I love this. Love the idea of a mother taking a bold step as an example for her daughter. Love a woman in media glare taking charge of her own beauty. I do have some reservations about this story. 1) Like a lot of mainstream coverage of black women and their hair, it fails to connect our preference for straight, long tresses with larger society’s preference for a European beauty standard. Without that connection, incessant wigging, weaving and straightening seems like some sort of strange African American cultural quirk. 2) Black women needn’t choose between long and straight and short and natural. Natural hair can grow long (although it may take longer to show length due to tightly wound coils). That said, this is a powerful offering.
What do you think?
Pretty interesting piece. For me it all boils down to choice. I have the choice to go natural and or process my hair. I think it was great that the women in this piece decided for themselves to go natural. Either way there is a lot work that goes into maintaing one’s hair whether it’s natural or unnatural hair.
I’m so tired of white supremacy. This goes along with the continuing defiance of brave women who are fighting centuries of self hatred ingrained into their minds. This is a hopeful piece. I also think features and body types fall into the same category. It made me sick but I appreciated the gross honesty of a plastic surgeon I read of in a book once that admitted all standards of beauty used by surgeons (even for ethnic people), ultimately goes back to or comes from the white Nordic standard. Cornrows made it big because of Bo Derek, big lips because of Julia Roberts and a generous behind because of Jennifer Lopez. The media wants the beauty of black women and their daughters in the “ugly bin” while they strip mine black culture away to be used by a white supremacy based media. Just say no!
I liked the piece. I saw it featured on a television program. However, like you, I was extremely bothered by the lack of connecting some hair pratices to white supremacy. Or that no one even touched the issue of the anchor being told to get extensions by her bosses. Or what kind of hoops she had to go through to do the big chop and keep her job, or how what is a cute interest story to a smaller market station looking to cash in on the “look-at-black-women-they-so-[insert adjective]” trend would turn into a career roadblock.
Ok, I’m rambling. But, I really hate how people, even minority people, gloss over how white supremacy dominates what black women do to their hair.
Actually, I’m impressed that she talked about how she was advised to get hair extensions and then moved up the career ladder. While the piece doesn’t go into it in detail, they did state the situation explicitly. I expect news stories to be more shallow than this was.
I feel when I hear terms like “more refined” and “more restrained and polished” that they really mean “look white.” I see all lengths of natural as very polished and healthy. I think most of society is bred to see those hair styles as “bad” , “weird” or “wrong.”
I think this is very serious: “ethnicity fees” at hair salons ? In the 21st century?
Woman Sues Hair Salon Over Fee For Being a Black Person
A woman who went for a haircut in Denver says she left with emotional damage after racial discrimination against her. Sophia Burns, 22, says that the hairdresser charged her more money for her haircut because she was black: an “ethnicity” fee.
“There was not much work needed to style their (white people’s) hair, but that with black people, there was more to it and that was why she was being charged,” said the owner of the store. The cost of the cut went up from $30 to $50 says the suit.
“I refused to pay it and asked for a better understanding by what they meant,” said Sophia Burns. The extra charge of $20 was eventually waived by the store, but Sophia says both she and her brother and sister, who were with her, have emotional scars.”
This type of white supremacy is woven into the US.
All of you made some very valid observations.
I would like to add that in my experience, I’ve always been made to feel that my hair is “ugly” and “unmanageable”…whether it is relaxed or in its natural state.
As a biracial woman, I have long thick hair down to the middle of my back. My mother has always insinuated that my hair cannot be attractive or presentable without a relaxer. She has often complained that it is difficult to manage when my roots start curling up. The minute she notices a bit of kink, she insists that I visit the beauty salon immediately. And I’m 27 years old, married, and no longer living with her.
Since last year, I’ve contemplated being natural. I’m sick of being pressured to spend money to have painful, toxic chemicals applied to my hair. I’m sick of being told that my thick, dark, curly, puffy hair isn’t pretty. I’m sick of not being able to walk in the rain or work out. I’m sick of being embarrassed by the way my hair looks. I wish I could rock my natural hair in some beautiful twists or gorgeous puffs.
But there are a few barriers to my dream of being natural. First, I live in a city that is very racist. People say and do things that are beyond offensive. There’s no way I would be able to find decent employment with natural hair in a place like this.
Second, my concept of femininity is still tied up with long hair. I feel more attractive with long hair. Short hair isn’t cute on me. I also believe that a woman with short hair should be comfortable in her own skin, which I’m not. And cutting one’s hair is often the first step in going natural.
Third, I don’t have lots of self-confidence OR supportive people who would stand behind my decision. That really doesn’t help, especially since I’ve heard of so many women who have had to deal with harsh criticism because of natural hair.
I don’t view natural hair as a political statement, but I do view it as a commitment. It seems to be very empowering but women with natural hair have to be very tough mentally and emotionally to deal with the reactions from others…I’m not sure if I’m able to do that, because people have treated me badly even with my hair relaxed.
@ Just A Thought…you’re right. Most people tend to gloss over the fact that white supremacy and racism play a VERY significant role in what Black women do with their hair.
I’ve heard some folks say: “But isn’t that what ALL women do? Brunettes bleach their hair blonde”.
What these people fail to understand is that it isn’t the same. A white woman who goes from dark brown to honey blonde is still white, and still considered more beautiful by default. White women with dark hair might not be fawned over the way blondes are, but they aren’t made to feel inferior the way Black women are.
A WOC is often pressured to straighten her hair because kinky hair is denigrated in this society.
I agree with you and do believe Cinnamondiva that you would not be able to find employment with natural hair, especially short.
Allies may think so but it is simply not a shared experience with white people (even those with really kinky and curly hair) because black and multicultural women are openly hated and unemployable for their hair via white supremacy.
A friend of mine took her bi-racial teenage daughter who also has long natural hair into a salon attached to the beauty supply store Beauty Connection in Santa Rosa, California to get a deep conditioner while on vacation a few years ago. All the 20 something white stylist kept harping on was, “how do you deal with all this hair? Is it a problem for you? ” and “your hair would go into dreds if you did not comb it you know?” all unsolicited and spoken nonchalantly as if she were some kind of ethnic hair expert. She even told her that “it would be hard for you wear a wig or get a weave because your hair is too thick.” (What?)
Their collective response was to just look at each other and laugh at her ignorance. They ended up finishing the service themselves because she did not know “how to detangle thick curly hair.” The “stylist” had thin, pitifully stringy hair and was obviously jealous and unhappy with her life. Agreed, a lot of confidence is needed to deal with such inbred racism on a daily basis. Sometimes laughing at the ignorance and sometimes speaking out pointedly all the time letting society know its not ok.
I am in the process of going natural right at this moment and I have chosen not to do the big chop (at least not for about 15 months) because of what cinnamondiva said about not being comfortable with short hair. I tend to keep my hair cut at about shoulder length rather than letting it grow down my back, but any shorter than that and I feel self conscious.
I haven’t had a perm in about four months and at first I was very self conscious all the time, but now it’s ok. The longer I go into this, the more comfortable I am with this process and that has been surprising. What I tire of is having everyone look at me with such skepticism and say “Why?” when I tell them what I am doing. I don’t mind explaining that I have decided to conform to what my hair and my body want and to be comfortable with that rather than the other way around, but I do mind being made to feel that I am making a mistake or doing something morally questionable. I can’t imagine what the fight will be for the journalist as she continues to try to climb the ladder of success. Hopefully, she will find understanding people in her job has a good support network outside of it.
I am a 25 y/o African American female. I did the Big Chop over a year ago ( I had relaxed shoulder length hair) and have never looked back. it makes me so sad to hear the many reasons why black women won’t go natural. Not once is it ever about what WE want, its always about what society will think if we decide to go natural.
I do admit that I am privileged to an extent. I work in the social service field as far away from corporate America as you can get, so I’ve never been concerned about looking “professional”. I also live on the East coast which is a bit less old school and more progressive than down south and the midwest. Hardly anyone has natural hair in Cincinnati where I am originally from.
I don’t want to write a long rant but my point is this. Do you. Hair is deep because we are black women but at the end of the day its just that, its hair. Its yours. Its beautiful and unique and if someone doesnt like it so what? I don’t think people realize the versatility of black hair. I had bad hair days when I had a relaxer, being naturlal is no different. In my experience most people compliment me. Usually white people, then black men and the occassional black woman. My mom thinks I’m going through a phase. My grandma insists that hers is “too nappy” for “all that”. Mind you I have the kinkiest of the kinky hair. It doesn’t slick back when wet. It’s fluffy puffy goodness and its mine and I fell in love it! Notice I said, fell in love with it. Its a process. A journey. When I first chopped I had about an inch of hair. I always tied up my hair at night with a scarf for fear that my husband would think he was being intimate with a man. Yea I was right there with the majority of women. Long hair = femininity.
Here are a couple of blogs to get you started if you’re intersted in big chopping or transitioning.
Black Girl with Long Hair
http://bglhonline.com/
K is for Kinky
kisforkinky.com
Lastly I would encourage you to SATURATE yourself with images of black women with their hair in its natural state in ALL lengths. The media sucks. No one ever looks like me. No maybe we shouldnt look for confirmation outside of us but it can’t be helped. When your mind is fed so many media messages you cant help but to “choose” your version of beauty and it hardly looks like the average woman black or white. All it is is a cognitive distortion. Advertisements train us so well to think we’re choosing to be beautiful when really we’ve been bombarded with pics of women with long hair for so long we automatically associate long hair with beauty. Its all about challenging the associations we’ve been brought up with and replacing them. The truth is that beauty comes in all colors shapes ans sizes hair lengths etc. Its that simple. You have to retrain your brain. Ugh. I said I wasn’t going to write a long post.
I also wish they had put a little somethin in their about eurocentric standards of beauty that are impossible for most black women (shoot women in general) to meet.