Entertainment

The True Secret To Connie Britton's Glossy Hair

by Lisa Fogarty

Mad Men fans may recall Don Draper giving this stellar advice: "If you don't like what it is being said, then change the conversation." She may be on a totally different awesome show, but Nashville's Connie Britton did just that when she divulged beauty secrets by reminding everyone of what it truly takes to be a confident, beautiful woman: feminism. Feminism has helped women in their perpetual fight to make choices about their own bodies and help advance their position in society.

Despite choosing interesting roles and playing everybody's favorite TV mom and guidance counselor, Tami Taylor, on Friday Night Lights, Britton, like many actresses, is often asked infuriatingly lightweight questions by reporters and fans about her flawless skin and shiny hair. Such questions are totally fine to ask of the makers of a shampoo or elixir, but imagine the frustration a skilled actor must face knowing her worth, for many, is tied up in the fact that she has no split ends and has nothing to do with her formal training or the way she convincingly inhabits a fictional character's skin. At a certain point, one can't be blamed for lashing out, or as The Representation Project has tried to remind folks with its #AskHerMore campaign, demanding that the press pose more meaningful questions to female entertainers.

Instead of waiting for a unicorn to appear in the sky, the 48-year-old actress took matters into her own hands and gave everyone the perfect answer they weren't looking for, but needed, by revealing that her true hair secret is feminism.

In case you're wondering, that's Britton's Nashville co-star Laura Benanti. Benanti wrote, directed, and co-produced the video, along with one of her frequent collaborators Ashley Van Buren, as part of #AskHerMore's fall 2015 campaign.

Britton admitted to People that her hair is a source of fascination for folks, including reporters, and that her reason for wanting to create this video was to remind everyone of the importance of feminism:

The message of the video is: Don’t be afraid of feminism. Don’t think that feminism is something that you don’t need or something that could be threatening, because look at what it’s created already and look at what it can continue to create.

#AskHerMore got its start after the 2014 Golden Globes, but really took hold as a movement after actresses like Reese Witherspoon helped to promote it prior to the 2015 Oscars. Still, it was discovered that three male actors and 12 actresses were asked what they were wearing on E!'s red carpet before the Oscar's — not exactly what you would call equality.

But all hope is not lost. When women like Britton — who should be questioned daily about her work as a Goodwill Ambassador — stand up and change the conversation, they encourage other women to do the same. Rather than wait for stubborn horses to change midstream, the actress proved you can be the change you want to see.