“When Sasha Obama attended her first state dinner Thursday night at the White House, the 14-year-old took her seat next to Blake Lively wearing a $19,990 Naeem Khan gown. But instead of a glam blowout like her 17-year-old sister Malia, Sasha’s ebony mane was twisted into trendy parallel plaits.
The first daughter joins a raft of high-profile beauties sporting a version of the now-ubiquitous boxer braids. Fueled by celebrities and the popularity of UFC fighters, the center-parted reverse French-braid style has surged back into fashion. The woven look, dating back to ancient Africa, has been worn by celebs including the Kardashian clan.”
While UFC fighters (and female basketball players, and students, and moms…) have been rocking french braids and cornrows for years, apparently nobody told the Post that Sasha’s so-called “trendy” look has never gone out of style, particularly in the Black community (and no…I don’t mean “ancient Africa”).
Never mind the Obama girls have worn cornrows before, or that most of the early 2000s were filled with celebs like Alicia Keys, Tyra Banks, Ludacris, Bow Wow, and even Justin Timberlake rocking the style, the real reason the Post, and other publications are so fascinated with the HOT NEW TREND! is because white women have finally caught on.
Just like plump lips and big butts are now everyday stunners because of the popularity of the Kardashians, and folks are perfectly happy buying dark brown skin from a bottle, the rush to link Sasha’s very black, very classic hairstyle to Katy Perry or UFC Fighters or anybody else but the black women and girls she grew up around feels very deliberate.
While our nation has made great strides, people of color continue to be marginalized in just about every space we inhabit. Our hair can still keep us out of jobs, our names can limit our opportunities, and our skin color makes us vulnerable to profiling.
One reason we continue to face such obstacles is because the mainstream media never actually sees us. Sure, our celebrities set trends that become popular once other people do it, but the glut of black female Youtubers who’ve been giving braiding tutorials — for years — is pretty much invisible to those who think “boxer braids” are new, or “KKW Signature braids” are actually a thing.
To be clear, everyone can rock french braids, extensions, cornrows, and candy-colored hair, but let’s not buy into the idea that this “trend” is new, or that these celebrities made it hot. As Zendaya recently pointed out, “’Braids are not new. Black women have been wearing braids for a very long time. Another problem is it became new and fresh and fun, because it was on someone else other than a black woman. You know what I mean? So that is the frustration.”
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Yes, Zendaya, that’s exactly it.
