Damn I love the logo! Very clever.

I hate the notion that one's natural appearance is a "political statement."

Glamour is obnoxious.

Our society's standard for female physical beauty is a thin white female. In order to reach that standard of beauty, one must either be white, or change what physical features she can until she appears white. In this case dreadlocks or a natural afro are not Anglo, therefore not beautiful.

No, no, no! It's wearing white shoes after Labor Day that's the fashion don't!

Sorry. Channeling Miss Manners for a second there. And yes -- ew.

Well, I suppose in an environment like that, an afro would be political. But personally, I think that's pretty sad.

Hmmm. Sorry you didn't hit me up for logo.

Fucking hell. Racist much, Glamour? Yeah, allowing your hair to grow naturally is really unprofessional.

Hey, maybe in future issues, they should suggest that blondes have to start dying their hair, since brunettes are taken so much more seriously. And Latinas with "J Lo butts" should have to get liposuction, since not looking like the carbon copy of a stereotypical, fashion-obsessed white woman just ISN'T ACCEPTABLE in the workplace.

Or maybe, just maybe, Glamour can accept the fact that they're privileged and fucked in the head, and run a spread of beautiful black women with untreated hair to make amends.

Hmm, which scenario seems more likely?

[p.s. I LOVE afros and dreads on black women. I almost always think that it looks spectacular.]

What the hell?!

Not wanting to spend a ridiculous amount of money and time on your hair isn't freaking unprofessional. Not to mention the potential chemical burns from relaxing treatments...ugh. I seriously doubt the editor in question has even the slightest comprehension of how much time and money it takes to process black hair so it looks the way she thinks it should.

In spite of the comments of this one editor, I feel compelled to defend Glamour in general against accusations that it is racist and unfeminist.

First, though it would appear to be just your garden variety fashion glossy, in fact Glamour features serious feminist journalism on a regular basis. This month's issue (the cover of which is featured above) includes a gut-wrenching article on the sexual brutalization and femicide of women in the Democratic Repulic of Congo. (Glamour has teamed up with V-Day and the article was written by Eve Ensler.) Other recent stories have covered domestic and sexual violence against women, the effect of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict on women in the region, and so on. Marianne Pearl also contributes a monthly column profiling women around the globe working to improve the lives of women and girls. Some of you also may be surprised to learn that Glamour has also included lesbian couples in articles concerning women's romantic relationships -- something very few (if any) of the other mainstream "beauty" mags do.

Second, Glamour consistently features women of color in articles as well as on the cover. One of the first mainstream beauty magazines to do so, Glamour is incredibly inclusive when it comes to the race/ethnicity of women it features. In fact, in the article referenced in the Jezebel post, Mary J. Blige and Jennifer Hudson were included along with white celebrities in a feature about how to emulate A-list styles. This is true for articles and features throughout the magazine, and has been for years.

Further, I do not know whether the uproar over the editor's comments is entirely warranted. (Leaving aside the assumption that the editor is white; would her comments be regarded in the same way were she a Black woman, I wonder?) Like it or not, one can imagine that wearing such "political hairstyles" might work to women's disadvantage in certain corporate settings. Where this editor erred is in telling women to avoid these "inappropriate" hairstyles, rather than encouraging women to wear them in an effort to challenge the political climate of corporate settings. But is cautioning professional women who wear Afros or dreadlocks that they are likely to face resistance and discrimination so off the mark?

Either way, I do not think that this editor's comments are representative of the magazine as a whole. Glamour, despite appearances as a garden variety fashion mag, offers serious journalism on issues that affect women and girls around the world, and (in my opinion, at least) is neither racist nor un-feminist. It would be a shame for this one incident to define the entire magazine for those who would so easily dismiss it as such.

Calling any hairstyle political is pretty ridiculous. Though, I can see how it might be inappropriate to have a hair topiary in the shape of a donkey or elephant on one's head...

As long as a woman pays minimal attention to her hair it should be acceptable. Me with my white-girl-frizzies, I need to brush and gel it. Having never been black I don't know what the general care for that hair type would be, but I doubt it's as simple as "hop out of bed and wander to work." Even if it's an afro or dreadlocks. (I was always incredibly jealous of black girls who could wear cornrows and look good, the one time I tried it looked horrendous.)

Okay, I just reread the post and realized that this "advice" was never actually published in any of their magazines. That's really fortunate, and makes some of my comments from last night too harsh. One editor being a racist doesn't necessarily reflect on the whole magazine.

Yet another reason to boycott women's magazines. As if there's not enough sexist swill in them already, now they're talking about racist hair?

Actually, it's processed hair that's "political" - in that it takes at least $ 40 bucks in money and 4 hours in time a week for a Black woman to put her hair in that unnatural state - not to mention various chemical burns and hair damage.

And going to all that trouble to deny one's racial heritage IS political.

By contrast, just going with the beauty that God gave you is the least political thing I could imagine!!!

Here's a personal account of a similar incident from "Race in the Workplace".

someone who is proud of her heritage and ethnicity, confident, self-assured, and not preoccupied with her looks? sounds like a lawyer i'd like to hire!

"I was always incredibly jealous of black girls who could wear cornrows and look good, the one time I tried it looked horrendous."

Why would you be jealous? It fucking HURTS, takes forever, and you just said all you need to do is brush your hair and gel it. I wish my hair could be that low maintenance.

A couple weeks ago, I was pressured into having my hair relaxed by a hairdresser. I'm already regretting that decision. :( I might just shave my head...