The Definition of Good Hair, Part 2
After reading all of the responses we got, one response stuck out to me. It came from my roommate's mother, who has a head full of absolutely beautiful curls. She told us "...Good hair is hair that is manageable by that person and that individual is contented with its looks and it's texture." That made me think: If a person is not happy, not pleased, not content with their hair, they would think they have bad hair. That person will deem it NECESSARY to straighten, relax, de-kink, to get away from what comes natural to them. To have the mentality that the kinkier your hair is, the more it "needs" to be FIXED by straightening, is that a form of self-hate?When I had the first conversation with my friends, I grew angry because it felt like they began to justify the ignorance of saying another hair texture dominated their own. They failed to notice the rich self-loathing that flooded their veins due to years of post-slavery oppression. They didn't see the correlation between the paper bag test and good hair, and how that still divides our people a hundred and fifty years after the abolishment of slavery. They didn't see what I saw.
And all I can do is to hope that one day they can understand that God didn't make a mistake just because I don't pass the brown paper bag test of ignorance, nor when he made my kinky and thick hair, reminding me of my rich ancestry that runs through me like scarlet red blood.
My aim is not to preach everyone should rock a 70's styled 'fro, while wearing Dashikis, and becoming a member of the Nation of Islam. I just want us to love and appreciate the kinky and culry and the wavy and the straight, because its ALL beautiful and not just good, but great.
Written by Naima Ozier for Honey*Brown*Sugar, a 19 year old witty college student.
So, now I've got to ask: What's YOUR take on good hair?
7 comments:
Fantastic Wes! I couldn't have said it better myself!
Loved this article.
I am natural, and choose to wear my hair both curly and straight. I'll be honest, I love them both. To me, THAT is the definition of good hair. Being able to look in the mirror, regardless of the state my hair is in, and absolutely love what I (not my friends, boyfriend, or family) see. Not only is it healthy and beautiful, but it completely represents the complexity and uniqueness of ME. And I have no complaints about that :).
kudos!!!
I respect everyone and I'm in no place to judge a woman about what she does to her hair. As long as she can look in the mirror and be happy with what she sees, that's good enough for me!
There is too much hate going on between "natural" and "permed/relaxed" sisters. I'm really over it because at the end of the day we are all women.
Naima, you are a WRITER! Well put! Love the ending! =)
I agree our natural hair is beautiful. More black women should educate themselves on how to take care of their natural hair. If we can spend billions of dollars on our hair on relaxers,weaves, etc. as a whole and rock the best up do's, braids, and other hairstyles. We can definitely put the time and effort in being creative with our natural hair.
I'm a mother of the 6o's, who has 2beautiful daughters. My eldest daughter has curly hair and my youngest daughter has kinky hair. When they were young I was always fearful of how people (whites and blacks)might view their differences. Although, I grew up hearing "Black is beautiful". I was well aware that everyone didn't internalize that motto. It was family members and strangers, it was teachers and beautitians making uninformed observations about my girls' hair that was hurtful to me and more importantly to my youngest daughter. I always had to be quick to defend, boycott, shelter, or raise someone's historical conscienceness with as much grace as I could manage. Slowly but surely over time, I could see how the outside world would affect how my daughters would view their hair, their beauty, and ultimately effect their self-esteem, despite my greatest efforts to teach them otherwise.
Don't let anyone tell you that African-Americans are not damaged from our slavery days- we simply are. Sadly, Chris Rock's movie was not shown in my city, but eventually I will treat my now teenage daughters to see it. Hopefully it will spur some forgiveness, some healing, some self-esteem boosting,and some eye-opening discussion.
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