the number one question i get from sistas in cyberspace:where can i get my hair done?
discussions going on on facebook and myspace.
this was never a question i had before coming here b/c i had locks at the time, and later sported a twa. for years now, my regimen consists solely of conditioner and baby lotion.
my hair history is different from most, perhaps. my father is black, my mother is philipino. my father being a man knew nothing about hair, additionally he was overseas when i was young, so my early years were spent with me thinking i was philipino. i didnt know black culture. i didnt grow up with the black american dichotomy of "good/bad" hair, didnt have that acculturation of altering one's hair, thus grew up with natural hair. i got my first perm (chemically straightened my hair) when i was 17, stopped when i was 20. started locking at 21. cut it all off for good at 31.
is it coincidence that every sista i know here keeps natural hair? i know of a few who braid, a couple who occasionally flat iron, but no one i know does perms. i dont think any of them ever would. im glad for it. this is how we can make changes in our culture: each of us one by one can make the choice. i would never call a sista out who does have straightened hair, although i do secretly question them in the back of my mind if they are rbg, if they love themselves. same thing when i see a black man with a non black woman: i would never say anything to him, but in the back of my mind, i am critiquing him (even tho i myself am a product of a biracial marriage, trip out).
do you know of the korean monopoly on the black american hair market? at first i was mad at korea, but now i am just annoyed at my people. it's up to us, we can choose what products to buy, where to buy them from. click here for the hair documentary by aren ranen, or better, buy the dvd at http://www.blackhairdvd.com. i really really really wish aron was black, tho, that wouldve been so cool. ah well. unrelated, here is my favorite hair blog: http://www.roshini.net
discussions going on on facebook and myspace.
this was never a question i had before coming here b/c i had locks at the time, and later sported a twa. for years now, my regimen consists solely of conditioner and baby lotion.
my hair history is different from most, perhaps. my father is black, my mother is philipino. my father being a man knew nothing about hair, additionally he was overseas when i was young, so my early years were spent with me thinking i was philipino. i didnt know black culture. i didnt grow up with the black american dichotomy of "good/bad" hair, didnt have that acculturation of altering one's hair, thus grew up with natural hair. i got my first perm (chemically straightened my hair) when i was 17, stopped when i was 20. started locking at 21. cut it all off for good at 31.
is it coincidence that every sista i know here keeps natural hair? i know of a few who braid, a couple who occasionally flat iron, but no one i know does perms. i dont think any of them ever would. im glad for it. this is how we can make changes in our culture: each of us one by one can make the choice. i would never call a sista out who does have straightened hair, although i do secretly question them in the back of my mind if they are rbg, if they love themselves. same thing when i see a black man with a non black woman: i would never say anything to him, but in the back of my mind, i am critiquing him (even tho i myself am a product of a biracial marriage, trip out).
do you know of the korean monopoly on the black american hair market? at first i was mad at korea, but now i am just annoyed at my people. it's up to us, we can choose what products to buy, where to buy them from. click here for the hair documentary by aren ranen, or better, buy the dvd at http://www.blackhairdvd.com. i really really really wish aron was black, tho, that wouldve been so cool. ah well. unrelated, here is my favorite hair blog: http://www.roshini.net
2 comments:
what is "twa" and "rbg?"
twa is teenie weenie afro.
rbg is red black and green.
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