Jada Pinkett Smith Defends Daughter Willow's Buzz Cut: It's Her Decision

USMagazine, Wednesday, November 28, 2012, 1:40pm (PST)

Willow Smith is lucky to have a mom like Jada Pinkett Smith.

The tween "Whip My Hair" singer found herself being heavily scrutinized after getting a buzz cut in February, which she later dyed neon yellow, bubblegum pink and green. Pinkett Smith, 41, addressed the controversy via her official Facebook page Nov. 21.

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"This subject is old but I have never answered it in its entirety. And even with this post it will remain incomplete," the 41-year-old Matrix Revolutions star began. "The question why I would let Willow cut her hair. First the 'let' must be challenged. This is a world where women, girls are constantly reminded that they don't belong to themselves; that their bodies are not their own, nor their power or self determination. I made a promise to endow my little girl with the power to always know that her body, spirit and her mind are her domain."

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The actress (also mom to Jayden, 14, and stepmom to Trey, 20) continued, "Willow cut her hair because her beauty, her value, her worth is not measured by the length of her hair. It's also a statement that claims that even little girls have the right to own themselves and should not be a slave to even their mother's deepest insecurities, hopes and desires. Even little girls should not be a slave to the preconceived ideas of what a culture believes a little girl should be."

The actress' husband, Will Smith, 44, addressed similar concerns during a May interview with Parade.

"When you have a little girl, it's like how can you teach her that you're in control of her body? If I teach her that I'm in charge of whether or not she can touch her hair, she's going to replace me with some other man when she goes out in the world," the Men in Black III actor explained. "She has got to have command of her body. So when she goes out into the world, she's going out with a command that is hers. She is used to making those decisions herself. We try to keep giving them those decisions until they can hold the full weight of their lives."

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Willow, 12, spoke up for herself via her 2012 single, "I Am Me."

"Days pass I'm trying to find who I really am. I've been looking people don't like the way I dress," she sang. "I dyed my hair and it's not just vanity. Your validation is not that important to me."

This article originally appeared on Usmagazine.com: Jada Pinkett Smith Defends Daughter Willow's Buzz Cut: It's Her Decision