There's been several black women within the last few years using their platforms to promote being able to wear their natural hair on air, eliminating body shaming and embracing the unique qualities that makes a black woman beautiful. Of those poignant stories comes from former Jackson, Miss. WJTV news anchor, Brittany Noble. According to Noble, that station fired her in 2015 because she decided to wear her hair in its natural curly state. Noble contends that after wearing the so- called "anchor bob," since her college days, the stress on her hair was too damaging, she had to stop straightening it. "Once I got into the industry I realized I was burning my hair off by straightening it every day to achieve the 'anchor bob' look, so I decided to wear a sew-in. I could braid my hair and sew fake hair extensions on my head," Noble told Today Style. Noble says she was also concerned about the negative message she may be sending her child by straightening her hair. Noble's story about allegedly being fired because of her choice made national news, including the Today Show.
With permission, she wore her hair without straightening it for roughly a month until management asked her to switch back. Noble told the Today Show in an interview that she never received negative criticism from viewers, but management claims they were. Fast forward a few months, Noble took time off to be with her sick relative but when she returned, she was fired. Noble filed a lawsuit against her station, because she believes it was because of the complaints she made to human resources concerning her hair. When investigators reached out to the station they denied all allegations and claimed they had reasons for rightful termination. Ironically, WJTV is the same employment place for one of the interviewees, Samaria Terry in this project.
"When I was pregnant, I wondered how I would teach my child to love their hair and I didn’t love my own. I asked my news director if I could stop straightening it because I felt like my audience could relate to my authenticity."
-Brittany Noble
Another black woman who embraced her natural curls and ditched the wigs received harsh criticism but this time from the viewers. Meteorologist and multi-media journalist, Corallys Ortiz from WWBJ, TV received a disturbing voicemail from a viewer that caught a lot of attention. The meteorologist decided to share the video in detail on social media for her audience to hear. "Please don't wear your hair like that anymore. It just doesn't look good at all. Please don't. Change it back to something more normal," (Glamour, 2019). After that, Ortiz shared the voicemail to her Facebook page with a statement, letting everyone listen as the viewer ended her call with a racial slur aimed at Ortiz's new look. The meteorologist said she was surprised to hear something like that in Jackson Tenn., in 2018. Ortiz believed she needed to bring attention that some people still believe that there is a "normal" that broadcasters must share.
A lot of women on TV have been feeling the same as Ortiz did, just wanting a break from the routine of straightening her own hair. In other instances, some women just want to completely break away from the straight look altogether. Recently, ABC co-anchor Janai Norman caught the eyes of many with the hashtag #FreeTheCurls.
The veteran anchor says she had spent 30 years conditioning herself to a standard of beauty that didn't include her. "TV, magazines, society by omission told me I was not beautiful, my hair needed to be bone straight, my eyes blue or green, my skin fair, and I didn't make the cut," said Norman. One day she got the courage to debut the new look and sat at the desk in her most natural state. It only took a live compliment from Robin Roberts herself to make her feel like she made the right decision. "It's been one of the most liberating decisions of my career, it wasn't an easy one, and it took time," said Norman. Norman created a powerful message reminding black women to love themselves even if society's standard of beauty doesn't. The hashtag #FreeTheCurls is now being used by hundred of thousands around the world.