Alopecia is an autoimmune disorder that affects millions of people around the world. But to many women — and to Black women, in particular — it is much more. It’s about beauty and race, about culture and about the uncertainty that the disorder creates around people’s perception of themselves.
So during the 94th Academy Awards ceremony on Sunday night, when comedian Chris Rock threw a pointed joke at Jada Pinkett Smith about her hair loss that some felt was insensitive, the event exposed many layers of feeling for those who wrestle with the disorder.
