Sour Grapes Post Election 2012

Thursday, February 26, 2015

Laying Claim to my Gorgeous Natural Hair



In the fourth episode of How to Get Away with Murder, Annalise (Viola Davis) takes off her wig and makeup before confronting her husband. It’s a scene that quickly became the show’s stand-out moment, one that showcased Annalise taking off her metaphorical armorand one that the actress says was her idea.

“I’m claiming it,” Davis said in a new interview with EssenceI’m a woman. I like to see women on TV. I like to see real women on TV. That for me is what’s inspiring and that for me is exciting.

When I see an archetype of womanhood on TV, it depresses me.”


Viola Davis went on to say that constantly being fully made-up on the show would make her seem like a Barbie, something that’s “not human.” “Human is, ‘I have to take this hair off at night,’ she said. “African-American women, we wear a lot of wigs. We take our makeup off. We don’t walk great in shoes. We’re not necessarily likeable or always a size two. Some of us have deep voices and then you’re just going to have to deal with it.”