--- ---  # Lena Waithe Says Cutting Her Hair Allowed Her to Let Go of a 'Piece of Femininity'  by [Megan McCluskey](https://time.com/author/megan-mccluskey/)  ## Megan McCluskey Staff Writer Aug 10, 2018 4:04 PM UTC  Lena Waithe attends the Hollywood Foreign Press Association's Grants Banquet at The Beverly Hilton Hotel on August 9, 2018 in Beverly Hills, California. Lena Waithe attends the Hollywood Foreign Press Association's Grants Banquet at The Beverly Hilton Hotel on August 9, 2018 in Beverly Hills, California.Emma McIntyre/Getty Images  by [Megan McCluskey](https://time.com/author/megan-mccluskey/)  ## Megan McCluskey Staff Writer Aug 10, 2018 4:04 PM UTC After [shaving off her signature locs](https://www.essence.com/hair/lena-waithe-cut-signature-locs/) in July, [Lena Waithe](http://time.com/collection/most-influential-people-2018/5238194/lena-waithe/) has revealed how she arrived at the decision to [cut her hair](http://time.com/4353583/gina-rodriguez-hair-message/). While speaking to [_Variety_](https://variety.com/2018/tv/news/lena-waithe-why-cut-her-hair-1202901630/)on the red carpet of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association’s annual grants banquet on Thursday, [_The Chi_ creator](http://time.com/collection-post/5015810/american-voices-lena-waithe/) explained that she had been wanting a change for a while, but felt apprehensive over how others would react. However, she was eventually able to overcome her doubts and go through with the haircut. “I felt like I was holding onto a piece of femininity that would make the world feel comfortable with who I am,” Waithe said. “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’s outside of me.'” > [](https://twitter.com/Variety/status/1027739339956969472) Fellow celebrities like Mindy Kaling and Laverne Cox were quick to praise Waithe’s honesty. “Good morning, [@**LenaWaithe**](https://twitter.com/LenaWaithe), you always have the best answers,” Kaling tweeted. > [](https://twitter.com/mindykaling/status/1027925691101151232) > [](https://twitter.com/Lavernecox/status/1027744778643955712) Lena Waithe on the Significance of Her Haircut ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5363992/lena-waithe-haircut/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5363992/lena-waithe-haircut/"},"headline":"Lena Waithe Says Cutting Her Hair Allowed Her to Let Go of a 'Piece of Femininity'","datePublished":"2018-08-10T16:04:58.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T07:54:16.556Z","description":"The Chi creator shaved off her signature locs in July","url":"https://time.com/5363992/lena-waithe-haircut/","keywords":["Newsfeed","celebrities"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7f2d9e33de0cf0c8/69893780ab6d7719186b3633/lena-waithe-haircut.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Megan McCluskey","jobTitle":"Staff Writer","url":"https://time.com/author/megan-mccluskey/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7f2d9e33de0cf0c8/69893780ab6d7719186b3633/lena-waithe-haircut.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Lena-Waithe-Haircut","caption":"Lena Waithe attends the Hollywood Foreign Press Association's Grants Banquet","creditText":"Emma McIntyre/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5363992/lena-waithe-haircut/","name":"Lena Waithe Says Cutting Her Hair Allowed Her to Let Go of a 'Piece of Femininity'"}}]}] ```