The Washington Post's Good Hair Feature
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4:01 PM |
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Everyone wants to discuss the hair thing now:
full article here
I found this young lady's view on Black hair particularly interesting. I have heard some White and Asian women make similar comments. Too bad most Black women don't have such a positive view of their own hair. A former colleague made the following comment once:
"When I die, I hope I come back as a Black woman because you all have the most versatile hair." She went on further to describe how her hair would not hold a crimp, curl or wave etc. I was a bit taken aback. Until she made that comment, even though I had long ago began embracing my natural hair and that of others, I had never thought about it that way. I must admit, I found both my colleague's and the young lady's comments refreshing in many ways.
At the same time, however, we (regardless of race, gender, etc.) should always be careful not to build ourselves up by tearing others down (even if others have done so to us); and likewise learn to appreciate differences in others without feeling bad about ourselves. I appreciate my hair for many reasons - versatility included - but I would stop short of calling my anything the "best" or better than others. I just think Black hair rocks just like anyone else's and I wish more Black people embraced our hair and stopped wanting someone else's. Due to the ugly root (no pun intended) of our problems with hair (and color for that matter), I think we still have a loooooong way to go before we reach a true appreciation of our natural selves and, at the very least, stop considering anything other than straight and silky or curly unattractive. But at least the dialogue has begun.
full article here
I found this young lady's view on Black hair particularly interesting. I have heard some White and Asian women make similar comments. Too bad most Black women don't have such a positive view of their own hair. A former colleague made the following comment once:
"When I die, I hope I come back as a Black woman because you all have the most versatile hair." She went on further to describe how her hair would not hold a crimp, curl or wave etc. I was a bit taken aback. Until she made that comment, even though I had long ago began embracing my natural hair and that of others, I had never thought about it that way. I must admit, I found both my colleague's and the young lady's comments refreshing in many ways.
At the same time, however, we (regardless of race, gender, etc.) should always be careful not to build ourselves up by tearing others down (even if others have done so to us); and likewise learn to appreciate differences in others without feeling bad about ourselves. I appreciate my hair for many reasons - versatility included - but I would stop short of calling my anything the "best" or better than others. I just think Black hair rocks just like anyone else's and I wish more Black people embraced our hair and stopped wanting someone else's. Due to the ugly root (no pun intended) of our problems with hair (and color for that matter), I think we still have a loooooong way to go before we reach a true appreciation of our natural selves and, at the very least, stop considering anything other than straight and silky or curly unattractive. But at least the dialogue has begun.
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