MTV recently announced a casting call for Black women ages 15-28 for its reality show TRUE LIFE. The subject: Black Women Going Natural. The series seeks to document the black woman’s journey of transitioning to natural hair. The natural hair aesthetic is a popular trend now as it has gone from being an underground notion to now being seen on CNN and Fox.
On this subject, Claudio E. Cabrera of TheRoot.com says that, “throughout the last few years, black women’s dependence on what many call the “creamy crack” has declined as many find the advantages of going natural. The Chris Rock movie Good Hair also opened up the eyes of many to the damages that perming can do to their bodies.”
While Chime “HairCrush” Edwards of BlackLikeMOI.com expressed concern regarding MTV’s ability to accurately illustrate the depth of what it means for a black woman to go natural, she did go on to say, “This is a major milestone for the natural hair community. MTV has millions of viewers from diverse backgrounds that will now be educated on what it means for a Black woman to go natural. This is not only a great opportunity for other races to be educated on black hair, but most importantly African Americans.” HairCrush went on to speak on the emotional trama of rejection from boyfriends when Sistas choose to go through this transformation. She also went on to say, “Hopefully, this episode of True Life will help African Americans learn to support those who decide to go natural and to embrace their own natural hair.”
If you are interested in participating (and, again the ages are between 15-28) and are preparing for the “Big Chop” (HairCrush says: For those of you who may be new to natural hair lingo, the big chop is the process of cutting one’s relaxed hair off and leaving only the natural kinky curly hair to become officially natural.) you can send an email to [email protected], telling them your story. They will want your name, location, phone number and recent photos of yourself.
As Chime and Claudio allude to, this reality documentary, which reaches millions of viewers, could share an insight into African American culture that, until now, few have been privy to. Do you think this show will provide a positive, in depth portrayal of the natural hair journey and what do you think African American girls and women will take from it. Does MTV have the ability to handle this subject in a thoughtful manner?
This will be very interesting to see how MTV will handle black women transitioning to natural hair. I’m not surprised that BET didn’t think about having a show like this on their network.
Sounds rather interesting. I think MTV is trying to reconnect with the Urban market and this will be a great way. They have a way of showcasing things in a much more positive way than Bet.