From the latest dance challenges to hot new hair products, you can always count on TikTok to make a thing a thing. Lately though, Black TikTok has been abuzz with a theory that attempts to explain why some Black women always seem to be living their best lives. It’s called Hard Wig = Soft Life: The idea being that Black women who wear bad wigs have the most fun and often pull rich, white men – we’re talking CEO-level rich.
The theory started as a joke posted last year by TikTok user @damnafricawhathappened in which she declared, “No one call pull a white millionaire like a slim Black woman in a bad wig.” But since then, many Black women on TikTok have ignited an ongoing discussion – with more than 1.9 million views and thousands of comments – about why that statement seems to ring true.
After watching way too many videos filed under Hard Wig = Soft Life, you will find that the hot takes on the idea range from scholarly satire to sarcastic scorn.
One TikTok user seems to think the real reason Black girls in bad wigs pull rich white guys is because not spending the time (and money) on good wigs is a clear sign that they are less connected to the Black community. She believes the girl with the laid wig won’t put up with as much B.S. as someone who is less put together and, therefore, is primed to be poached by other races.
“It is not because these guys don’t care about beauty standards, it is not because they are too naive to know what to expect from Black beauty standards. It’s because if you cannot meet those beauty standards as far as the Black cultural expectation goes, you are marking that by wearing a bad wig,” said @iamthatwhich. “That signifies to them you are not backed or well connected to the community very much.”
According to TikTok user @pasteperfectwithyaya, the reason slim Black women with bad wigs pull more successful men is a whole lot simpler. She says women who wear bad wigs are more attractive to the CEO set because they just want to have a good time. “She’s fun; she’s charming; she’s exciting,” she explained. And that’s exactly what those kind of guys are all about, she added. After all, how can you go jet skiing in St. Tropez if you’re worried about getting your hair messed up, right?
Some of you might be today-years-old when you learned that this Hard Wig = Soft Life thing was really a thing. And some of you (myself included) might still be struggling with the very idea even as you finish reading this post. But the real question is, does bagging a rich, white guy always equal a soft life? Let’s ask Duchess of Sussex Megan Markle.