Michelle Obama, the erstwhile FLOTUS, was the lady everyone looked up to. She was that diva, the one who was a symbol of confidence and self-acceptance. While she was the FLOTUS, we know her for doing so many positive things. She had taken steps to bring about quality in the field of education; she is a proud feminist and an ardent advocate of women’s rights.
She espoused for healthy eating habits. She is also a supporter of LGBT rights. She used fashion as a means to provide the third world designers the exposure that they deserved for their empirically underrated talent.
All of this sounds so fantastic, doesn’t it?
Michelle’s fashion sense has always been so on point. She was the women who taught us to be confident in our skins, to love ourselves and flaunt the beauty that all of us inherently possess.
But, could it be a political gimmick? Could there have been a political agenda behind this? Was the media made to build up a likable image of the first lady? Because it sure as hell seems like that now. Let us tell you why.
This is a photograph posted by Twitter user Meagnacarta where Michelle Obama can be seen carrying her natural hairstyle which we haven’t really seen before when she was the first lady.
Here is the actual tweet:
This is the picuture I have been waiting on for like 3 years. COME ON NATURAL. pic.twitter.com/HF8AYpsciB
— meagnacarta 🤠 (@meagnacarta) April 2, 2017
When you have set yourself such high standards, people expect you to stay true to your words. This picture received a lot of attention earning over 34,000 retweets and 95k likes.
— Beyoncé's Side Part (@RegularBlack_) April 3, 2017
Not to mention many people have questioned her on not embracing her natural look while she was the first lady. It is sadly feasible to think that she was not seen wearing her natural hair so as to seem ‘professional/appropriate’.
its crazy she probably couldnt do this while Barack is office because its not deemed professional/appropriate https://t.co/aGKVeEufPy
— ירדן (@JiggyJQ) April 3, 2017
She could’ve have made a point there by embracing her natural hair publicly. For there is no ‘best-kind-of-hair.’ No hairstyle should be deemed appropriate or inappropriate.
It is 2017 we are talking about; it is a pity that we are stuck on trying to settle such trivialities that all kinds of hair are equally beautiful and everyone should be okay with their hair no matter what and wear it like a boss without being looked down upon.
https://twitter.com/rhytaylorr/status/848888389462110208
She is a fashion icon, and if she had flaunted her natural curls, it would have given other people the courage to do so too. While she was trying to challenge the empirical Eurocentrism in her own subtle but eloquent ways, she definitely missed a great opportunity which was so in her reach.
It is although good to see her at complete ease with herself, now that she isn’t the first lady. We still respect her discretion and hope that knows the whys and wherefores of her choices.