Me and one my fellow bloggers Deanna were having a conversation last night about "why is natural hair such a big deal now a days" and this article became a byproduct, visit her blog at http://djanay.wordpress.com/
DISCLAIMER: The views expressed in this blog only discuss one side of this issue. I in no way promote this as an exhaustive discussion of the issue at hand, merely my experiences, interpretations and points of view.
He can't save us.
What is the obsession with natural hair? It seems that amongst getting caught up in the hub-bub of some afrocentric reversion back to our “roots” this might be just a fad… Now there are some people who legitimately got tired of getting relaxers. Its not permanent, and you spend so much money to risk the chance of leaving the salon bald-headed, bleeding, or worse — dead. If you fall into the above category I’m not talkin to you, ya’ll straight. But summa ya’ll went natural, grabbed the closest copy of “The Souls of Black Folk,” and started on your campaign to conjure up some “dormant” appreciation of our African American heritage on every tan person who now crosses your path.
If it is indeed an answer to some anti-African American sentiments about beauty in our society, which many naturales believe, then what kinda socio-political environment do we as black people find ourselves now encountering? The media has always perpetuated straight hair. It’s supposed to be more manageable, frame ur face in a nicer way, arouse the men-folk… all of this stuff to enhance our natural appearance. I get it. I’m a victim. Sue me. My aversion to this movement however does not lie in the fact that it rejects all of these predispositions, but rather the seemingly increasing dissension from other fellow African American women AND men towards people with straight, relaxed hair. I don’t believe this was what CJ Walker and the makers of Motions (bless them) had in mind.
OPTIONS PEOPLE!!!
This is what the most recent chapter of black hair has taught us. Im naturally tenderheaded. Matter of fact sometimes it takes an act of God himself to actually get me to a salon to get my hair done. My hair is soft and doesn’t hold styles well. I can’t afford to devote time and energy to washing, conditioning, drying, and tying my hair in all sorts of knots, braids, and kinks all in the name of some new fad.
So why in my right mind would I chose to go natural?
Overall, straight hair is just more functional for me. I don’t blast women who wear their hair natural, more power to you, but it just doesn’t work for me. If you love the versatility and options that natural hair gives you, by all means, lose your mind. It’s not gonna make me any matter either way you cut it, no pun intended. Just know that we’re all different people, with different preferences, different backgrounds, and a different rationale for doing things. Whether you wake up in the morning and take out ur bantu knots, or unwrap ur hair and keep it moving, its still making up some beautiful and multi-faceted aspect of black culture. So don’t try to tell me I ain’t got none because my hair is straight.
Both beautiful. Why the competition?
When we go at each other over stupid stuff like the color, texture, or style of our hair, we do nothing but further divide an already crippled black community. If we can’t agree that ALL black is beautiful, than how do we expect people on the outside looking in to come to that conclusion?
by djanay
