It's hard to let it go because you're attached to it but maybe you’re just comfortable with it because you’re scared to try something new. And maybe you keep it because it let you hide a few things you don’t like about yourself. So you hang on it. You try to manipulate it into being what you want. Pulling, tugging, permanently altering things about yourself to make it fit. Plus your momma ‘nem always been hella invested in you maintaining it. Sometimes you wonder if it belongs to you[...]
I went natural because of the possibility that relaxers contributed to fibroids. The start of my journey was about my physical health. That said, the big chop was a moment of liberation I’ve sought to recreate in a subsequent big chop and two natural hair journeys. Less than one inch of tightly coiled locs against my scalp felt like freedom. It was about me and what I wanted to do with my hair for whatever reasons I chose. That freedom lasted about as long as it took to grow my hair out becaus[...]
Language is powerful. So much so that many underprivileged and underrepresented groups (i.e. people of color, women) have ceased using terms like “minority” because of the necessarily negative connotations. Usage of “minority” when applied to certain groups makes even less sense when you consider that some of them actually constitute a majority of the world’s population (i.e. people of color, women). What we know is that language is used to socialize. If an oppressed group learns to se[...]
The topic of hair is such a potent one. It’s political, social, cultural, sexual, and, above all, very personal and emotional.”Kim Wayans In the preceding quote, Kim Wayans succinctly captures why curlies all over the world have been waiting for Better Than Good Hair by Nikki Walton of curlynikki.com. If you can’t tell we’ve been waiting, check out how fast it’s selling out! Walton’s book provides information on every stage of natural hair from the big chop, to achieving “h[...]
“I mean, what’s the big deal?” With one simple sentence, my male friend seemingly dismissed centuries of politics behind “the big deal” of Black women wearing their natural hair. My first response was emotional. “Clearly you’ve never stood in a mirror with a t-shirt/towel draped on your head. Or listened to some adult go on and on about your cousin’s ‘good hair’ while looking at yours and lamenting about how it needs to be tamed. Or stood by while men flocked to your friend[...]