Oh, It’s Tuesday: A Few Thoughts on GOOD HAIR
So I FINALLY watched Chris Rock’s documentary, Good Hair. I don’t have a lot to say that hasn’t already been said on the subject, but I will mention these few things:
1. Betty can do whatever she wants with her hair, but we’re not paying for it.
2. Non-black women with weaves are kind of where black women with weaves were in the 90s. That is, they’re not really talking about it. I also wonder if 10-20 years from now there will be a documentary about white women doing the exact same thing.
3. It was a nice primer in the politics of black hair, and I’m glad I watched it with my husband and MIL. Funnily enough, I had been waiting to watch it w/o them, but as we were watching it, it made me think, “Yeah, this is stuff you need to know, too.” We kept on having to pause to discuss certain aspects and what we would do in certain situations with Betty. It was a great discussion jump off for a multi-racial family.
4. I was shocked that Chris Rock’s wife, Malak, was nowhere to be seen. She is the mother of his children, and since this movie was “made for his daughters,” it seemed just really weird to exclude her, their main influence, from the conversation.
5. If one more black woman with a perm says that it’s “impossible” to get a good job with a natural, I’m going to go off. I wish people would stop trying to perpetuate this myth. My BFF has dreadlocks and works high up in government. I have another friend with a natural who works in investment banking. I’ve got another friend with a natural who’s a lawyer. I could go on and on and point you to several examples of women with well-paid jobs who don’t have relaxed hair, but my blood pressure is getting too high alread. I’ll just say that as I write this, I’m looking at the cover of my February Black Enterprise right now, and there’s a picture of Ursula Burns, the CEO of Xerox — she looks very rich, very black, and very natural. Black women, please recognize that you do not have to “tame your hair” to get ahead. If you want to get a relaxer, fine, but stop saying it’s because you couldn’t possibly find a good job without one. That’s a lie and insulting to women with naturals.
Frankly, I think natural African hair is really beautiful and it drives me nuts when people get weaves and do crazy shiz to their hair…and most of the women I look at and think 'wow, she's sexy' happen to be rockin' an afro or thin dread. But I also don't dye my hair and basically let it roll out all natural with the exception of a little conditioning lotion, so I am biased to natural hair, it it what God gave us after all! And people found each other attractive long before hair dying was invented…just saying….
Frankly, I think natural African hair is really beautiful and it drives me nuts when people get weaves and do crazy shiz to their hair…and most of the women I look at and think 'wow, she's sexy' happen to be rockin' an afro or thin dread. But I also don't dye my hair and basically let it roll out all natural with the exception of a little conditioning lotion, so I am biased to natural hair, it it what God gave us after all! And people found each other attractive long before hair dying was invented…just saying….