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Ntfs_encryption
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Ntfs_encryption
Post Number: 1856
Registered: 10-2005
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, February 22, 2007 - 02:51 am: | 
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Hair Weaves Tangle Self-Image for Black Women
By Malena Amusa
Printed on February 21, 2007
This past winter, I noticed something very unsettling while I was visiting my family in St. Louis.
Almost all the black women I encountered were sporting lavishly long hair weaves, fake locks that can add length and volume after being sewed or glued to the scalp. Weaves come in straight, curly and kinky textures. But most black women with weaves wear them to extend and straighten the appearance of their naturally coiled and nappy hair.
Everywhere I turned, from the church to the mall, black women suited up in this straight-hair uniform. Was I missing something? I thought. Would my close-cut Afro set me too far apart from other black women?
Natural, kinky hair -- which is most associated with blackness -- has also been tied to inferiority in the United States. We can thank entrepreneur Madam C.J. Walker, the late 19th century inventor of the hot pressing comb -- literally a comb-shaped iron -- for the subsequent years of black women burning their disobedient hair into submission. Still today among African Americans, there exists a strata between those with "bad hair" and "good hair," the latter being hair that is most in sync with the dominant culture.
Walk into any pharmacy and you'll see a deluge of harsh chemical products that promise black women unnappy hair. Many believe this is a demonstration of self-loathing.
The January 2007 copy of Essence magazine I picked up didn't help. "Look Beautiful in your 20s, 30s, 40s, 50s . . . Real Women and Celebs Share Beauty and Health Secrets," the cover read. Featured were three celebrities with flowing, bouncy weaves and another woman whose silver hair was visibly straightened to suppress the real curl underneath.
Essence had made it clear: There was no way to be nappy-haired and beautiful at any age.
Myopic Beauty Image
This perplexed me because around St. Louis, so many everyday women who have no celebrity stakes to claim were subscribing to this myopic image of beauty wrapped around these hair weaves that, by the way, can take hours to glue onto the scalp and cost hundreds of dollars.
I wanted to walk in their shoes and understand them, so I decided to get a long, straight wig. Without the labor-intensive process, I achieved the luscious locks of a weave so I could learn what the non-celebrity woman had to gain from emulating the straight hair of non-African woman.
After several days of wearing the wig and interviewing black women, I found that the straight-hair phenomenon has little to do with a need to fit into mainstream social settings. Rather, these long weaves may reflect our desire to try on a different feminine persona that has historically been appropriated for white women.
Throughout time, weaves and wigs have served as costumes for black women to put on when they want to look sexy, such as in the 2006 movie "Dream Girls" that's loosely based on the 1960s rise of the Supremes, a Motown sensation.
In the opening scene of the movie, before the Dreams enter their first big show, they shift their poofy, European-hair wigs around. Finding a perfect fit, they then put on a killer show. As the Dreams become more successful and switch from mostly black to mostly white audiences, their hair get-ups become longer and bigger. The Dreams begin to look like white women in black face. And when one of the members gets kicked out of the band because of her hefty appearance, she quickly reverts to wearing an Afro.
Buying a Wig
I knew my hair was being mistaken for my femininity upon entering the Asian-owned beauty-supply store in my predominantly black neighborhood where I went to buy my wig. Perhaps because the elderly Asian sales lady kept saying: "Oh you pretty . . . with the wig." Malena
It became even clearer once I returned home with the long, black, straight wig in hand and saw the label name Nikita. Even the manufacturers figured that by wearing this wig, I was to transform myself into another woman.
A few weeks later, I moved to New York and met an actress and professor of aesthetic studies at the University of Texas-Dallas. Venus Opal Reese has interviewed hundreds of black women in researching this hair transformation.
During the opening night of her one-woman play "Split Ends," which takes an in-depth look at black women and their historical tangle with hair, Reese bombarded a small stage wearing a skimpy dress and a Tina Turner wig just as wild as her flailing arms. Seconds later, the wig flew off and fell to the floor. As the crowd yelped with laughter, Reese hurried to pick it up, and kept waving the hair in her hand as if still attached to her swirling head.
"Being a woman is a performance," she said in the skit. "It's a full-time, thankless job."
Dressing Up in Drag
Her point was to show that by wearing weaves and wigs, black women are dressing up in their own drag, whereby they can become the type of woman they aren't otherwise expected to be. Black women weaving up has so much to do with our need to feel feminine and strong at different points in our lives, Reese argued later in a phone interview.
"Hair is a navigator," she said. "It's a negotiator, it's a deal-breaker."
I'd say. In a world where black women are constantly blunted by racial and sexual discrimination, it makes sense that we'd begin adopting counter-representations of ourselves.
That's what the wig did for me. It gave me the freedom to be aloof, to flirt and to smile without fear of not receiving smiles in return.
I made several outings with the wig. During one trip, I went to a mall. The weave made my confidence soar. Heading there, I drove faster than usual. And every time I reached to pick up my cell phone, I dramatically tossed my hair back and said "Haloh!" roaring and perky like a valley girl. I was ready to explode onto the mall scene and attract all kinds of men.
As I entered the sliding doors, my hair swooshed about my face and I loved it. And after some time, I noticed that I was moving around like a butterfly, flighty and irregular. I couldn't stop giggling like a school girl and tossing my hair lightly back as I rolled my eyes sensuously around while talking.
The wig had changed me; with it, I felt excited to become Nikita, who I assumed was a fun-loving white woman.
I believed I could seduce with my hair without thinking men wouldn't return my vibes because I was too black. Whatever that feeling -- call it femininity if you like -- I had more of it. And while I hated the persistent itch of the wig and those fluffy bangs scratching my eyes, for the first time, I saw clearly the power of weaves.
Malena Amusa is the communications associate at the Oakland-based racial justice Applied Research Center/Colorlines Magazine in New York. More of her work appears at ARC's blog at Racewire.org <http://racewire.org/> .
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Abm
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Abm
Post Number: 8524
Registered: 04-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, February 22, 2007 - 07:45 am: |
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At the beginning of the article, the author appear to decry the widespread wearing of weaves amongst Black women. But at the end of the article, she appear to CELEBRATE weave wearing. |
Latina_wi
Regular Poster
Username: Latina_wi
Post Number: 155
Registered: 08-2006
Rating: 
Votes: 1 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, February 22, 2007 - 09:52 am: |
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On a tangent, I once saw a woman who had straighten her two year daughter's hair and given it a blonde weave. This was in the UK.
I feel that everyone should be able to wear their hair as they wish, it isn't up to anyone else to say what they feel is right or not right for other people. But it is kind of disturbing when people do certain things to escape their blackness. There is no shame in being black and I get offended when people try to insiuniate (sp) that their is. |
Libralind2
Veteran Poster
Username: Libralind2
Post Number: 641
Registered: 09-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, February 22, 2007 - 01:52 pm: |
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I agree Latin. Weave wearing is not new. I did hair..as they called it back in the late 60'-70's and worked for a woman who put weaves in folks heads that you would never suspect had one. I even learned to make a weft..which they now do on a machine...
LiLi |
Libralind2
Veteran Poster
Username: Libralind2
Post Number: 642
Registered: 09-2004
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Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, February 22, 2007 - 01:56 pm: |
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Im wearing dreads but I have decided when I cut them in a few years,Im going to buy some wigs..to "change up" my look every now and then..
LiLi |
Cynique
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Cynique
Post Number: 7433
Registered: 01-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, February 22, 2007 - 02:09 pm: |
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Madam C.J. Walker never encouraged black women to straighten their hair. Her emphasis was on maintaining a healthy head of hair. But as a business woman she had to keep up with the competition and she eventually made straightening combs available to women who preferred to hot iron the kinks out of their hard-to-comb hair. The design of her combs and the consistency of her pomades were created to make the straightening process as amenable as possible. A woman's hair is her crowning glory and nowadays if is she wants more "glory" to use for a crown, then that's her call. |
Dahomeyahosi
Regular Poster
Username: Dahomeyahosi
Post Number: 201
Registered: 01-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, February 22, 2007 - 02:16 pm: |
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There is nothing intrinsically wrong with a weave or wig. I think the problem is that many black women believe that we can't grow their own natural hair long and this is simply untrue. It's much cheaper also! |
Abm
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Abm
Post Number: 8534
Registered: 04-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, February 22, 2007 - 02:19 pm: |
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Dahomeyahosi,
Is it that they can't grow their own hair, they want straighter hair or is it some combination of the 2? |
Dahomeyahosi
Regular Poster
Username: Dahomeyahosi
Post Number: 202
Registered: 01-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, February 22, 2007 - 02:23 pm: |
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ABM I don't know for sure but I assume it's the length because most black women I know, including myself, would prefer curly hair to straight hair. |
Abm
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Abm
Post Number: 8535
Registered: 04-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, February 22, 2007 - 02:49 pm: |
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Dahomeyahosi,
Well. Most the Black women I see not only want long hair, they want STRAIGHT long hair. |
Libralind2
Veteran Poster
Username: Libralind2
Post Number: 645
Registered: 09-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, February 22, 2007 - 03:40 pm: |
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Abm...that was my motive when I had straight hair. I was almost obsessed..hail..I was obsessed with making sure each curl..(notice I didnt use nap) was flat to my head AND long..well most of the time as I have also worn it cropped close. THAT is why in addition to the heredity factor that I have very little hair around temples. Too bad young women dont listen to old wise womens LOL
LiLi |
Abm
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Abm
Post Number: 8539
Registered: 04-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, February 22, 2007 - 03:47 pm: |
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LiLi,
I've noticed how obsessed many Black women by how so very STRAIGHT their hair is. Ironically, I'll bet the hair of most Black women (including what they get via perming/pressing and via the shorn heads of poor Korean women) is MUCH straighter than that of most White women.
And, sadly, for the reason you describe, I do see LOTS of older (and many younger) sisters with jacked up linings around their heads. |
Latina_wi
Regular Poster
Username: Latina_wi
Post Number: 165
Registered: 08-2006
Rating:
Votes: 1 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, February 22, 2007 - 03:54 pm: |
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And, sadly, for the reason you describe, I do see LOTS of older (and many younger) sisters with jacked up linings around their heads
Latina_WI: Yes this is a very common thing for a lot of black woman. Weaves and extentsions kill the hair.
My mum kept my hair free from straightening as long as possible and it was the best thing for me . I wanted to be 'in' and straighten my hair but my mother refused.
My sisters all have very long and fine hair and my mother made a BIG deal how much better it was than my own frizz so my aim was to always emulate my sister's 'superior' hair. My hair was viewed as troublesome, my sister's as beautiful.
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Brownbeauty123
Veteran Poster
Username: Brownbeauty123
Post Number: 1807
Registered: 03-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, February 22, 2007 - 06:12 pm: |
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"Dahomeyahosi,
Is it that they can't grow their own hair, they want straighter hair or is it some combination of the 2?"
Black hair can grow long, but it takes a lot of patience and time. And then there are quite a lot of black women as well who will never have long hair, it's all genetics really. |
Ntfs_encryption
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Ntfs_encryption
Post Number: 1857
Registered: 10-2005
Rating: 
Votes: 1 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, February 22, 2007 - 06:46 pm: |
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"Black hair can grow long, but it takes a lot of patience and time. And then there are quite a lot of black women as well who will never have long hair, it's all genetics really."
True. it is genetic. Not much you can do about that. But I do recall seeing a woman walking down the street about three years ago who had dreads down to her ankles! She was an older black woman because there was a lot of grey in those dreads that were longer than five feet since she was very tall. I'm betting she has been growing them for at least 25 years. I have never seen hair that long in my life except when I lived in the Philippines (I have a picture of a Filipina with hair to calves). Filipinas (as group) have a long hair gene. That's just the way it is. I thought all Asians hair grew the same length and thickness. Not true! Of all the Asians, their hair grows the longest and is the thickest (naturally very straight). It's absolutely beautiful.
Personally, I have no use for weaves or wigs. Can't get into it. Too fake and gaudy looking (IMO). I don't care how a black woman wears her hair as long as it is her hair and not from Walmart or the Koreans. I was in the elevator with a young black woman last night and she had pencil thin dreads down to the middle of her back. I immediately complemented her and told her how beautiful her hair was. I've seen her once before and I complemented her the first time I saw her recently but for some reason, her hair looked longer than before. Hmmmmmm......
I know it is personal preference and probably requires a lot of work not to mention professional and social considerations, but I love seeing black women with the nappy dreads, the styled Buckwheat look (I don't know the proper name) and pencil dreads. It's their natural God given hair and not some horses ass or synthetic nonsense. Once again, it's just personal preference.
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Brownbeauty123
Veteran Poster
Username: Brownbeauty123
Post Number: 1809
Registered: 03-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, February 22, 2007 - 06:58 pm: |
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"Personally, I have no use for weaves or wigs. Can't get into it. Too fake and gaudy looking (IMO). I don't care how a black woman wears her hair as long as it is her hair and not from Walmart or the Koreans. I was in the elevator with a young black woman last night and she had pencil thin dreads down to the middle of her back. I immediately complemented her and told her how beautiful her hair was. I've seen her once before and I complemented her the first time I saw her recently but for some reason, her hair looked longer than before. Hmmmmmm......"
Well, I don't see anything wrong with adding extensions to the hair as long as it matches the natural texture of the person's hair perfectly--or is a realistic color, style, and length.
Even though you suspect the lady of adding extentions to her dreads, at least it looks as if its something that might be hers.
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Ntfs_encryption
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Ntfs_encryption
Post Number: 1859
Registered: 10-2005
Rating:
Votes: 1 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, February 22, 2007 - 07:10 pm: |
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"Well, I don't see anything wrong with adding extensions to the hair as long as it matches the natural texture of the person's hair perfectly--or is a realistic color, style, and length."
You didn't read what I said -it's personal preference! I do not force my individual tastes on anyone.
"Even though you suspect the lady of adding extentions to her dreads, at least it looks as if its something that might be hers."
I never said I suspected anything! It was her natural hair (thank God!). No rocket science needed here.....
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Brownbeauty123
Veteran Poster
Username: Brownbeauty123
Post Number: 1810
Registered: 03-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, February 22, 2007 - 07:43 pm: |
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" never said I suspected anything! It was her natural hair (thank God!). No rocket science needed here..... "
Oh ok. Cause when you said "hmmmm"...I thought you were suspicious of her adding length to her dreads |
Ntfs_encryption
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Ntfs_encryption
Post Number: 1860
Registered: 10-2005
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, February 22, 2007 - 07:48 pm: |
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"Oh ok. Cause when you said "hmmmm"...I thought you were suspicious of her adding length to her dreads.
Not at all. I said "Hmmmmm...." because I had not noticed that it was that long the first time I saw here. I guess I somehow over looked it. But it was her real hair.
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Cynique
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Cynique
Post Number: 7437
Registered: 01-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, February 22, 2007 - 07:58 pm: |
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Whoopi Goldberg's dreads are extensions as are long ones worn by a lot of guys. |
Ntfs_encryption
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Ntfs_encryption
Post Number: 1861
Registered: 10-2005
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, February 22, 2007 - 08:11 pm: |
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"Whoopi Goldberg's dreads are extensions as are long ones worn by a lot of guys."
Ya know, I saw those before and I turned my head every time I saw her because they were so phony and obvious I felt embarrassed for her. But I think her hair has finally grown to a length that she is more happy with. I looked at her recently and I didn't see them. She doesn't have them anymore. Am I wrong?
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Cynique
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Cynique
Post Number: 7439
Registered: 01-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, February 22, 2007 - 08:16 pm: |
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I don't know. You can get some very natural-looking synthetic dreads nowadays. |
Fortified
Regular Poster
Username: Fortified
Post Number: 452
Registered: 04-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, February 22, 2007 - 08:45 pm: |
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White women are weaving their hair like you wouldn't believe. They change the color, length and texture of their hair, the color of their skin, the fullness of their lips, all in the name of achieving a less "white", more attractive appearance.
I am so sick and tired of black women's choices in esthetics being constantly put under a microscope. What if a woman just wants variety? |
Cynique
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Cynique
Post Number: 7443
Registered: 01-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, February 22, 2007 - 09:02 pm: |
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I agree, Fortified, and I just gave you your props on the "board member most likely" thread started by Yvette. |
Eastwest
Regular Poster
Username: Eastwest
Post Number: 146
Registered: 12-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, February 23, 2007 - 07:55 am: |
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Latina and Asian women Don't need to wear Weave.
THANK GOD For Latin Women! |
Latina_wi
Regular Poster
Username: Latina_wi
Post Number: 167
Registered: 08-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, February 23, 2007 - 09:00 am: |
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Latina and Asian women Don't need to wear Weave.
THANK GOD For Latin Women!
Latina_WI: But a lot of Latin women do wear weaves anyway to create certain styles, so obviously they feel the NEED to wear weaves.
I know a few who wear them anyways and they do it for the same reason as black women - variety. |
Abm
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Abm
Post Number: 8544
Registered: 04-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, February 23, 2007 - 09:56 am: |
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Fortified,
I hear you. But I think it sad that so MANY Black women would just about die before they leave their homes without having STRAIGHTEN hair on their head. I do NOT believe any other women are as uniquely & especially obsessed about changing their appearance as Black women are about that.
There's no where NEAR the percentages of White women getting lip/a$$ implants. And virtually NONE of them are spending +$2,000 annually to maintain Afros or more Black-looking hair styles.
You say you decry the Black female esthetic being placed under a microscope. I say I wish we were allowed to see more of the purer elements of such so that we and all the rest of the world would learn to better appreciate and love the TRUE you. |
Dahomeyahosi
Regular Poster
Username: Dahomeyahosi
Post Number: 203
Registered: 01-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, February 23, 2007 - 10:13 am: |
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NTFS long dreaded hair is beautiful but it is not comparable to free flowing hair in terms of length. Individual locks have a lot of shed hair in them that can not be relesed due to the locking process. If a person has dreadlocks down to her knees it is not because the individual strands are knee length but that the total hair, including shed hair, broken hair, etc. reaches that long. |
Dahomeyahosi
Regular Poster
Username: Dahomeyahosi
Post Number: 204
Registered: 01-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, February 23, 2007 - 10:16 am: |
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Abm well your assertion makes sense because I rarely straighten/flatiron my hair and although it is chemically altered it doesn't look relaxed because my natural hair is very nappy. When I leave the house with "big hair" many black women look at me as if I'm an alien and some have even said I need to "do" my hair lol. |
Cynique
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Cynique
Post Number: 7444
Registered: 01-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, February 23, 2007 - 11:43 am: |
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Getting breast implants is almost like a rite of passsage for any white female who is flat-chested. They also break the bank when it comes to nose jobs and botox treatments. And once they reach their 20s there are very few white females who don't color or bleach their hair or get extensions. Trying to emulate what's "hot" afflicts females across the board.If black men want to see black women au naturelle, then they should marry them so they can wake up every morning and see how they really look. |
Abm
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Abm
Post Number: 8548
Registered: 04-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, February 23, 2007 - 12:12 pm: |
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Dahomeyahosi: "When I leave the house with "big hair" many black women look at me as if I'm an alien and some have even said I need to "do" my hair lol."
Right. HAHAHAHAHA!!!
Seriously, though. It's startling how few Black women brandish their hair in it's more natural state. And it's even more STARTLING how even the mere notion of suggesting they consider doing such can incite a fury the likes of which America unleashed on Hiroshima and Nagasaki 60 years ago. |
Fortified
Regular Poster
Username: Fortified
Post Number: 456
Registered: 04-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, February 23, 2007 - 02:29 pm: |
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Abm,
Our female African ancestors have the hair type that adapts them to their environment. They lived in extreme hot climates, so they didn't near hair. You will notice that many native African women do not have extensive body hair like Indian or Armenian women. The short-cropped, kinky hair adapts them to their climate.
Take the African diasporatic female who has anywhere from 5-50%(or more) alleles from other populations (caucasian, asian, amerindian), put her in an environment with varied climates (from humid, dry heat, or wintry frigid cold) and you will have a very "confused" selection for varied hair textures and lengths. The average black woman has inconsistencies in her hair texture and to maintain it in its natural state would take TIME and, to a lesser extent, money to maintain. Plus, many of those natural hairstyles don't suit all women, require daily maintenance or they just don't "look good" [a matter of personal taste]
In comes relaxers...lye, guanidine carbonate, etc., etc. This breaks down the hair protein, evening out the texture. It also retains moisture because the hair shaft isn't as coiled. So it feels "softer". It requires less effort to comb through, quicker to style and also affords the female more styles and flexibility.
And guess what else, Abm...BLACK MEN LIKE IT! If more and more black men express disgust for relaxers, weaves, etc., more black women would stop perming their and Koreans would have to find another livelihood. Black men can't complain that black women straighten their hair [and they want to look white], and then turn around themselves and run after white and asian women. Does that make sense?
Moreover, the average black woman doesn't perm her hair to look white--that's just plain foolish. They won't look white, they just look like black women with straightened hair. |
Abm
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Abm
Post Number: 8556
Registered: 04-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, February 23, 2007 - 03:44 pm: |
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Fortified,
Black women don't spend enuff time and effort working with their natural to divine what they should and shouldn't do with/to it. But then, part of the problem is you're viewing how your hair should be styled and maintained via a Eurocentric perspective. As long as you do that, maintaining and styling your hair in its natural state will appear quite difficult.
And I've got to believe there are ways to develop methods of maintaining softer, moister hair sans all the straightening and perming. Again. This requires one thinking out of the Eurocentric hair box.
I guess many Black dudes like all the straightening and relaxing. But I bet if more sistas went the natural route, brothas would favorably respond to that.
I tell you what, by your emphasizing the importance of straighten hair, you're essentially asserting that there's a part of White and Asian women that is naturally prettier. So a brotha might logically conclude \i"Why have a chick with the fake permed/Korean hair when I can grab, play around in, mess up and pop a few rounds of my hot egg shampoo off into the head of Sally or Sung Yi"? |
Fortified
Regular Poster
Username: Fortified
Post Number: 457
Registered: 04-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, February 23, 2007 - 04:18 pm: |
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Abm said:
I guess many Black dudes like all the straightening and relaxing. But I bet if more sistas went the natural route, brothas would favorably respond to that.
I'm sorry, baby. You know I love you, but that is bullshit, to the point of being fertilizer. You know good and well that most black men prefer Gabrielle Union or Naomi Campbell over India.Arie or Alek Wek, part of the reason being their hair. Black men prefer the hair they can run their fingers through and not over--perhaps because black men and women are EQUALLY socially conditioned.
Lots of black women are going the natural route--both here and abroad (the Caribbean, UK, etc.), and that hasn't increased the number of black marriages or co-habitations. Face it, there is really nothing the average black woman can do esthetically to make black men want her more.
Moreover, why should black women put more effort and time into their natural hair when many, if not most black men just shave theirs off? How many black out there sport afros versus those that go bald, texturize and don wave caps? Are they considered to be running away from their natural textures too? |
Abm
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Abm
Post Number: 8557
Registered: 04-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, February 23, 2007 - 04:47 pm: |
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Fortified,
I LOVED the way Gaggy Union looked in Breakin' All The Rules SANS the weave. She looked so much fresher and more REAL than she regularly appear.
Naomi looks good...PERIOD. Hell. Nothing short of an atomic bomb can mess THAT chick up.
And Arie and Wek, though not not really my type, likely look as good with their natural hair as they would with a perm/weave.
Question: What are the hairstyling and texture of our current +70% UNMARRIED Black babymommas? Here's betting the vast MAJORITY of them have straighten, permed and/or weaved hair.
And it's funny you mentioned hair shaving. Because I've been often struck by how absolutely BEAUTIFUL some Black women appear who hardly have any hair of all. I guess it's because they don't have all that stuff going on atop their heads that distracts from your admiring their ears, their eyes, their necks, their mouths...*sigh* |
Libralind2
Veteran Poster
Username: Libralind2
Post Number: 647
Registered: 09-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, February 23, 2007 - 05:42 pm: |
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I was about to start a thread about Target..who has such a woman in thier current ad's. She is Tall Dark Almost Bald and Beautiful.
LiLi
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Abm
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Abm
Post Number: 8558
Registered: 04-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, February 23, 2007 - 05:50 pm: |
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LiLi,
I've seen LOTS of sistas like that. Often, sistas who have less hair appear more confident, graceful and elegant, for some reason. |
Fortified
Regular Poster
Username: Fortified
Post Number: 458
Registered: 04-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, February 23, 2007 - 05:50 pm: |
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Abm said:
Question: What are the hairstyling and texture of our current +70% UNMARRIED Black babymommas? Here's betting the vast MAJORITY of them have straighten, permed and/or weaved hair.
And Fortified asked:
What percentage of black women who don natural hairstyles are married versus those who are single?
Out of all the married black women, what percentage of them walked into the marriage with natural hairstyles, and still maintain them today? |
Brownbeauty123
Veteran Poster
Username: Brownbeauty123
Post Number: 1811
Registered: 03-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, February 23, 2007 - 06:17 pm: |
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ABM,
Black men really do love long and straight hair. Being a woman, I will tell you through experience, when I wore my hair long and very straight men (black men) would try to holla at me just b/c they saw long hair cascading down my back. Once I rode a bus, and a man sitting behind had sparked up a conversation with me simply because he thought my hair (long and silky straight)was beautiful without noticing my face first. This has happened to me a lot. |
Dahomeyahosi
Regular Poster
Username: Dahomeyahosi
Post Number: 205
Registered: 01-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, February 23, 2007 - 09:18 pm: |
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Brownbeauty123 I agree 100%. Black American men are really seduced by long hair. My mother noticed this when she came to the U.S. and told me about it. There are two words for human hair in my language - the loose translation of non-black hair is human fur. White people were thought of as animals/nonhuman partially because of their hair texture. It was strange to her that black American men like it so much! |
Cynique
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Cynique
Post Number: 7459
Registered: 01-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, February 23, 2007 - 09:42 pm: |
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Everybody's raving about Jennifer Hudson, giving her big props for exuding so much confidence and for looking so good. And believe me the confidence she is exuding is directly connected to how she looks because losing some weight and acquiring some lustrous hair extensions have apparently help bolster her self esteem. She now loves herself. Until black males stop dispelling their insecurities by crowing about their penis size and sexual process, they need to stop criticizing what black women do to make themselves feel more attractive. |
Brownbeauty123
Veteran Poster
Username: Brownbeauty123
Post Number: 1815
Registered: 03-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, February 23, 2007 - 10:55 pm: |
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(Columbia) – Some parents say a Richland One teacher was out of line when she told their daughter to take out her weave and accused her of breaking the dress code.
Elizabeth and Emanuel Ford took their 9-year-old daughter Shatiah to get a weave put in her hair as a way to build up her self-confidence, but they say a teacher at Satchel Ford Elementary School actually made their daughter feel worse when she accused the girl of wearing a wig; not once—but twice.
Like many kids will tell you, it’s not easy being a 4th grader—with school, homework, and trying to be accepted by other kids.
Shatiah Ford is no exception:
“I would have to say, some of the work we do in class [is the hardest part],” the sweet-faced 9-year-old said after school Thursday.
For Shatiah, feeling good about her appearance helps with all those pressures.
“I like having long hair, but it's just that, my hair is short. My real hair is short. And that's why I like having long hair on my head,” Shatiah said.
“She's very shy, she's timid,” echoed her mom Elizabeth.
Shatiah's hair had recently started to fall out due to a perm, so her parents allowed their daughter to get a weave—braided hair woven into her natural hair—over the weekend.
“When she got it, she was like, 'Oh! Look at me! I’ve got hair now!'” Elizabeth said.
But Elizabeth and her husband Emanuel say that joy and excitement turned into hurt after what Shatiah’s Social Studies teacher said to her after class.
“Said she didn't think it was appropriate for a 9-year-old to wear a wig to school,” Elizabeth said.
“I said, 'how is that inappropriate?' Matter of fact, it's not even a wig!”
The Fords say the teacher pulled their daughter aside outside of class and told her she was breaking the dress code. It happened Wednesday and Thursday.
“[The teacher] could have come to me, could have called me on the phone to ask me about the situation,” Elizabeth said with frustration.
Instead, the Fords heard about what happened from Shatiah, who phoned them from school on Thursday not knowing what to do about her hair. Her parents say her confidence has been let down.
“Umm-hmm,” said Shatiah, bashfully.
Richland One School District officials say wearing the weave actually does not break any rules. Mr. and Mrs. Ford were given an apology.
“Everybody's allowed to say 'I'm sorry.' But sometimes, 'I'm sorry' is not good enough,” said Emanuel.
What the Fords really want is for someone to apologize to their daughter.
“We trust the schools to help our kids out when they're away from home, and for a school system to focus solely on a child's appearance?” Emanuel said, shaking his head in disbelief.
Shatiah does get to keep her weave. School district officials admitted the teacher might have gone too far interpreting the dress code when she reprimanded the little girl. They say they will talk to the teacher about her actions. |
Ntfs_encryption
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Ntfs_encryption
Post Number: 1867
Registered: 10-2005
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, February 24, 2007 - 10:46 am: |
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Libralind2
Veteran Poster
Username: Libralind2
Post Number: 650
Registered: 09-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, February 24, 2007 - 01:53 pm: |
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What ya trying to say NTFS..them sistahs got it goin on and you know it They are FIERCEEEEE.LOL
LiLi |
Ntfs_encryption
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Ntfs_encryption
Post Number: 1874
Registered: 10-2005
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, February 24, 2007 - 02:15 pm: |
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".......them sistahs got it goin on and you know it They are FIERCEEEEE.
Oh really...??? Ok....Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! |
Serenasailor
Veteran Poster
Username: Serenasailor
Post Number: 1307
Registered: 01-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, February 25, 2007 - 07:34 pm: |
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Thats funny Ntfs. I notice that you will CLAIM to appreciate Black women however you stick cruel, racist, pictures and cartoons of them. Not only that I notice that the most REDNECKY comments about Black women come from your end(and Eastwest)!!
Now I am not judging you but that is what I notice!! |
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