Maya Jama is just days away from taking the reins as the new host of Love Island on this year's upcoming winter season. And to prep, the TV presenter reached out to her followers on Instagram to see what hairstyle people thought she should have for the first episode.
But as the answers came flooding in, Maya quickly spotted a pattern in the difference between men and women's preference. And I won't lie, the results made me do the biggest eye roll – not that it was unexpected, as a fellow curly girl.
Adding a question sticker to her Instagram Story the presenter asked; "What hair do we think I should have the first episode of Love Island? Do we do like a long curly? Do we do a straight [look]? Do we do a loose blow, krimpy? Suggestions welcome, 'cause I don't really know. It's gunna be hot."
She shared one fan's response which read, "Long curly! Classic Maya". However, on the Instagram Story, Maya added her own thoughts, writing; "That is what I was leaning towards. It's funny cause most of the boys are saying straight or ponytail and the girls are saying curly or wavy."
I was not surprised at all. Story of my life.
I'm fully prepared for some to balk at this point being made, and I myself won't be losing sleep over it, but I am going to make the point none the less. Not before making it very clear that this is my take on what she noticed, not Maya's.
Everyone's clicking on...
Obviously with exceptions (particularly for loose curls like Maya's), in my experience, men and boys are yonks behind in the embrace of naturally curly hair. If a large proportion of a particular group express a preference, like in this particular example, then it's not "just personal preference".
Over the last decade or so, the UK natural hair movement made real advances in wider attitudes toward afro hair textures, and challenged silky straight Eurocentric beauty standards. Along the way, it has helped people of all races learn to love and care for their curls, waves or whatever little texture they may have. The gals have been liberated from the 00s need to straighten out any hint of texture that didn't come from a tong. So why are men still so helpless to swishy straight hair?
While Maya's loose curls seem pretty universally admired, straight textures still dominate the societal image of 'sexy'. So maybe what we're seeing in the clearly divided answers she got, is that girl fans want 'Classic Maya', while boys focus more on 'sexy'. But, if even for Maya Jama, straightening her natural curls away makes her 'sexier' to men, then... well, case in point.
Here's to the men out there who already appreciate other hair textures as sexy AF, and may the rest catch up posthaste. Amen.
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Elena Chabo is Cosmopolitan UK's former beauty writer, working on everything from buzzy celeb news and trending beauty, to sincere first-person reviews and engaging video content for social media. She also creates meatier features and expert-led how-to guides, for print and online. Her passion for Black beauty, textured hair, and the ways beauty interacts with culture, society, identity and relationships, quickly took over her writing career and led her into beauty journalism. Following an MA in Magazine Journalism in 2017, she cut her teeth across various roles at Stylist Magazine, before taking on a Digital Writer role at Good Housekeeping. It was here that beauty took centre stage and she launched and ran the site's first stand-alone beauty section. Remaining at Hearst, she joined the Cosmo beauty team in 2022. Find her on LinkedIn.
