MR Roundtable: The Joys and Challenges of Protective Hairstyles

This summer, I started hearing DMX’s 2000 song “What These B*tches Want” again. Not on the radio, but through a viral hashtag that became an entertaining lesson in how frequently black women switch up their hairstyles. The #dmxchallenge (the earliest known post belongs to Instagram user @wigginit) entails flashing a different look to match each woman’s name that’s checked in the rapper’s song—Brenda, LaTisha, Linda, Felicia, Dawn, etc. I was 10 years old when that song came out, but I remember it vividly and gamely made a video of my own. Nearly 40 looks are needed for the challenge, and pulling them together is not an easy feat. When I did so, I realized the majority of the looks I included were some of my favorite protective hairstyles from over the years: braids of all sizes, cornrows, or a mix of both.

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#dmxchallenge. had to