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AIBU

Curly hair underrepresented ?

(31 Posts)
Bridgeit Wed 19-Sep-18 11:21:39

Apparently, naturally curly haired people are Underrepresented on Television. Also (apparently )woman have been straightening their curly hair to fit in.
Who actually notices these things. how many surveys would be needed to prove this statement as a fact, society has gone mad !

jenpax Wed 19-Sep-18 11:25:44

I straighten my hair but because it’s naturally wavy and frizzy not lovely and curly ??‍♀️

Riverwalk Wed 19-Sep-18 11:36:27

There's probably some truth in the claim.

Women in a professional environment are expected to be well-groomed and conservative in dress, so likely to feel pressure to aim for blow-dried sleek hair, rather than a head of 'unruly' curls.

Some time back when a young weather presenter (and a meteorologist) started on the BBC, there was an article about her somewhere that said she had to have her hair in a chignon or similar as her gorgeous long Celtic red curls weren't appropriate and would be distracting.

Bridgeit Wed 19-Sep-18 11:38:14

Hi Jenpax , I can understand straightening curly hair & curling straight hair ( what are we like?)
But underrepresentation on Tv ?,who knows, how do they calculate it? If correct , is it detrimental or am I just being a Grump old woman ( under represented everywhere ) ?

Riverwalk Wed 19-Sep-18 11:39:36

Do you have a link to the article Bridgeit?

Bridgeit Wed 19-Sep-18 11:46:34

It was on This Moring ITV, ( Holly & Phil )

winterwhite Wed 19-Sep-18 11:49:56

Underrepresented on television! What extraordinary things some people concern themselves with!
The dearth of curls presumably comes from the young and their obsession with very long hair.
I'm v curly and as a child longed for straight hair and long plaits, but am bewildered by the current craze. Is it influenced by the beauty industry's desire to create and sell more 'product'?
And AIBU to find the way they all constantly flick their hair around v irritating? (That happens on television too.)

lemongrove Wed 19-Sep-18 14:41:10

Are they a minority group then? grin what about ‘gingers’
Are they under represented too?
I shall be on the look out for curlyheads on tv now.

M0nica Wed 19-Sep-18 14:52:33

My mother had really curly hair, which even though it was never amenable to management, was always cut into a a very chic short style that changed slightly constantly with fashion. It didn't stop her ending up Head Mistress of a prep school.

Elegran Wed 19-Sep-18 14:57:05

Once upon a time curls were fashionable, so everyone wanted them. If they were blest/cursed with smooth hair they tortured it to make it curl. Curls would then have been over represented on TV (had it existed) Now smooth heads are in fashion, so curls don't appear as often as straight hair.

If the complainer wishes to change that, she will have to change popular desires to look "with it".

KatyK Wed 19-Sep-18 15:00:11

We'll if they are going to get silly, I think women like me, who have lost all their hair, are completely under represented! grin

Elegran Wed 19-Sep-18 15:01:53

I wrote "had it existed" but of course curls were not confined to antedeluvian pre-TV times. Some really frizzy perms erupted onto the screen at one time.

Morning TV has a lot of time to fill. Some items are definitely inconsequential padding.

Bridgeit Wed 19-Sep-18 15:03:59

She just stated, that curly haired actors/actresses were underrepresented, how she came to that observation wasn’t clear.
I am not sure how a production team would work out a quota for a programme, what about bald men?

In attempts to be fair & representative, it seems like the best person for the job may not get it because not enough x y z people have been included, should a percentage of denture wearers also be include , Ohh perhaps there’s chance for me yet ?

Teetime Wed 19-Sep-18 15:08:40

I am mega curly can I get a job as an actress now?

Bridgeit Wed 19-Sep-18 15:23:26

It would seem so Teetime?

Elegran Wed 19-Sep-18 16:12:55

Should they have a quota for all who are under-represented? People who can't speak a word of English, convicted terrorists who are being prevented from performing on-camera suicide bombings by not being included, people who have nothing to say and would be unable to articulate it anyway - and how about all those who don't want to be on TV - they suffer grievously from not being represented on our screens, despite being a majority of the population.

Bridgeit Wed 19-Sep-18 16:18:16

Brilliant Elegran, made me laugh

But scarcely It does seems to be going that way !

MissAdventure Wed 19-Sep-18 16:20:15

grin Elegran

BlueBelle Wed 19-Sep-18 16:49:08

Surely it goes by fashion All my girl grandkids straigten their beautiful curly hair When I was young I used to curl my straight straight hair
Surely there won’t be more curly headed people on tv until the fashion changes Simple as

Bridgeit Wed 19-Sep-18 17:13:55

BlueBelle, The Lady on breakfast Tv this morning was very happy because she no longer has to straighten her beautiful naturally long curly hair to do her on screen job, so going by what she said, she had up until now been required to do so.

Nelliemoser Wed 19-Sep-18 18:27:25

My great grandmother . This should read " I look very much like her. "
She looks very much like me apart from the 1890s clothes in the photograph. The hair is hopelessly frizzy

BlueBelle Wed 19-Sep-18 18:32:42

Well Nadia Swalhi s job as a presenter doesn’t seem to have been hindered by her curly hair she’s a very busy bee on tv

Nelliemoser Wed 19-Sep-18 18:35:19

(This photo was of my great grandmother. She died when my grandmother was about 12.)
That photograph took a lot of battering in my grandmothers rather chaotic possession over her 95 years.

I spent hours getting it into a reasonable condition.

petra Wed 19-Sep-18 18:54:32

Channel 4 obviously don't discriminate ( Kathy Newman)

Bridgeit Wed 19-Sep-18 19:00:08

Thanks Nellimoser for sharing the wonderful photo of your GreatGrandmother, and a wonderful representation of naturally curly hair for Gransnet.
Tv producers take a leaf out of GN book ?