[Siobhan]

I believe that in this culture of the commercials for shiny, swinging, witchcraft, ‘Breck Girl’ hair, the struggle most black women have gone through/are going through with hair ‘problems’ remains a subject both touchy and personal – our ‘dirty little secret.’

On the professional front, natural, African-textured hair has traditionally not been acceptable (over the years, people have become a bit more enlightened about it). The sad thing is that on more personal levels, many black people do not accept African-textured hair. Sneers of ‘nappy head,’ ‘bald-headed,’ ‘you need a perm’ or worse have been directed toward black women who dared not wear other peoples’ hair or dared not to perm or otherwise straighten their hair. Those are blatant examples of the lessons of self-hatred that have been reinforced in us for so long.

It’s heartbreaking to see baby girls with piles of hair attached to their heads because their natural hair is not accepted. I am glad more and more black women are realizing their natural beauty and accepting and treating their ‘unmanageable’ hair as the crowing glory it is. We don’t have to mimic the white look to be beautiful. For the black women with naturally straighter or looser-curled hair, it is indeed beautiful, and so is my tighter-curled, thick and course hair. I am happy in my decision to ‘go natural.’

User Detail :  

Name : Siobhan, Gender : F, Race : Black/African American, City : Baltimore, State : MD, Country : United States, 

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