So it's okay for little boys to be natural but little girls have to be all fried-tied-and-laid-to-the-side? What century are you living in? Next thing you'll be telling us you have to grease little black girls' legs with bacon fat in the winter so the neighbors won't point their fingers if their legs look ashy.

As the mother of bi-racial daughters, I know how devastating it is to a little girl to have her hair "nappy"...It is time consuming and difficult to care for, especially if the child is tender headed...but it MUST be done. There will be self-esteem issues.

This is directed to jyoung0518. I am a biracial female, raised mostly by my white mother. I was never taught anything about "nappy", and never experienced any problems WITHIN my house where I was told that my hair was not adequate. It wasn't until I was a student in school that I was peer pressured into straightening my hair, and it remained that way for eight years. As a tender headed, frizzy, coily, nappy girl I can say that I should have listened to my WHITE MOTHER who told me not to do anything to my hair. The resources are available now to make ALL hair care easy. And as far as this ridiculous article is concerned I would not be surprised if the Jolie-Pitts have had that information since Zahara's hair looks particularly thick and healthy. No, it's not confined to her head, flat ironed, braided or otherwise, but whose to say that that archaic standard of beauty must continue to exist? Not I, I wear my hair in that state every day and have never been happier.

i think this is generational.....older African Americans embrace the straighter styles because that is what they had to do to be accepted in the workplace and the larger society outside of the black community. I think the article is well intentioned if a little old fashioned. I can understand where the author is coming from. How may black people were told to straighten their hair to look more "professional". It is changing but a lot of people are still carrying the scars and alot of people with natural hair still have to defend their choices. People are still having to file lawsuits to be able to wear braids at work. That's where articles like this come from. But in the end it is the parents decision how they style her hair. everyone may not agree but as long as its clean then its nobody's business.. When this baby is older believe me she will let Angelina and Brad know how she wants her hair. If the don't hop to it the will be in teenage hell!!!! LOL!!!!!

Why you got to get all personal just because I have a different point of view? That tells me you are truly the shallow and stupid one. Yes, we get judge from the moment we are borne. If this was Shaneka's child from Watts you would be singing a different tune. Lil Z and her siblings look a mess most of the time. Their clothes are very unkept and look like ragamuffins, but the others will be alright be cause they are white or Asian,, but little Z without the money and all that it affords her looks like she never left her village. That is my opinion and there is nothing you can do about it.

No sensible person would dream of trying to change the opinion of anyone as stupid and narrow-minded as you. What's your opinion worth anyway? As for li'l Shaneka from Watts, you know her better than I do, she may be your next door neighbor but she's nothing to do with me -- but in any case, li'l Shaneka is not your child, Zahara is not your child, and it's none of your business how either of them wears their hair.

You say you were under the care and direction of a mother who took the time to make you aware of how people perceived you. It's too bad she made you such a shallow individual that you only judge black people by how white they try to make themselves look. She really did a number on you. Did she tell you to bleach your skin too, so you would have a better chance of getting hired to work in an office instead of scrubbing Missy Anne's floors for a living? What your mother failed to teach you was that what matters is how you perceive yourself, not what other people think about you. You can slather a pound of Dixie Peach on your head and drown yourself in Nadinola, but it won't make you any more intelligent, capable, or employable.

You may think looking what you call presentable outside is all that matters, but inside you're a squirming mess. If I didn't have such contempt for you I'd actually feel sorry for you. As for Z, you don't have to pray for her. She'll be fine. Her parents are bringing her up to be proud of her unique heritage. She'll look at herself in the mirror and see a beautiful black woman. And she won't want or need the approbation of any self-hating Aunt Jemimas like you or Allison Samuels. Get gone, honey, and stay gone. Your time is long past.

You write like a raving lunatic. I don't worry about lil Z near as much as I do you. Now you made time for something because it was YOU who responded to my post. I have live a good life and work to maintain that, and I am doing pretty good if I do say so myself. I know plenty of Shaneka's and they all have their hair combed and look presentable. You need to take a chill pill and put that gun down.

To Lexusv:

Lady, who pooped in your Froot Loops? You write like a blithering idiot. You posted a stupid comment and when you got called on it, you fired off with more stupid comments. The people on here who disputed your posts are absolutely right. You have some serious identity problems. You are focused on superficial characteristics to the extent that anyone reading your posts would think that the absolute prerequisite for success is hair groomed to what you think is the appropriate standard. Who made you the judge of what people's hair should look like? You are nobody. You have no business passing judgement on anyone's hair.

You need to connect to your own roots and let go of your outdated notions that black women have to conform to eurocentric standards of what lthey should look like. God help Zahara Jolie-Pitt if she had you for a mother. She would grow up hating the beautiful image she sees in the mirror.

Somebody further down this thread said it much better than I could -- your problem isn't the over-processed mess on top of your head, it's the f*cked-up mess inside your head.

I leave you with that.

Can I just point out that Zahara is FOUR? What four year old needs her hair meticulously styled every single day? And what parents should be publicly criticized on a reputable news website for their young child's hair? It is sad that society feels the need to judge children as young as Zahara on her appearance -- kudos to the Jolie-Pitts for adopting these children that would otherwise grow up in orphanages. As long as they are loving and responsible parents to their children, I don't know why anyone should care about the state of their hair. And if they do, let People magazine critize Jolie for it. I expect better from Newsweek -- I'm amazed a follow up from Ms. Samuels was published.

Allison Samuels is the new face of evil. Pure evil.
Lady:

1) Mind your own darn business. IF you consider this child to be in an abusive home, call 911.

2) Why don't you take the time and energy you are given to actually DO something to make this world a better place for children. Spend a couple of years in Africa living in a village and taking care of homeless children, work for UNICEF, or adopt children. Do something PRODUCTIVE.

3) You are picking on the physical attributes of a FOUR-YEAR OLD CHILD. I guess that makes you feel better about yourself.

4) Newsweek has officially become the Fox-news of news mags by allowing you to publish multiple articles on the hair style of a 4-year old child. You ARE the Don Imus of Newsweek.

Well-said and might I add it seems like the only people judging this poor girl are African-American women. That is pure self hate. She is FOUR YEARS OLD people.

CO-SIGN!

It is NEVER right to do such an evil thing. This child's parents are public figures but she is NOT. People like Allison Samuels did the same thing to Chelsea Clinton when that little girl was in the White house. They made fun of her hair all the time and gave "advice" to Hillary Clinton on how to take care of Chelsea's hair. Newsweek is diving into the gutter.