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LenaWaithe

Lena Waithe Shares the Powerful Reason for Her Dramatic Hair Cut

"I felt like I was holding onto a piece of femininity that would make the world feel comfortable with who I am."

Taylor Henderson

Taylor Henderson is a PRIDE.com contributor. This proud Texas Bama studied Media Production/Studies and Sociology at The University of Texas at Austin, where he developed his passions for pop culture, writing, and videography. He's absolutely obsessed with Beyoncé, mangoes, and cheesy YA novels that allow him to vicariously experience the teen years he spent in the closet. He's also writing one!

Read Full Bio

Taylor Henderson

cornbreadsays

August 10 2018 3:31 PM EST

December 09 2022 9:12 AM EST

Many queer people have a turbulent relationship with their hair. Our locks can allow the world to make assumptions about who we are, which for many is something they're still figuring out and for some can even be dangerous.

At the Hollywood Foreign Press Association’s annual grants banquet yesterday, Master of None star and Emmy-winner Lena Waithe opened up about her freshly shaved signature dreadlocks to Variety.

"I've gotten gayer guys," the out 34-year-old joked.

\u201c.@LenaWaithe explains why she cut her hair: "I felt like I was holding onto a piece of femininity that would make the world feel comfortable with who I am" #HFPA\u201d
— Variety (@Variety) 1533867127

Waithe laughed then continued, "I’ve been thinking about it for a while. I felt like I was holding onto a piece of femininity that would make the world feel comfortable with who I am."

“I think I thought for a long time, ‘Oh, if I cut my hair, I’ll be a stud, I’ll be—in the gay world, there’s a lot of categories—I’ll be a stud or I’ll be a butch,’ and I’ve always thought, ‘Well, no, I’m not that, I’m still soft,’ and I said, ‘Oh, I gotta put that down ’cause that’s something that is outside of me.’"

"I cut it and I felt so free, so happy, so joyful and I really stepped into myself. And if people call me a butch or say ‘she’s stud’ or call me sir out in the world—so what? So be it. You know what I mean? I’m here with a Prada suit on, not a stitch of makeup, and a haircut—I feel like, ‘Why can’t I exist in the world in that way?’"

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— (@)

\u201c@LenaWaithe loving the new look! I so appreciate you sharing your identity & your journey so openly! It\u2019s especially important for queer folx whose bodies & identities don\u2019t fit into the binary to be visible to each other. Keep up the good work! \ud83c\udf08\ud83d\ude4c\ud83c\udffd\u201d
— Kersh Branz (@Kersh Branz) 1533875227

\u201cThank you. Thank you. Thank you @LenaWaithe . Authentically being who you are in public makes it safer and more free for us all.\u201d
— malkia devich-cyril (@malkia devich-cyril) 1533881020

\u201cI\u2019m taking a lesson out of @LenaWaithe book. Move in the world how you wanna move. For you, not anyone else. \ud83d\udcdd Noted. \u2728\u201d
— Danielle Brooks (@Danielle Brooks) 1533903494