Being a celebrity seems like endless glamour from the outside looking in and for sure, there are many benefits to fame. However, the saying, 'everything is not what it seems' is never more aptly applied than it is to the world of entertainment in which the whole point is to create an illusion. Afterall, not even reality TV is unreal. Kerry Washington a.k.a. Olivia Pope of the televison show, Scandal, is the cover girl of Allure magazine's November 2017 issue. In the magazine, Washington, a talented actress, advocate, style icon and celebrity spokesperson etc. speaks about the work that goes into maintaining Olivia Pope's cool and perfect exterior and the reason she chooses to embrace her natural hair. The article underscores the fact that the celebrity glamour and beauty we see portrayed on the big or small screen is a standard to which none of us should aspire because it's not real or even really attainable in actual life. …show more content…
Like, literally follows me to make sure there's not a single hair out of place. This is somebody's full-time job. '' - Kerry Washington in Allure What a job, right?! Within the pages of the magazine, Washington's natural hair is on display in a number of pics. She even rocks cornrows and the confidence she exudes in her photos is worth noting. If we aspire to anything at all, I suppose it should be to exude confidence in a similar manner in our daily lives. Washington, who is 40 years-old stopped relaxing her hair in her twenties and said this about her natural hair. "I like to wear my natural texture, especially now because I have children and I want them to know that their hair is perfect as it is. They don't have to change it or straighten it. They can, but they don't have
inundated with this idea of what “good hair” is, to the point that it seemed natural to force that same ideal upon me.
As celebrities stand distinctively among the masses and cast out their halos of personality charm and strong suits of skilled abilities, the controversies about them are unavoidable shadows created from their fame. With the popularization of celebrity culture, information synchronization, and communication technology, their lives are publicly exposed and various forms of media (depending on eras) record their flaws. Tough information transmitted to audiences are frequently biased, evidences of objective reality remains, even in the remote past.
“Posts.” Fame is a dangerous Drug: A Phenomenological Glimpse of Celebrity.” N.p. ,n.d. Web 15. Feb 2014
During this time, women were seen embracing their natural tresses with locks and twists, but that seemed to quickly change. In order to fit into this new European standard of beauty, women were required to alter their hair, thus stripping them of the little identity they possessed. The increased support for the natural hair movement alters the black woman’s perception of beauty while intentionally and unintentionally challenging the ideology of beauty within the western world. With more women wearing their hair natural, black women have begun to accept their unaltered appearances while redefining their perception of beauty.
Tracy, O.P. (2006). Hey girl, am I more than my hair?: African american women and their stuggles with beauty, body image image, and hair. NWSA Journal, 18(2), 24-51. Retreived from http://search.proquest.com/docview/233235409?accountid=12387
Oberle, Laura. “Dressing Candice Glover: How ‘American Idol’ contestants get their style”. Islandpacket. Web. 8 April. 2014
As years rolled by, cosmetology and the business of looking good began to pick up a huge amount of customers. Getting hair curled, ironed, or wavy is very popular now. A lot of women today, all over the world, want to look like their favorite star. It was that need and craze to look good, which made cosmetology successful as it is today. Shekinah Jo Anderson is a professional hair stylist with just a few years of professional experience.
The concept of beauty and racism in modern western society is held to the highest of standards for all of it’s members; including celebrities. The perfect woman is described by Odette (2013), as solely for men’s pleasure and domination. If we look on the cover of any popular magazine, the women are usually: light skinned, slender, and tall. Men on the other hand must be tall and powerfully built. Our culture is valued on the basis of how men and women are perceived by their image, making it impossible for the average man or women to achieve the high beauty standard expected in society. Celebrities play an influential role in the way people view themselves, making the need to look like our favourite celebrities all the more desired. A person's
Almost 250 years of slavery and anti-blackness within the United States has created a divide in what type of hair is acceptable. According to Cynthia L. Robinson, “Black hair texture is graded” (Robinson 2011). Precisely, this means that a Black woman has either good hair or bad hair. Good hair has a resemblance of European hair texture, meaning straight and wavy curls. Good hair also diminishes the look of African ancestry. Bad is the complete opposite. The texture is kinky, coiled, and thick, giving the appearance of short hair (Robinson 2011). Hair that bears a resemblance to Eurocentric beauty standards is more beautiful and makes the individual with that hair type more beautiful as well (Robinson
Society always wants to keep an eye on their favorite celebrities’ life. It is fundamental. Every little detail the public wants to follow like what and where they are eating, whom they will marry, or what they are doing all day –such a vicious cycle.
No matter where a person goes throughout the United States, they will not walk through the streets of New Jersey or New York for long before they hear the latest scandals with Kim Kardashian or Miley Cyrus. If a person walks into any public store they’ll quickly hear discussion of the latest stars on American Idol from passersby. While we scoff at the antics of celebrities, but at the same time we can foster an almost fanatical desire to be as if not more famous then the people everyone talks about. It is rather human to feel envy, jealously, and desire; we all want to be looked favorably upon. We roll our eyes when someone repeatedly states how beautiful or intelligent a celebrity is, yet even a skeptic can’t help but desire the admiration that celebrity received. Why do men work out? Why do women use such extensive amounts of cosmetics? Why are people so determined to be revered? The answer to individual’s thirst for fame can vary but it’s unavoidable to assume that individual wanted to be the center of attention. We want to be admired, favored, and loved as much as the celebrities that we worship. Reality television has shifted to show the “perfect” life of our celebrities and how happy they are compared to the common people. Neoliberals and authoritarian realized how our fanatical love for our celebrities can be used against us as to quote Frank Furedi from his academic journal on the topic of celebrity culture in which he has stated in the abstract in his first page: “Often celebrity provides an alternative source of validation. The tendency to outsource authority to the celebrity represents an attempt to bypass the problem of legitimacy by politicians and other figures.” Through celebrities’ neoliberals and
Hair is not just a part of you, hair is also a way for people to judge you. When Ifemelu cut her hair, people asked her if it “meant anything, like something political” (p211), or if she became “a lesbian” (p211). The way of wearing one’s hair has influence on people, good or bad. In Americanah, wearing an Afro may probably not make it easier to get a job. In a conference, Adichie said: “If Michelle Obama had natural hair, Obama would not have won [the presidency of the United States]”. Indeed, the image people would have had of Michelle Obama and thus of Barack Obama could have been different, as if something might have been “wrong” with
We are part of a generation that is obsessed with celebrity culture. Celebrities are distinctive. Media and consumers alike invented them to be a different race of super beings: flawless, divine and above all the real moral world. In a 1995 New York Times article “In contrast, 9 out of 10 of those polled could think of something
For many years, I coveted anyone's hair that was anything that my hair wasn't. Despite our differences, we have come to a mutual understanding. And, now, I can say, with some confidence, that my hair and I are friends, not just forced to be together because of genetics. But I can admit this only after years of hard lessons and experience.
Over the last few decades celebrity and fame has changed dramatically, from Alexander the Great to Kim Kardashian. Talent and achievements no longer play a huge role when it comes to our celebrities. “Much modern celebrity seems the result of careful promotion or great good looks or something besides talent and achievement” (Epstein2) with that being said celebrity-creation has blossomed into an industry of its own. Keeping up with all the gossips from breaking up to hooking up, law suits and drama many might come to an agreement that celebrity culture is starting to be the great new art form in our new generation and that it ...