The Nappy/Coily/Natty/Curly Side of Life
When curiousity begins to tickle your consciousness and ask ” So what does it look like? What does it feel like?”
When that chemical burn from that last perm causes your scalp to scab and you wonder “Why and I doing this?”
When you are patting your scalp afraid to scratch it because you have a “touch up” scheduled….
When it no longer makes sense that you have to straighten your hair to be beautiful…
I am here to remind you that you dont have to anymore. You never did. Reclaim your right to your Nappy, Coily, Natty, Curly self. That part of you never left it wont ever leave, it’s waiting for you simply to accept it.
It is Not a Choice it is a Mandate
If you’ve ever permanently relaxed your hair ancticipating that it would make you more beautiful, then you know that the a real-axer is not merely a choice. If you’ve ever eyed your “new growth” with resentment. Then you have experienced the hidden factors at work. If you’ve ever felt like you were some how less than because your hair didn’t flow like the girls in the videos then you know somone or something is sending you this vibe.
When nations of generations of women stand up and make the same choice in an attempt to achieve one definition, one style one interpretation of beauty then it ceasees to be choice and becomes a mandate. When groups of women who’ve never met, dont speak the same language and dont even live in the same hemisphere much less the same town collectively engage in one singular act in hopes of beautifying themselves it is no longer a singular decision it is a collective consciousness.
I believe it is everyone woman’s Divine right to choose whatever is best for her in EVERY circumstance, but I will not subscribe to the notion that millions of women around the world “choose” to relaxer their naps, curls , kinks, coils of their own free will. It is no longer a choice it is a message that we are fed via multiple sources that something is wrong with our hair and the relaxer is the only way to fix it.
We all have hair issues
We all have hair issues, men, women and children. Our categories in society determine how these issues manifest. I once believed that women were the only ones obsessed with their hair and then I later learned that men are also concerned with their hair and as they get older their lack of it.
I know young man who recently cut is locs and he believes that more women were attracted to him when he had longer hair. I know another man somewhere near forty loosing his hair who refuses to change barbers even though his current barber is nearly 1 hour away. Then I see other men painting on beards and hair lines and I am in shock as to why would they do such a thing! My own sons are particular about their hair cuts pleading for mohawks each time they sit in the barbers chair.
If we look at women and our hair practices I can go on and on so Iwill address the topics which I find most fascinating and familar. I wonder why women will relax their hair and only to cover or hide it under braids or weaves. I laughed at a male friends comment that he “doesnt’ mind braids, but why are [women] wearing it 365 days a year?” In fact I am now floored by the significant number of women wearing weaves on a daily basis. Please keep in mind my bias as I’ve never had a weave but what is REALLY going on when a group of people collectively adopt a pattern of behavior or styling that is totally counter to their natural inclinations or biological make up?
As human beings we have hair issues that run wide and deep and you know I dont think they are going any where soon.
