Tyra Banks: Natural Hair? Real Hair? Both?

Tyra Banks, talk show host and creator of America's Next Top Model, certainly knows how to create buzz. She posted the following to her Twitter feed a couple of days ago:

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She's also gone and declared September 8th National Real Hair Day.

I'm a little curious what this "real hair" is going to look like. I mean, the hair weaves she normally wears are also technically real hair. Real hair that's harvested from exploited poor women in Asia.

So does Tyra mean she's going to wear her real, natural hair? Chemically unprocessed? Like how it grows out of her head? And not braided in some corn rows?

Is she going to wear her real, natural hair on September 9th as well? And the 10th? Or will the weave come back?

If she does keep her natural hair...

Will she be constantly told, "You look just like Angela Davis!"

Will she start using my #DoNotPetMyAfro hashtag on Twitter ?

Will she be told she'll never get a real job again looking like that?

Will other black people tell her she can "get away" with having natural hair because she's not a lawyer or doctor?

Will I read comments on message boards that black folks frequent, saying, "She needs to throw a relaxer up in there and fix that hot mess on her head"?

Yes, I know that black women aren't the only women to wear fake hair. For heavens sake, I've seen pictures of Britney Spears' horrible weave tracks just like everybody else has. But here's the thing. It's 100% socially acceptable for Britney to wear the hair that grows out of her head if and when she decides to ditch her weave.

Can you imagine Britney announcing she's going to be coming on TV without wearing her weave? It just wouldn't happen. Britney would just show up with her hair shorter and that would be that.

I know black women wearing natural hair is becoming more mainstream than it has been, but it's not where it needs to be. I'm really curious what the Tyra campaign for real hair will be.

And what I really, REALLY want to know is will Tyra have Beyonce on as a special guest, and will Beyonce pledge to ditch the weave and join in "real hair" solidarity?

I guess we'll all be on tenterhooks till September 8th!

Yes, we'll just have to wait and see what happens. I just hope Tyra doesn't just use the issue of black women and natural hair as a short-term ratings booster. Please, Tyra, don't do that.