"Before a black child is born, many wonder what will he or she look like whether it is their eyes, nose, skin color, and especially their hair texture.
Before a black child is born, their family already judges their appearance especially when it comes to their hair." Unknown
The dreadful hair topic !! Movies & shows discuss black hair. Books, articles, etc. have talked about black hair. MY TURN!!! Other people look at hair as something that is normal mostly womyn have it straight, wavy, curly, but in the case of Black womyn it is thick, nappy, kinky, whateva you wanna call it, it is different from other types of hair. The black womyn that can fall into the category of having straight or curly hair are praised or ridiculed for their hair.
With white supremacy on the loose & lack of products and education on black hair, it is no wonder and question why the weave, perms, pressing comb, hair grease, gel, etc. are in most Black homes.
I usually avoid this discussion with Black womyn because they honestly feel that straight hair is their only option. Even with them completely aware of the reason for these standards, they still do it and never consider the options of natural styles. It is clearly obvious why because once most black girls enter school and start associating with other children, the teasing begins. They will make you feel like shit about your hair if it does not have a certain length and texture. Girls beg their parents to straighten it or perm it because in order to fit in not because of their own choice. A lot of womyn will claim "I don't hate myself" and they want their hair like that but if you ever catch some Black womyn with her hair natural, they will freak out and talk hella shit about their own hair when it is not processed. Is this not hate for yourself? I think it is when you refer to your hair as a bitch, a hot mess, unmanageable, etc. This is what I have heard from a few womyn and do not feel good about themselves unless their hair is processed.
I made the realization fully after my senior year that my hair cannot be straight at all. If you cannot run a regular comb through your hair and it does not become straight, its not meant to be then. When I pressed my hair consistently, it broke off. After prom and the removal of a mistake of a weave, my hair lady cut all of my hair short evenly. People have expressed hardcore how I am way more attractive with a weave or pressed hair. I had a huge problem with this obviously because it was clear my beauty was not valid unless I appealed to a mainstream racist oppressive limited view of hair beauty. Now I understand why Black womyn pursue these standards because you were raised on it, you want to fit in, you think it is beautiful and natural hair doesn't work for you, whatever the reason they have, I do challenge to try the natural hair route.
The very few beautiful things about the internet is now you can look up how to take care of natural hair. Just like when you grew up and said, "Hm let me try pressing my hair or getting a weave." I would recommend trying out some natural styles. So many Black womyn have posted blogs, youtube tutorials, websites, etc. have offered great products and techniques when caring for your hair naturally. When I discovered a few of these videos it made me extremely happy about my hair. Since I did not know how to care for my hair in a fro, I just kept them in braids. This semester is the longest I kept my hair in a fro. I bought some amazing straight up raw products like shea butter, vegetable glycern, & some organic shampoo and conditioner. It was amazing.
I got a lot of love and a lot of hate for the new do but either way it was all me. Many Black men that would usually notice me never looked my way. Many made fun of the fact that I had a straight bang and and the rest of my hair was natural. It is interesting to see people's reaction over a Black womyn's hair. Everyone thought I cut my hair because I wear braids all the time. People told me I need to comb my hair. People told me my hair was soft and I look beautiful. Of course my lovely revolutionary buddies LOVED it :) and some other dope ppl too but it was a big deal to a lot of people. This is an example of why I think Black Womyn should try the natural hair route. See the reactions and learn how to embrace your true hair. Even if you try out some natural styles that is even a big step and transition, believe it or not braids, locs, and twists are looked at negatively even though they are hella BOMB. What I love about a black womyn's hair is the fact they can do almost anything with it straight, curly, fro, twists, braids, locs, bald, plates, etc. I understand that is difficult because maybe you processed your hair out but trust you can get that nappy back. So to conclude here are some dope naturally beautiful sistahs video blogs about none other than BLACK hair.
"I'm BRINGING NAPPY BACK"
http://www.youtube.com/user/curlychronicles
http://www.youtube.com/user/ShidaNatural
Yes! Last december I cut my hair way short. I was transitioning and I had new growth at the roots and straight, messy, damaged ends. So yea I cut it. My mom was shocked, most of my friends choose not to comment and one of my good friends (who's Mexican) laughed at my hair. Its been frustrating especially at the beginning b/c I did not know how to take care of all this!!!
ReplyDeleteHaha and recently I too have found inspiration on youtube: taren916. Through youtube I'm learning how to take care of my hair. Ayaya who knew. For most other women hair is just hair, other women fuss over it but, ultimately hair is more than hair for black women. We can feel so self conscious to walk around natural, we can feel so ugly and exposed when we choose to go natural. Many times the biggest critics are our own too. Illuminate how we have been colonized and how internalized racism is in the black community. Our our, our skin and our perceptions of ourselves are shaped by politics. It is society that needs to transform not us and not our hair!
*Our hair*
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