Growing up I heard an 'ol saying "A (black) woman's pride is in her hair." Is it acceptable to tell our young sisters & daughters (and to let our boys hear) that 'ol saying? Is that what women based their pride and self worth on back then and even now, by the texture, length, and beauty of their hair? I would like to think not but with the growth of wig shops in predominately black neighborhoods it tells a different story (many non black women are wearing wigs and extensions like crazy too. It's more acceptable now to do so with the help from Hollywood and celebrities).
There is another 'ol saying I'm not too fond of, "She has good hair." Yes I must admit in my young age of adolescence I used this term to describe someone with not so kinky hair. Now I refuse to let this sentence come out my mouth. Like so many young black women I thought my hair wasn't beautiful enough because it resembled hair that looked like Macy Grey's instead of Tatyana Ali's. But after having countless discussions, digging through research, and deciding to define what was beautiful hair to me, I decided to ban the term "good hair" from my dialect.
Solange Knowles is a good example of a woman who doesn't let her hair define her. Everyone was in shock when she cut off her hair. And once it started to grow back it did not look like how it did before, straight and processed. This time it was a kinky fro. Her natural hairstyles and weave/lace front hairstyles are all beautiful because she is beautiful on the inside and it radiates to her exterior. So her hair isn't her pride, just an extension of who she is and is becoming. Do you feel ethnic hair still holds a stereotype in 2012? Do you find yourself conforming to others ideas of what your hair should look like?
Much Love & Fashion fun.
There is another 'ol saying I'm not too fond of, "She has good hair." Yes I must admit in my young age of adolescence I used this term to describe someone with not so kinky hair. Now I refuse to let this sentence come out my mouth. Like so many young black women I thought my hair wasn't beautiful enough because it resembled hair that looked like Macy Grey's instead of Tatyana Ali's. But after having countless discussions, digging through research, and deciding to define what was beautiful hair to me, I decided to ban the term "good hair" from my dialect.
Solange Knowles is a good example of a woman who doesn't let her hair define her. Everyone was in shock when she cut off her hair. And once it started to grow back it did not look like how it did before, straight and processed. This time it was a kinky fro. Her natural hairstyles and weave/lace front hairstyles are all beautiful because she is beautiful on the inside and it radiates to her exterior. So her hair isn't her pride, just an extension of who she is and is becoming. Do you feel ethnic hair still holds a stereotype in 2012? Do you find yourself conforming to others ideas of what your hair should look like?
Much Love & Fashion fun.
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