Together, these reactions highlight the double bind Black women navigate in the villa. Braids are culturally functional yet still coded as “unpolished.” Wigs and weaves often win safer approval because they align with Eurocentric “polish.” And natural hair or baldness, like Cashay Proudfoot’s Season 3 shaved head, may be praised as radical authenticity but can also leave women vulnerable to fetishization or being overlooked in the coupling process.
Beyond Hair: The Next Frontier of Representation
Producers have started to push casting boundaries. Season 7 introduced islander Huda, a mother, which was a big deal for the show. Previously, Season 5 featured an islander named Carsten “Bergie” Bergersen. He was sent home and brought back so that he could find love. It is noted that Bergie was a white male, unconventional contestant who didn’t “fit” the chiseled villa body mold.
These choices suggest some willingness to diversify. But the question remains: when will the same effort be applied to casting curvier women with real bodies or Black women with natural hair represented?
