This is something I’ve wanted to blog about for quite some time and it took this Huffington Post article (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/12/22/natural-hair-becoming-mor_n_1165573.html) to finally push me over the edge. I’m sick of black women who are “going natural” thinking they’re better than black women that aren’t! Everywhere I turn, someone on Facebook is posting about their natural hair this or I’m going natural that. More power to them. I jumped on the bandwagon a few years ago just to see what all the hype was and decided it’s not for me, and copped me a perm faster than I could say lanthionization!
The article doesn’t say that “natural” women think they’re better than non-natural women, but I would love a little less attitude from the black women that choose to go natural. It does not make you “blacker” than me. It does not mean you are more in touch with your roots (no pun intended) than I am. It simply means you’re choosing to wear your hair differently than I am; and at the risk of starting a shit storm, it means you’re following the latest fad of the moment.
For centuries, black women have been made to feel like they are less attractive than their White, Asian, Indian, or Hispanic counterparts because their hair is nappy and doesn’t blow in the wind like that of other nationalities. Some black women have even made it their mission to procreate with non-black men for the purpose of ensuring that their children will have “good hair,” or non-black hair. As a result of this “inferiority complex,” black women have straightened their hair, and worn wigs and weaves for decades.
And even with this new hair, black women were still made to feel less beautiful because of their skin color, or some other physical trait, but that’s a whole other blog post for another day. Back in the day, black women who wore weaves wouldn’t dare let people know their hair wasn’t “real.” Black women whose real hair was long and straight got cool points, or were considered to be exotic, but some of them still dealt with having to prove that their real hair was real. And they were still less attractive than non-black women, but more so than black girls who wore weaves. Black women with weaves would go through great lengths to hide their real hair, trying their hardest to pass off their weaves as their own.
And now there’s this “movement” where black women are “going natural.” Why? Because it’s better for their hair? Wrong! Contrary to what many believe, black hair in its natural state is actually more fragile and prone to breakage than if it’s straightened because it’s harder to manage. Is it because they want to embrace who they are? Maybe. But, if that’s the case why now and not from jump? Because all the cool (black celebrities) kids are doing it? Whatever the reasons may be, I don’t think part of the movement should be to look down on those of us who choose to wear weaves or get perms. That just contributes to the notion that black women don’t like or support each other, but again, that’s another blog post for another day.
So what gives? Is it because more and more black women are realizing that their hair is beautiful? Something they never should have had to realize in the first place? Something they should have already known as sure as they know their name? Possibly.
I don’t hear any media buzz surrounding white women who get perms to make their hair curly, or dye their hair different colors depending on the moon or season. And I certainly don’t remember reading any newspaper articles discussing how white women wear weaves, too. Hell, women like Jessica Simpson make money off of it, creating a line of hair “extensions” for white women.
Of course, people are going to capitalize on this “growing trend-“ it’s only natural (again, no pun intended). We’ve got people blogging about how to take care of natural hair, we’ve got people making web videos on how to style natural hair, and we’ve got companies rolling out products made “specifically” for natural hair, all part of a marketing ploy to make money off of women in search of the Holy Grail of natural hair care. I remember reading a study in college that said that after testing many different brands of products, between lotions and shampoos the contents of the bottles were the same despite being placed in different bottles with different marketing; so a shampoo made for one type of hair could be the same as the one in the bottle marketed for another type of hair. Similar to how most generic products are nearly identical to their brand name counterparts, give or take a different scent.
And, I’m sorry, but I hate the phrase “natural hair” because at the end of the day it’s just hair! We all have the same hair; it’s just a different texture.
Why is this “movement: getting so much buzz? What next, will women who wear long acrylic nails be attacked by women like me who choose to wear their real nails short and manicured? Will there be a movement of women with breast implants removing the silicone and rockin’ what God gave them? This is just another example of women being scrutinized, and what’s sad is that it’s being done by other women!
Nowadays, black women like Tyra Banks or Sherri Shepherd don’t care if you know their hair’s a weave or a wig because they’re embracing who they are- women wearing an accessory that just so happens to be their hair. I wish more women would realize that. Whether your hair is black or blonde, straight or curly, long or short, or even if you’re bald- you should know that you are beautiful, period; and you certainly shouldn’t look down on those who choose to wear their hair differently. Everyone is beautiful in her own way. If you don’t realize that, no hairstyle is going to work for you. As India.Arie said- you are not your hair.
