Friday reflection
So unprofessional
Lately on my drives to and from the chiropractor who is Fixing Me (fingers crossed), I’ve been listening to Julia Louis Dreyfus’s new podcast, Wiser than Me (I can hear both of my parents saying, “It’s wiser than I”). The construct is that Dreyfus interviews older women to glean their wisdom; it’s a much-needed, not-enough nod in our culture to the fact that women ages 70+ have so much to teach us.
So there I was, in my car, enjoying my well-aligned spine as I passed rows of green trees on the Saw Mill Parkway, when Dreyfus shared a story from her time on Saturday Night Live:
One time, they straightened her naturally curly hair for a sketch she was in (or maybe she wore a straight wig? I’m not sure), and afterward, one of the NBC executives approached her to say how much more fuckable she looked.
She laughed it off, at the time, because that’s what people often do when someone who has more power than them makes them feel threatened, uncomfortable, or unsafe. And then apparently for years after that she continued to get notes from the network about straightening her hair.
Somehow I’m guessing Chevy Chase and Mike Myers didn’t get “hair notes.”
My first thought, on hearing this story, and after throwing up in my mouth a little, was about how hair discrimination affects Black women at work. A recent study reported in Harvard Business Review found that Black women’s hair was two-and-a-half times more likely to be perceived as unprofessional.
That word, “unprofessional” — it’s a sneaky, sneaky word. “Unprofessional” in whose estimation? But wait, there’s more: A Knoxville, TN weather anchor was just fired for refusing to straighten her hair. (“Your style doesn’t align with company policy.”) Canadian TV anchor Lisa LaFlamme was fired after refusing to dye her hair gray. Anchor Brittany Noble Jones was fired because she wore her hair naturally, and the station told her on-air talent couldn’t wear their hair “unkempt or shaggy.”
She again started wearing wigs on a daily basis until she ran out of time on one busy morning. As a compromise, the anchor braided her fro into a chic bun, but was disappointed when she later had to undergo several performance reviews following this incident.
SEVERAL PERFORMANCE REVIEWS.
ABOUT HER HAIR.
As we remake our workplaces (hashtag, future of work), please let’s remake our notion of what is or is not professional. Do we even need that word anymore? Do we need to be “professional”? Could we maybe instead focus on cultivating emotional intelligence, taking personal responsibility, and being clear communicators?
Just for example.
By the way, you know what’s really “unprofessional”? Firing someone because of their hairstyle. Commenting on whether you want to have sex with someone you work with.
In honor of Julia Louis Dreyfuss and the story she shared, I present this wonderful Amy Schumer sketch.
You are a mighty force.
Amanda
P.S. Please enjoy this classic Julia Louis Dreyfus sketch from Saturday Night Live. Did someone make her pull her hair back in a ponytail? Who knows; but she’s so good, and dare I say, EVEN CURLS could not obscure her talent. Even curls.