Insecure Talks About Postpartum Depression and Beauty
Insecure's Season 4 Finale Touches on Postpartum Depression and How It Connects to Beauty
Watch out! This post contains spoilers.
HBO series Insecure has never been afraid to tackle the obstacles of real life — no matter how awkward or private they might be — and in the season four finale that aired on June 14, they touched on the topic of postpartum depression, and it was reflected in the character's beauty choices. (Forewarning: the below may contain spoilers. If you haven't watched the finale yet, you might want to stop here.)
In "Lowkey Lost" Tiffany DuBois' struggle with postpartum depression after the birth of her first child bubbles over, resulting in the new mom disappearing and her friends embarking on a search to locate her. Ultimately, DuBois is found safe and sound, but in the most vulnerable state that we've ever seen her — in a towel, no wig or weave, sans any makeup; it's a stark contrast from her usual done-up look.
In the after show "Issa's Wine Down," Amanda Seales sat down with Issa Rae and Prentice Penny to talk about DuBois' storyline and how it's an important narrative to include, despite how tough it is. The buildup to DuBois' breakdown at the end of the season was slow and well thought out. "We wanted to depict this because it's commonplace and we wanted to show this struggle," said Rae. "It just felt like this was the natural opportunity to showcase this. Tiffany is the only mother, the only married one out of our group of friends and she already started to feel isolated in a way so unfortunately this just added to her burden."
Leading up to the season finale, Seales explained that DuBois' appearance began to change as her struggle with postpartum depression continued; it was shown in very small details. "She set this grid up, like my hair is going to be together," said Seales. "I even made the conscious decision to over the course of the season let my nails be less done, so that by the end she doesn't even have a manicure, which for Tiffany that's like, you've never seen Tiffany without this happening."
