Un-Beweaveable

On the 2009 fall season premiere of the Tyra Banks Show, Tyra asked all of her audience members to wear their own hair.  No weaves, wigs or hair pieces.  Tyra had been on several magazine type shows to hype two things about the first show of her new season:  1) she was going to show the world what her real hair looked like and 2) she wanted to tell people that the Tyra Banks Show had moved to the CW network.

The show turned out to be quite a bit more than I expected, which is why I occasionally watch Tyra’s show.  I’m not exactly the target demographic for the Tyra Banks Show, but I enjoy some of the real life issues that she tackles.  I also find that her show allows me some insight into what’s going on with younger generations.

No Surprise

I was not surprised that Tyra has a full head of very healthy hair.  A little longer than shoulder length, her hair is long enough to be very versatile.  She came onto the show with freshly washed and conditioned hair that was still wet.  While the show was going on, her stylist worked on her hair as she talked with guests about their hair issues.

Surprise, Surprise, Surprise

I know that black women have a lot of hair issues, but I had no idea how many woman – black and white – allow their hair to define them.  Each of the three guests wore weaves, wigs or hair pieces and each of them was defined by her hair.  Surprisingly, (in my opinion) they all looked better with their natural hair that had been styled by Tyra’s hair stylist. It also helped that Tyras make-up people toned down their make-up and worked a little magic.

A Heart Wrenching Guest

One of Tyra’s guests was bi-racial.  Her issues surrounding her hair were very sad and heart wrenching.  Because this young lady’s mother didn’t want people to know that the girl was half black, she was fixated on the girl not showing her natural hair.  This poor girl couldn’t get through her story without crying almost the entire time.  I felt bad for the young lady but I was upset with her mother for destroying this girl’s self esteem, self image and self worth.  The young lady has a head full of thick curly hair.  The style they gave her was wash, scrunch and air dry.  The result was one that I’ve seen hundreds of women weave into their hair or buy wigs to get the effect.

What You See Is Not What You Get

Kudus to Tyra for reminding her viewers that what they see on TV and in magazines is not real. By the time celebrities are weaved, wigged, air brushed and made up by professional make-up artists, they have been transformed into what their managers and handlers want them to be.  Professional stylists select outfits that will flatter their figures and undergarments to enhance them.

Tyra’s Emmy Award

This show and many others is an example of why the Tyra Banks Show won an Emmy.  She tackles subjects that are taboo and that we whisper about but don’t talk about in public.  Some of her shows aren’t for me but that’s OK, the show wasn’t designed for me, it was designed for 18-35 year olds.  I think she’s doing a great job and hope she continues to produce shows that will help young women be more confident and build their self esteem.