Firenz419 writes "We live in a world where black/African features are considered unattractive. In China women walk around on the sunniest of days under umbrellas for fear of getting too dark..."

The preference for pale skin in East Asia long predates their modern contact with black/African peoples. Dark skin just tends to mark those who do manual work in the outdoors while paler skin denotes more affluent folk who can afford to study and stay indoors. Wealth and education is attractive in any culture and the same no doubt applies in Latin America. Meanwhile up until we realised we were giving ourselves cancer and wrinkled skin, us white folks found a tan attractive because it tended to mark those wealthy enough to take exotic holidays or just lie in the sun. Some Pacific Islanders find extreme obesity beautiful. Humans are are just genetically programmed to find features that mark successful genes so we can continue to propagate the species.

Michelle Obama is an attractive, intelligent and successful woman. She'll still be attractive, intelligent and successful if she lets her hair grow into a 1970's style Afro or pulls it back and braids it. There are beautiful and ugly people of *all* races. Nothing to see here folks, move along... The continued discussion just shows how hung up on race the US still remains.

What is so complicated about explaining to someone how you do your hair? I mean seriously. It’s just hair people. I wear mine straight, “natural” or curly. How are people supposed to learn about one another if they don’t talk about their differences? How are people supposed to “get a clue”? Whenever my hair is natural and anyone asks me if I have a perm, I’m flattered because the question is typically following the statement “Wow! Your hair is so cute that way!” I always take it to mean that they obviously think I have to do something special to get my hair to look so nice. I relish in my answer of “Nope…It’s natural baby, just wash and go!” The more we stop making such a big deal about someone who is intrigued by our differences (whether that is our hair or the way we speak), that’s when we’ll start bridging those racial divides.

And how does the fact that Mrs. Obama’s hair is straightened soften her ethnicity. Does anyone really think that when a black person straightens their hair, they are trying to confuse people about their ethnicity? Everyone knows Mrs. Obama is black and how she wears her hair isn’t going to be saying anything different. Now you want to talk about that “stiff hair look” that politicians often start to have, regardless of ethnicity, now that’s a whole conversation.

You say non-black people assume you have a relaxer, well how about black people telling you that you have a relaxer because there is no way your hair could be that soft, naturally. I too had the same issues about not wearing my hair natural, but as you can see from above, I eventually got over it. I struggled with it though. I still struggle with it sometimes, but that’s not anyone else’s fault but my own, because I still struggle with the childhood anxiety.

What do you mean “look more like the black person she is”? She doesn’t look black because she straightens her hair? How come a black person is only considered black if their hair is in braids, twists, curls, dreads or natural? That sounds like a pretty big stereotype there. It’s more frustrating having to explain my hair to other black people, who are supposed to understand, than to other people who I know don’t have a clue.

Then you go on to say “If Michelle weren't dark-skinned with classic black features, she might not be so wedded to super-straight locks.” What does this mean? Are you saying because she’s dark and has classic black features (whatever that means, especially since she has a button nose), she has to straighten her hair to fit in, because without it people would be so distracted by her skin color and facial features? I don’t even know what to say to this because it so absurd to me.

However I decide to wear my hair, it’s black, because I’m black. The same goes for Mrs. Obama. If someone asks you a question about your culture, say “thank you for asking” and answer them – help bridge the gap.

Ms. Kaplan, between her nose quandry and Michelle's butt/hair analysis, seems to have serious insecurity issues that she is taking out on the readers. There is nothing new or revelatory in this article. But on the other hand Salon.com appears to have made a killing on interracial dating ads.

Okay, a couple of things.

1. I hate that Michelle and Barack represent blackness to the world now. That all of their choices - hair and otherwise - come with a subtext of race and the context of race in history. I know it is inevitable and I know why it's happening, but I still hate it.

2. It is so true that Michelle comes from an era when straight was 'great'. Hell, I come from that era! I went natural in college and my mom was extremely disappointed. When my graduation was rolling around, she let me know or maybe I just knew - that my hair needed to be permed by convocation. Period. Braids were only for pregnant women or when you were growing your hair out or giving your hair a rest from the chemicals. Locs were not even imaginable. That would be a hell to the naw! If this is where Michelle is coming from in any way shape or form, I applaud her letting all that go through her daughters' hairstyles. Malia rocks the cornrows and twists and looks so adorable. But it doesn't go unnoticed that for the big events they 'straighten up' - just as white women with curly hair tend to do. Which brings me to...

3. Preference. What we 'prefer' is largely shaped by what we are taught to prefer by our friends, family and society, but we are taught a S lot of things that we ultimately reject when we get older. Why does the straight look appeal to so many women of all ethnicities? Why did Jews, curly-haired whites, and natural-haired blacks ALL pretty much but into the long, straight locks look? And why do so many of us STILL straighten our hour when we're getting dressed up? Maybe people just prefer this look in other words, maybe Michelle just prefers the way she looks with her straight longish bob? She's black and it may not be politically-correct, but maybe she prefers that.

4. Finally, black hair is one of the few industries that produced and supported class ascension in the black community. Madam CJ Walker became the 1st black millionaire hawking a growing, straigtening cream for black hair. It played into all the stereotypes of 'nappy' and short hair versus flowing locks, but it took her out of her post-slavery circumstances. And the industry continues to create a black middle class. In light of that, I think the history is not only about the negativity behind the reason we started straightening our hair, but the positivity that came out of it too.

5. Finally, (for real this time) why can't black women take advantage of ALL the options available to us as far as our hair goes? White women can go straight or curly perm their hair or dye it, but we're less black if we relax or weave our hair? I'm tired of us holding us down to a set of principles we didn't even create. What would have happened if we were never told white was right and to get back with that black shit?

And it seems like all black haircare is expensive! From relaxers to what they charge at those natural hair shops! What would we do without the Dominicans?