Who said brothas are the only ones who can rock bald and low-cut haircuts? Move over Michael Jordan! More and more women are doing it these days because of the freedom such a style brings, not to mention how fierce a bare head can look on the right lady. Thinking about trying the biggest chop of all but can’t seem to work up the nerve? Get some inspiration from the following ladies, known for their big hair changes, who gave their scalps a rest and realized that less is definitely more!

India Arie

India Arie definitely is a lady who doesn’t like to be defined by her mane, but we couldn’t help but dig her bare head when she went for the look. While I’m not feeling the artificial curl somebody drew on her head (I’m sure it was a cute joke), I dig the confidence and the bad a**ness it takes to rock such a look.

A little over a week ago, a writer for French Elle wrote a blog post narrating the American “black-geoisie’s” adoption of white codes of fashion to go from street to chic. The piece didn’t go over so well here, and it obviously didn’t well with French natives who have written an open letter, calling the magazine out on it’s carelessness and lack of black representation.

The letter, published in Le Monde, was written by a group of black French celebrities including supermodel Noémie Lenoir, Cahiers du Cinéma critic Vincent Malausa, and Morehouse College’s Julius E. Coles. Here’s what it says:

“Elle magazine informs us that in fashion, in 2012, “the ‘black-geoisie’ has finally integrated white codes” of dress. Moreover, “chic has at last become a plausible option for a community that previously knew only streetwear.” While for decades blacks were dressed as hoodie-clad “thugs” [Translation note: cailleras, the word given here as "thugs," intentionally recalls "racaille," the derogatory term infamously used by then-interior minister Nicolas Sarkozy to describe the banlieue rioters of 2005, which is most often translated as "scum"], they have finally understood, through the education of white people, that they must pay more attention to their appearance.

“It is high time for the editors of Elle to venture out of their glass-enclosed headquarters in the business district of Levallois-Perret to mix with the population, to see what black people are really like, and how they dress in real life. It is also time for them to realize that there are many black women in France. Black people do not all live in the United States, and they are not all pop singers, film actors, and sport stars.

“Why not,” asks the open letter, “hire some black editors? Call us crazy, but why not have a black woman on the cover? Just for once.”‘

Tell ‘em how you really feel.

The authors clearly have several good arguments and, as has been pointed out on numerous sites, French Elle is a weekly magazine—out of 52 cover opportunities, it shouldn’t be hard to find black models to fill the space. In 2011, only two non-white models covered the mag, and considering the publication is keen on placing white American models on it’s cover, it could certainly give a top black American woman cover space, since they love to write about them so much.

What do you think about this letter? Will it make any difference?

Brande Victorian is a blogger and culture writer in New York City. Follower her on Twitter at @be_vic.

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