There are two Michelle Obamas. The first lady we are used to seeing during her husband’s reign and Michelle after 2017 with her constant social media presence, her books, her social activism and businesswoman. There are many differences between them, but visually one of them seems more tangible: her hair. As First Lady, Ms. Obama always wore her hair straight, perfectly styled in loose curls or soft waves. We came to the conclusion that her hair really was like that. It was only later, when we left the White House, that we began to see the first photos of Michelle with natural afro hair. “Americans,” he told everyone Washington Post“they just weren’t ready.”
Obama said she asked herself this problem when she became the first black first lady in US history. For black women, chemically straighten hairoften with invasive products that can damage the scalp, it is a common practice with a discriminatory legacy dates back to the years of slavery. For many women, braids or dreadlocks would be easier and more rewarding, but they feel pressured by white beauty standards. Afro hair is still considered “unkempt” in many workplaces, straight hair is associated with a more professional and “neat” look. Thus, keeping your hair natural becomes a political gesture. which, however, Michelle Obama chose not to do while she was first lady.
Americans, Michelle told the Warner Theater in Washington during her new book tour, The Light We Bring: Overcoming Troubled TimesDuring his first term, Obama was “just adjusting” to having a black president in the Oval Office and a black family in the White House. Wearing natural hair would be too much and would lead to arguments and judgments far removed from the important issues that needed to be addressed instead. “I will keep my hair straight,” the former first lady told herself at the beginning of her mandate, “until we get medical clearance.”
However, after leaving the White House, Michelle quickly changed her style. Hair and afro are no longer associated with the negative elements of disorder and slovenliness. Today, some states in the US have passed the so-called Crown Act, a law that prohibits discrimination based on hairstyle and hairstyle. Something is slowly changing.
Source: Elle