal her natural hair to kick off the ninth season of “The Tyra Banks Show.”
“Guess What! I’m rockin’ my REAL hair on my talk show September 8th. No fake hair at all!” she posted to her Twitter page. “Will be the hair coming out of my scalp! 4 all 2 C! no ponytails, no ballet bun head. hair will be out and free!”
In an official statement, Tyra said her show is “taking it to the next level and getting more real than ever before by encouraging women everywhere to own and rock what they’ve got and be proud.”
Going a step further, she’s declaring Sept. 8 National Real Hair Day. “We welcome everyone to go natural with me,” she said.
Tyra, we at NaturallyCurly hope you will embark on this with the knowledge that women everywhere are watching, and that they want to know you are serious about this — that it’s not a short-lived publicity stunt.
CurlTalk poster Marah Mizrahi says: “If so… well alright! But removing a wig or weave for a day or a season is not the same thing as transitioning to natural hair.”
Phoenix concurs: ” If you really want to make a difference, don’t do it for just one day or one episode. That’s not transitioning IMO; it’s just the same as taking your wig off.
We know it won’t be easy. Even for those who aren’t in the public eye, making the transition from straight to natural hair can be difficult. It is about learning to accept the texture with which you’ve been born rather than trying to mold it into something else. Making the decision to embark on that journey can be the hardest part of the transitioning process. Many people spend years thinking about it before they ever take the leap.
You have an opportunity to be a role model to all who have transitioned, are in the midst of it or are thinking about it. You are the most most famous star to ever go natural in such a public way. With that comes the responsibility of being committed to that journey, even after the television cameras are switched off.
In the past, you were quoted as saying you didn’t want any guy to see you without your wigs or extensions because feels like guys are with you for the image that they see on TV and in magazines. You even went so far as to say you feared that if one woke up next to you without your glamorous hair, he might not call back.
While they may not be famous supermodels, many women share those same insecurities. Through you, Tyra, a generation of women can see that they don’t have to perm their hair to be considered beautiful. Through you, they can see that one of the world’s most beautiful women is confidently rocking her natural texture, and so can they.
This poster speaks to the impact you can have: “It’d be nice to see Tyra go natural and show the masses that highly textured hair can be just as fierce as a long blonde wig. We need to teach our youth this NOW. My daughter hates her naps, and it breaks my heart when I see her pining behind her straight haired counterparts.”
So you go, girl. Rock that natural texture. We support you in this journey and can’t wait to see the au natural Tyra.
