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The Oscar should have gone to Jada...
I tend to never post anything online- especially anything negative, but this situation really bothers me and I felt like writing- perhaps others are feeling the same...
I have email alerts set up regarding alopecia areata - hoping one day to see news on a treatment- so I've seen Jada Pinkett's name pop up over the past year a few times. She had one patch the size of a pea that seems to have gone quickly into remission and she's been grandstanding about her 'battle' with alopecia ever since.
People likely don't know she has alopecia areata because they cant see it- because it's not there to be seen. This isn't a matter of my opinion- there are plenty of photos- take a look at her hair at the Oscars. I think Drs would refer to this as a SALT score of somewhere between 0 and 1- and in my books- total recovery.
Alopecia Areata is not invisible, its not a buzzcut over a full head of hair; it's disfiguring and highly visible... We don't go undetected- we don't have the luxury- we stick out. There was a young girl in the news last week who was bullied over her alopecia to the point of suicide- I'm sure she stuck out. Jada Pinkett's performance trivializes what we're all dealing with and paints us a thin-skinned, vain group of people struggling with a nearly unnoticeable condition. Its hard enough to get real medical support due to the perceived cosmetic nature of the condition- what she's doing really isn't helping in my opinion.
I've dealt with alopecia in various forms for 30 years- I have the luxury of being a middle aged man so my AU isn't nearly as problematic as is it likely is for some of you reading this. Thinking back on how hard it was as a kid and seeing others actually struggle- I just find what she's doing so unbelievably distasteful and self indulgent. We certainly deserve visibility and awareness, but perhaps an advocate whos actually dealt with the condition in a meaningful way. Imagine if someone became the public face of addiction recovery because they drank three glasses of wine one time and got a mild hangover. We deserve better. I wonder if people agree with me and I wonder if we can as a community request that she show some respect and stop talking about it.
I feel strongly that we need to teach young people struggling with this condition to develop resilience- not thin skinned victimhood and sanctimony . We need to learn to use our words not our fists- trust me- I've done some foolish things in defense of my appearance- it's never the right move. Even if she really was struggling with alopecia- that joke was so completely innocuous- Demi Moore looked great in that role and so does she- they are both beautiful, healthy people. To think that was somehow worthy of violence is madness! I think the biggest thing we can do to live emotionally healthy lives is learn no to take ourselves so seriously- if someone makes a joke at your expense- make a better one back- or just laugh.
I feel that holding this woman up as an example does the kids that are doomed to live through this ordeal a great disservice. For as long as alopecia goes untreated - we will never have it easy- we will certainly never be invisible- we can however learn to cultivate skills to make us stronger and keep (at least the inside of ) our heads healthy.
Perhaps she can be the spokesperson for hangnail awareness month and leave us be.
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Jeremiah on
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I agree with what you said, and I think we should stand up as a community and hold here accountable for making those of us who suffer with serious alopecia seem like our problems are trivial. Most people have no idea. Jada should be called out for such reprehensible behavior.
By the way, I live in Los Angeles, and I find that the narcissism in this town continues to become more prevalent and it is emboldened and empowered with this type of behavior. I think that's what we are witnessing; Someone who is narcissistic using a mild case of alopecia as a soapbox to gain attention and pity. It's disgusting in my opinion, and she should be held accountable.
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Permalink Reply by Gio's Mom on
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100% Agree!!!! I wish my son’s Alopecia looked like hers. It would have made his life much easier.
also my gf told me her baldness is caused by years of having tracks for weaves. She told me that many black women have that caused by tracks.
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Permalink Reply by Shannon Hyden on
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This!!!! I thought I was the only one who felt this way!!! Thank you for putting into words what I could not!
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Permalink Reply by Pat on
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I totally agree with you. Alopecia in all its forms does not go undetected and there wasn't a patch to be seen on her head. Regardless, the video evidence is that she laughed at the GI Jane joke. When I watched it live I laughed too - I'd love to be seen as GI Jane, she was gorgeous! I think it could have been passed off as a joke if it had been left as a punch as it could have been seen as a set up, however, the mouthing off was way over the top and made the whole event seem ridiculous. I have worked hard over 30 years to become thick skinned when people complain how thick their hair is, how quickly it grows blah blah blah while I have to nod my hairless head in sympathy. So, yes, Jada may have alopecia in its mild form but if it was serious enough to buzz her hair off it's defiantly growing back in thick and spot free.
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And the thing is, when someone with as much celebrity media influence as Jada doesn't discuss how there are varying degrees of severity of alopecia, she is not educating people properly. And as a result, when people see her as the poster child for alopecia, and you can see all of her hair follicles visibly. It confuses people. Most people don't know what it is.
If Jada had micro pigmentation to cover up her AA, that would be a different story. If that's the case, then she should explain that if she's going to be a spokesperson about the issue. I doubt she had scalp tattoos, as I've researched this option for my severe AA, in Los Angeles where the top clinics are, and it doesn't like real 3D hair. I'm also a formally trained visual artist, I'm confident that I would know if it was the case.
So when the average person not educated about AA hear Jada saying that she has alopecia, with what looks like a buzz cut and visible healthy follicles, they get confused. Then people start saying making more ignorant hurtful comments, like what Bill Mahr - on "The Daily News" said.
Here's the link:
https://metro.co.uk/2022/04/04/bill-maher-slammed-for-telling-jada-...
I'm so tired of celebrities being viewed as the pinnacle of American culture. They are fallible, fragile and and often huge ego driven people. And yet, they are the heroes of our time. Everyone wants to be a star, and it's toxic to our collective culture.
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Permalink Reply by Solange De Santis on
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Thank you! I have had AU for 25 years and was quite puzzled, watching the Oscars and later learning Jada claims to have alopecia. Funny, because it looked like she had plenty of hair shadow and was just shaving her head or wearing a buzz cut. I did see the video later where she showed some hair loss along a scar on her head - two inches or so. She sure didn't look like she had AU or patchy AA. She also looks like she has eyebrows and perhaps eyelashes, although false eyelashes are easier to wear. Now British comedian Matt Lucas quite obviously does have AU and has talked about it.
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I agree with most of what has been said. The only thing I would point out is that she has a fairly high hairline that has not necessarily been caused by tension from weaves. I have frontal fibrosing alopecia which rarely gets a mention. It started with the hair in front of my ears thinning and then my hairline started to move back. I saw a consultant who tried to console me by saying it rarely went back more than 5", they didn't know what caused it and I was in good company because clearly Queen Elizabeth I suffered from it too! Needless to say this provided me with no comfort.
Over the past 15 years not only has my hairline retreated to the top of my head but also I've lost hair all around my neck at the back. Now I just have some very thin hair at the back of my head with some balding patches. At the beginning I gradually lost my eyebrows and eyelashes - they didn't disappear all at once, just got thinner and thinner over time.
I don't know what kind of alopecia she is supposed to have, but maybe we shouldn't always rush to judge.
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Permalink Reply by Christine on
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Geoff thank you! Very well said. I would love to have that amount of hair. I’m not sure what the motivation is behind what she is doing, and what Will Smith did was so distasteful, it accomplished nothing, it altered the way I see him forever. Jada does not represent me or anyone battling Alopecia in my opinion. I now feel less seen or understood.
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Laugh at a joke made at my expense??!!! If someone makes a joke about my medical condition (AU), the last thing I intend to do is LAUGH! I refuse to enable and embolden a bully! So next year, when the host at the Oscars stands up and makes a joke about aphasia (Bruce Willis) or psoriasis (Cindy Lauper) on national television with a packed audience, we should all sit there and laugh? If we don't, then that makes us "thin-skinned victims"? If someone makes a racial joke or a homophobic joke, should we all laugh at that too? If we don't, does that make us "thin-skinned victims"? Sorry, you are entitled to your opinion, but please do not expect the rest of us to agree. As someone here said, we are TIRED of being told that we should change the way we think about something to accommodate others. I will never ever laugh or accept the pathetic attempts of a bully to ridicule my medical condition, and I don't think you should either.
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Permalink Reply by Heather on
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Wow, this is a harsh post. What I'm hearing is it's only okay to be upset about your hair loss if it is noticeable to other people. We all have varying degrees of hair loss and for different reasons. No matter what stage someone is in, the prognosis can be particularly daunting. That's great if people have accepted their hair loss and could move on, but Jada, like a lot of us, may be having a difficult time coping with it. So, I guess what you are saying is the rest of us should just stop our belly aching if our hair loss isn't blatantly obvious to the world...now, that's invalidating! People feel the way they feel, and it's okay not to be okay...Jada, too.
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