The Politics of White Women's Hair

Let's do some HAIR STUDIES! How does blondeness recruit and convey power? When is curly hair a signifier of unruliness — and when does it say Cool Girl? Will we ever be free of the tyranny of the beachy wave? What's the New Karen Cut? Should we talk about Julia Roberts' hair in Pretty Woman for a solid 10 minutes? (Yes!) Sarah Mesle joins the pod to talk about her new book, Tangled: Seven Iconic Moments in White Women's Hair and What They Tell Us About Power, Pleasure, and Complicity, parse "good" blonde dye-jobs, wonder what happened to the Old Lady cut, and answer all of your questions about the politics of white lady hair.

Thanks to the sponsors of today's episode:

Machine Washable Rugs, Made Better. For a limited time only, our listeners get 10% off + free shipping at tumbleliving.com/CULTURE

Use code CULTURE at jonesroadbeauty.com to get a free gift with your first purchase!

Get $35 off your first box of wild-caught, sustainable seafood—delivered right to your door. Go to:  https://www.wildalaskan.com/CULTURE

Ollie. Feed the Obsession. Go to ollie.com/culture and use code CULTURE to get 70% off your first box!

Show Notes:

Follow Sarah on Instagram here

Buy Tangled!!!!!!! It's so good!

How to submit your hair studies pitch to Avidly

A great short piece by Sarah on why hair studies matters

Tressie McMillan Cottom on blondeness