Why 2021 Was the Year of Gray Hair

Mostly for the better, but sometimes for the worse (*sigh*), 2021 was the year that gray hair became a cultural phenomenon. Depending on the context, it was hailed—see the slew of high-profile women who have emerged with newly silvered strands and met enthusiastic praise—or in less progressive circumstances, criticized, most notoriously around the new Sex and the City series And Just Like That….

“The newspapers were breathlessly reporting that some of you were sporting gray hair,” Kelly Ripa said to Cynthia Nixon, who traded in her signature shock of red hair for her natural gray as Miranda, during a recent interview on Live with Kelly and Ryan. She was, of course, referencing the ageist commentary that’s surrounded the actors embracing their age for the reboot. To which Nixon replied, “Well, Michael Patrick King who is our chief writer and director, he was like, ‘You know, a lot of women during the pandemic, they couldn’t get out to the beauty parlor and they decided to go gray and then they decided that they liked it. So if it was going to be one of the women, we think it would be Miranda.” 

Ever the voice of our collective feelings, Sarah Jessica Parker had the ultimate zinging retort in response to the misogynist chatter the cast has been experiencing: “I know what I look like. I have no choice. What am I going to do about it? Stop aging? Disappear?”