Still More Michelle Obama 'Hair Matters"

My personal points about hair were made yesterday. With back to back articles from the NYTimes yesterday, and now TIME today, we will be having a major dialogue around African American women and their hair.

In an effort to find a new conversation trajectory out of what is a rehash of a decades-old discussion -- now highlighted by Michelle Obama's current decision not to wear an Afro -- is my main argument, since FLOTUS appeared at Vatican.

Clothes and appearances make statements about who we are. They carry an intended meaning. Yes, we pay a price for the discipline of managing appearance (including weight), and some of us pay a higher price than others, most definitely when it comes to African American women and their hair.

We should not suggest that cultural norms don't change, because they do. Michelle's body-conscious, skin-revealing style is frankly a huge statement for any First Lady to make, let alone an African American first lady.

In celebrating body, the Smart Sensuality Michelle Obama makes a major statement to people like Imus, perpetrator of the "nappy-headed hos" remark. Most of the national dialogue has been focused on how to get Michelle's arms, not on the major cultural statement that she makes bearing arms and going bare-legged in the first place.

As an avid follower of any Michelle dialogue, I haven't read much celebration of the cultural norms that Michelle is busting, only the ones that still need conquering -- like letting her hair go "au naturel".

I recommended yesterday that we just "give it up" and encourage African American to be their best selves, wearing their hair however they want.

Reading associate professor of politics and African-American studies Princeton prof Melissa Harris Lacewell's comments about her hair suggests that we must let go of this issue once and for all. Even though I'm biracial and should theoretically have half a share of hair angst, I've sacrificed endless Saturdays to the salon. It is unfathomable that I might ever leave my apartment with my hair in its truly natural state, unmoderated by heat or products. I once broke down at the airport when my gel was confiscated for exceeding the 3-oz. limit.

I can't bear the thought of such an intelligent woman as Professor Lacewell weeping in the airport over her hair gel. Come on, America. It's time for a change. Anne