I can only assume that Newsweek is completely thrilled at having a controversy over such a toothless article. Lots of website hits, lots of discussion, lots of attention, but not a lot of actual content.
Who loses? We do. Honestly, the best thing to do is not direct traffic to their site.
The irony is that I’ve heard all kinds of criticisms that the Obama’s don’t let their kids wear their hair natural (when the reality is that they do and have, it just seems that more often than not, the girls have their hair “done”) and they are trying too hard to make their kids “look white”.
Mr. Rock’s documentary (Good Hair) is quite excellent, BTW. It’s pretty funny and touching in places, and scary in others. Like the part where a stylist cuts hair upside-down in a giant fish tank. Or the three-year-old girl getting a relaxer treatment.
My favorite part is when Chris tries to sell a wig shop some natural black-person hair. “Don’t you guys sell black hair here?” he asks. The shopkeeper says “of course” and shows him a box of hair from India.
What?! Why would anyone do that?
It’s a bummer the kid’s too young to read, so she doesn’t yet know that her only value as a human being is her looks. In my opinion, society doesn’t do a good enough job of telling girls that early enough.
Well, except for Cesario.
rim shot
You are fucking EVIL, you know that? 
“Why is Newsweek printing this crap?”
They’re not. It’s a fucking BLOG, which reflects the opinions of the writer, not of Newsweek; if it’s like most corporate-sponsored blogs, they exercise minimal control over its content. In this case the writer is Allison Samuels, but the regular author is Kate Dailey. She declared the entire week of October 6th-13th to be “Good Hair Week” in response to Chris Rock’s movie, and Samuels’s post is entirely relevant to that, though I have no idea whether her criticism is well-founded, as I can’t tell a thing from photos and know nothing about African hair.
You’re right: it’s a blog on the Newsweek website, with the Newsweek logo all over, and the posting ends with "Allison Samuels is a senior writer at Newsweek "
Why on Earth would anyone think Newsweek endorses such things?
I said it before, I’ll say it again: Just because you can blog doesn’t mean you should.
[Comment apparently based on false premise due to failure to read. Sorry.]
As a parent I find this article laughable.
I dare you to try and keep a 4yo’s hair looking nice and pretty 24/7.
Go ahead, try it!! I dare ya!!
You’d sooner get health care reform passed…
Outrageous! Child cruelty! I hope Allison Samuels contacted the relevant authorities.
This is bullshit. There is definitely an agenda here, ie she needs a black mom. It’s African-American sites with that same unspoken agenda which have been stirring the shit on this.
As the writer admits:
TMZ (and now obviously Newsweek) will give houseroom to any gossip, no matter how silly, if it concerns a celebrity.
Buddy, you might consider joining the interweb age, because when I click on a link and it says “Newsweek” I think it’s “Newsweek”. It’s up there in the left hand corner.
Granted, I’m just a trained monkey, but even I know that’s Newsweek.
Do I really have to explain how publishing online is publishing? Especially when you put the corporate name all over the top?
Kid’s as “African-American” as Charlize Theron. She looks great. The blogger is an ass. And Boyo Jim, I laughed out loud, you bad man.
One other thing. That kid’s hair doesn’t look that bad. The kid’s got it going on. Just look at the picture Diosa linked to. I want everybody reading this post to look at the kid’s expression again.
I’m telling you right now, that kid’s got the P-funk in his blood.
I’m kinda curious why Mighty_Girl assumed she was. I think a white person would be too afraid of being accused of being racist to make those remarks. It’s not that far from “nappy-headed hos.” At least, no further than using “elitist.”
The thing is, even coming from a black woman, it sounds racist–as if saying that the reason Jolie (or Pitt) doesn’t know how to do the child’s hair is because she’s white. Or, apparently, what aldiboronti said.
Who “treats” a 4-year-old’s hair, anyway? You wash it once a week and attack it with scissors when it gets too long.
