In the beginning of my natural journey, I did not see many women that looked like me in the media. Televisions, magazines, and movies were filled with women with straight hair. Every now and then, I would see a woman with curls. However, I would notice that her hair was long and had a loose texture. Unfortunately, I did not see women with TWA’s, tight curls, or even coils. In order to see women who had similar hair textures, I would visit my favorite natural hair blogs and video channels. The online natural hair community provides support and comfort during my journey.
Recently, Fashionista interviewed six beauty editors and inquired how they were bringing diversity to the publications. Ashley Weatherford, Associate Beauty Editor at New York Magazine’s The Cut states, “In 2015, I wrote a story called ‘The Year Black Hair Was Everywhere,’ where I talked about how black hair and all its different textures was featured in so many different mediums. It was all over runways, it was on television, we saw it in movies. We saw that black women have different textures that are all beautiful and worthy of being filmed or captured in some way.”
Currently, I have seen more women of color with textured hair in the media, but according to Fashion Spot “Just 29 percent of cover models in 2016 were non-white. That’s only 196 women of color out of 678 cover appearances.”
Yes, there is progress being made and I am excited to see the increase of textured hair in the media as time progresses and it makes me feel good that I am starting to become more represented, but here are a few of my favorite magazines that showcase black women and their powerful crowns.
Essence
Essence is hands down one of my favorite magazines. Natural hair is shown throughout the magazine and I always see a variety of textures. The publication shares an array of hairstyles, hair tips, and product suggestions for curly girls. I also loved that the magazine has a section for 4C hair online.
EBONY
EBONY magazine also shows the different textures of black hair. One of my favorite sections of the online version is “You ‘Do What?” which allows women to share how they style their hair with the EBONY community. I enjoy reading the different hair regimens!
CRWN
CRWN is a hair and lifestyle magazine that shows the beauty of black hair. The publication includes quality content and beauty photos of a variety of black hair textures. I am looking forward to the next volume of this magazine!
What are some of your favorite magazines you find inspiration from? We’d love to hear from you.
