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Curly web site takes on Bravo’s Stanger
Austin-based website NaturallyCurly.com has taken on reality television star Patti Stanger and her anti-curl comments.
Stanger, the host of Bravo’s “The Millionaire Matchmaker,” has routinely instructed women on her show to straighten their hair, using terms including “rat’s nest” to refer to curly tresses.
The site, run by former American-Statesman employees Gretchen Heber and Michelle Breyer, sent Stanger a letter accusing her of living in a time warp and promoting Barbie Doll standards. Stanger responded via Twitter, telling the “naturally curly bunch” that millionaire men don’t like curly hair and instructing them on where to buy a flat iron.
The skirmish has attracted the attention of national media including Allure and Us magazines as well as news network CNN, and has inspired Breyer and Heber to create the Facebook group “No More Curl Bashing.”
This isn’t the first time the pair have fought this battle: several years ago they chastised Disney for turning a curly-haired ugly duckling into straight-haired royalty in the movie “The Princess Diaries.”
“It’s not even about straight versus curly anymore, it’s about women embracing their natural beauty and leaving the torturous methods used to become what is socially accepted as beautiful behind,” a press release from NaturallyCurly reads, in part. “If you love your curly hair, you shouldn’t flat iron it just to find your soul mate. If you want to straighten out your curls, go for it, that’s what being a woman is all about: options. Patti Stanger is a giant step backwards in terms of female empowerment.”
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By Z
November 4, 2010 4:16 PM | Link to this
I think what some people aren't recognizing is how limiting this idea that only straight hair can be beautiful. This notion excludes many women of African and Latin/Hispanic descent. It is a very European standard of beauty.