Happy Friday Chicas!
Check out this article:
http://www.racialicious.com/2009/08/25/are-curls-the-new-straight-hair-the-germany-files/
Great read! Thanks Audrey 🙂
Happy Friday Chicas!
Check out this article:
http://www.racialicious.com/2009/08/25/are-curls-the-new-straight-hair-the-germany-files/
Great read! Thanks Audrey 🙂
© 2023 Curly Nikki.
I just don't agree that the media dictate trends. Trends come from the street. Angela Davis didn't wear a natural (that's what we called "afros" in Los Angeles) because she saw it on "Julia." Hip Hop, rap, ghetto fabulousity came from African-American communities not CNN.
Also, artists, who have freedom to be non-conformists come up with all kinds of styles that the media picks up on. Diana Ross was the first woman I saw with a weave and a weave with "natural" texture at that.
Stop blaming the media for women's lack of self-esteem. It starts in the home.
I agree with this comment "The media is always going to celebrate their idea of beauty." by Anonymous posted on dec25/09.
This is soo true the media decides what is in and what isn't!
If we listen to them we will NEVER be accepted or happy.My acceptance comes from God alone so im not bothered who rejects me or my hair!
Just be happy with your lot and you'll be fine! A lot of people don't know what they have and are on a journey to discovering it!
Some don't want to discover and that's fine!
If women were happy with their hair the multi-billion hair industry would have problems! LOL
Why is it that almost everything in the black community evolves into a debate? I'm playing devil's advocate here… I've been thinking really long and hard about this lately. It saddens me that we even have a movement to go back to being "natural," something that we all start out as. That in itself is actually quite absurd when you really think about it. Then we deal with colorism and separatism within our own communities. Lighter vs. Browner, West Indians/Caribbeans vs. American Blacks, Africans vs. Black Americans, etc….
Now, as more brown women are going back to what they always were, we are talking about "nice curls vs. "nappy curls?" I really can't…
Just food for thought.
The media is always going to celebrate their idea of beauty. I celebrate natural hair women. Thank goodness no one woman has the same type of hair. In my family we have 3c's to 4b's and we love each others hair. My sister(4b) has never looked at my hair(3c) and said she wishes she had that kind of hair. She rocks her 4b hair and has never tried to force a curl out of it. She loves her hair, I love mine.
I have been a happy nappy and proud of it for many years; however, it boggles my mind that (some) black folks look at me and my natural hair (in all its glory) like I'm a sister from another planet.
Perhaps because I'm not an ingenue anymore (18-25) or perhaps because I really don't give a flying (you know what) what folks think about moi makes rocking my naps a lot easier for me. In any event, I wouldn't be able to put a straightener or texturizer on my scalp (even if I wanted to) because I had brain surgery Dec. 2008 (three aneurysms) so natural hair is the only alternative for me (unless I rocked wigs) -which I did for several months while the back of my hair grew out.
Know this, the first step is accepting yourself unconditionally and once that happens, the hair (length, texture, etc.) that resides on your head won't have as much importance. Because it's just that – only hair. Like Chris Rock said, it's what inside our head that counts, not what's on top.
MERRY CHRISTMAS
i don't know if it's so much about wanting to be accepted as a great beauty as it is trying to destroy cultural and ethnic biases that prevent little black girls and boys from feeling they have a handicap which affects their self esteem and efficacy as well as clarifying their position in a racially diverse society. Nationalities with straight hair are easily able to conform to an established cultural standard by a majority that deems a certain look appropriate for beauty and professionalism. On the flip side, there is also a health issue to be raised when you consider the damaging effects to hair and skin that relaxers have. All to conform to a standard? A little extreme if you ask me. In the same way that the war against how women are portrayed in the media is waged (age, weight, as sexual objects, etc) this is a similar, noble and just battle. Anything that helps to better our country is worth fighting for. Never give up.
I don't know so is this the new warfront? kinky curly vs. loose pattern curly? As a creamy cracker I say YEA!! ok not really but at least it takes the steam out of the nappies vs. crackies battle. And yes I am a cracky who loves to read natural hair blogs and I also read biracial curly blogs and also THAT LAST INCH long hair blogs. We will NEVER be accepted by the Grand Wizard white media or beauty standards….so why do we FIGHT so much about wanting to be accepted…IT AINT GONNA HAPPEN…lets appreciate all women of color and their hair journeys and most importantly respect their choices.
I have worn my hair natural since I was fifteen in high school and "nappy" is still viewed differently and as less desirable within the natural community!
I have worn every natural style imaginable from a short Cesar to braids/twists, I even wore it in locs that I allowed to grow to my behind for eight years. The point is, I realized texture and length still mean a lot to many people including naturals!
When I wore my hair short and kinky before locing I never felt comfortable in high school. And as an adult the longer my locs grew down my back people that once detested them simply adored the style because of the length.
I recently cut them off this year to allow my hair to be free and loose once again and it's like dejavu, high school all over again. There is greater acceptance for curly naturals and as a result a lot of kinky and coily sistas feel marginalized when it comes to defining even "natural beauty" and as a result they buy tons products and spend excessive time for the supposedly "carefree" "shake and go" look. The author has a valid point and it holds true for those of us in America as well.
I have worn my hair natural since I was fifteen in high school and "nappy" is still viewed differently and as less desirable within the natural community!
I have worn every natural style imaginable from a short Cesar to braids/twists, I even wore it in locs that I allowed to grow to my behind for eight years. The point is, I realized texture and length still mean a lot to many people including naturals!
When I wore my hair short and kinky before locing I never felt comfortable in high school. And as an adult the longer my locs grew down my back people that once detested them simply adored the style because of the length.
I recently cut them off this year to allow my hair to be free and loose once again and it's like dejavu, high school all over again. There is greater acceptance for curly naturals and as a result a lot of kinky and coily sistas feel marginalized when it comes to defining even "natural beauty" and as a result they buy tons products and spend excessive time for the supposedly "carefree" "shake and go" look. The author has a valid point and it holds true for those of us in America as well.
I agree that the trend for natural hair is increasing however it is true that you see more curlies with 3b hair in the media than other types and these women do tend to be lighter in skin tone. I wonder if this is sending the message that natural hair is more acceptable if it looks a certain way. I often have people tell me that I can be natural because i have "good" hair. are these images in the media giving rise to that belief – that natural hair is more acceptable if it is of a certain texture? Although we are making strides, just based on comments from my own friends and family it may be an easier transition for some than others. I agree we need to see more natural women with hair that is tightly coiled and perhaps more coarse if all women of color are to feel that their natural hair is beautiful not just those with the "exotic" sort of look.
I feel that natural hair, not necessarily curly, is on the rise. This is occurring for many reasons but one reason I think is because women realize they don't need to use relaxers. They see women of color embracing their natural texture and they realize it is sexy and it looks good. A natural woman can have the best of both worlds because she can get a great straight style one day and rock her natural curls the next. And I feel it is a myth that natural hair does not stand up to humidity because when I get my hair straightened, it last just as long as it did when I wore a relaxer. Humidity will wreck any hair, relaxed or natural. Also, you don't have to be biracial to grow curls from your scalp. It is all about a healthy head of hair and how to manipulate it – period!
It does seem like most of the women of color on tv have curly hair, but it still only falls in one catagory. It is truly a lighter skinned woman (or child) with 3b/3c type of curls. I haven't seen many tightly coiled naturals being represented, so whenever the discussion of "curls" being acceptable comes up, to me it is usually not talking about anyone in the 4a type on up.
interesting read….I went to Essence and saw the debate about "Good Hair" too much
It's funny the emphasis on biracial. I have been trying to convince my friends of this FOREVER, but you all tell me what you think:
Turn on the tv, watch commercials, and see how many lighter complexioned (that's a word right?) women with curls you see. You will not see a black woman with bone straight hair, maybe a pixie cut or two could pop up, but I am dead serious when I say that at least 95% of the women you see will be curly. I have a slightly odd conspiracy theory for this, but first let me know if you see it!
I don't know about Germany but in America curls are definitely not the new straight whether they are loose curls are tightly wound coils. It's interesting that they are having this debate in that country. I guess it's more diverse than I realized. BTW, CurlyNikki did you notice that Essence posted a survey on their website about good vs. bad hair?