University of Richmond UR Scholarship Repository English Faculty Publications English 2001 "Hair Drama" on the Cover of "Vibe" Magazine Bertram D. Ashe University of Richmond,
[email protected] Follow this and additional works at: http://scholarship.richmond.edu/english-faculty-publications Part of the African American Studies Commons, American Popular Culture Commons, Gender and Sexuality Commons, Music Commons, and the Race and Ethnicity Commons Recommended Citation Ashe, Bertram D. ""Hair Drama" on the Cover of "Vibe" Magazine." Race, Gender & Class Journal 8, no. 3 (2001): 64-77. This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the English at UR Scholarship Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in English Faculty Publications by an authorized administrator of UR Scholarship Repository. For more information, please contact
[email protected]. Race, Gender 6 C lass: Volume 8, Number4, 2001 (64-77) Race, Gender & Class Website:www.suno.edu/sunorgc/ "Hair Drama" on the Cover of Vibe Magazine Bertram D. Ashe, English College of the Holy Cross Abstract:This studyconsists of a culturalreading of the cover photograph of the June-July 1999 issue of Vibe magazine. It explores the relationship between Mase, an African-Americanmale rap star, and thethree anonymous African-American femalemodels that surround him. The studyinterprets the cover through the long, straightenedhair of the models,locating the models' hair in a historically- informedcontext of blackhair theory and practice. The studyargues that the models' presenceon thecover, particularly their "bone straight and long" hair, "enhances"Mase in much the same way breast-augmented"trophy women" "enhance"their mates. Ultimately,the studyencourages and validatesa wide varietyof black hair styles- includingstraightening - even as it urges the acceptanceof black hair as a sitewhere the demonstration ofthe struggle for black consciousness(however one exhibitsthat consciousness on his or herhead) can be observed.