Did you see the Chris Rock documentary, ‘Good Hair’? If no, go see it.
Unfortunately for Chris, I think that some people who will watch his documentary (Good Hair), will walk out of that movie theater (or bootleg laptop screen) with the wrong message. If you walked out of seeing that film thinking any of these things…(you might need to go watch again)
1. Yes, thank goodness someone is speaking about ‘good’ and ‘bad hair’ cause I have been dealing with ‘bad’ hair all my life.
2. This definitely supports my idea of going bald/natural, I am tired of giving in to the ‘pressures’ of having good hair.
3. I love those stylists, they are ‘fierce ‘ and they can hook up some good ‘huir’
I watched that documentary and saw some other points being made:
1. Sadly, society as a whole will continue to find ways to separate itself in groups. Can’t live w/o having a dominant and inferior groups.
2. There is NO such thing as ‘good’ and ‘bad’ hair, the hair industry would like for you to think that there is so that you can keep spending thousands of dollars yearly.
3. Hair is like a piece of clothing, an accessory to who you truly are. It should never define your total being.
The issue with black people regarding ‘good’ and ‘bad’ hair is just as self defeating as the issues with ‘light’ vs. ‘dark’ skinned, ‘bougie’ vs ‘keeps it realz’ and ’saved’ vs. ’sinner’. I am amazed at the excuses that people use to scapegoat issues that need to be addressed while looking in the mirror and these are no different for SOME black women and hair:
Models/The ‘Beauty’ Industry: It is only American for the industry to define who should be, its called Capitalism. Doesn’t make them wrong, just means that if you give into their brilliant marketing, you will go broke. Please, stop blaming them for ‘dictating’ how society views you. You and ONLY you dictate how society views you. You are the first one to jump on the MAC line at Nordstrom or buy magazines just to look at what styles the latest celebrity (who is getting paid endorsement money) is rocking yet you are the first one to protest against hair relaxers.
Corporate America aka ‘The White Man’: I don’t know about you all but I like living in a world where standards are set for what is conservatively appropriate. Yes, the ‘white man’ came up with rules around what is acceptable in the work place but it kills me how some women complain on one hand about having to give ‘in’ but love themselves men in nice suits. If guys started ‘fighting’ white America and sporting jeans and timberland boots everyday, most of these women will run in opposite directions. The ‘white man’ set some rules but no one said that you have to live with it, if you don’t like it then do something about it. You can still wear natural hair and look presentable in the corporate world…so that excuse eludes the hell out of me.
Which would I hire to work for me?
we all know she crazy
Viva La Revolucion: If you really want to fight the ‘white man’ and his imposing of hair standards upon you then please by all means, take it ALL THE WAY BACK to this:
How far back to do you want to go?
The Male Perspective: This is the simplest one of all. Black women running around saying that they relax their hair because they think it is more attractive and on the other end Black women going natural because it is supposedly signifies a ’stronger’ or ‘revolutionary’ woman. Seriously, who are you all fooling? The last time I checked, men don’t discuss black women’s hair when we get in our ‘man circles’. The only time we will talk about your hair is if it smells like 20-day-old garbage or if your attempt at rocking a ‘weave’ fails when your hair ‘falls’ off while making love. Please take men out of this dilemma because grown men are looking for other things outside of your hairstyle. We will learn to love you for who you are despite your hairstyle if those other things are in place.
Dear Black Women:
1. Even if you didn’t create the terms ‘good’ and ‘bad’ hair, you own those terms now and can either embrace it or shut it down whenever someone even mentions it. I would prefer the latter.
2. Life is too short to go around judging other women by what they choose to do with their hair. Stop being your own worst enemy!
3. Make decisions about your hairstyle for YOU and no one else. If you are comfortable with your physical appearance, it will show in your level of confidence and no one will be able to take that away from you. That goes for ‘big’ women, dark/light skinned women, bald, nappy, short, tall, flat chest-ed etc.
Please stop asking guys if we think you short/natural/afro/dreads styles etc (will) look good on you, big mistake! Why should it matter WTF we think? Clearly, if our opinion matters that much…then you are not doing it 100% for you.
Guys are allowed to have preferences, just like you are allowed to have preferences in men’s body styles etc. There is a guy out there for EVERY type of woman, even the insecure ones. ***If you are in a meaningful relationship like marriage, please ask for his opinion and take it into consideration but you own decision….hopefully your love doesn’t break cause of hair.***
Last point to be made is this. You have the power to define who you are, the more you let others dictate this for you, the less attractive you become. Whilst hair style can be a nice accessory to have, there are plenty other things that people look for when they judge you. Seriously, a shitty attitude, low self esteem and swiftness to judge others won’t make you anymore attractive than your weave, wig, afro, dreads, good ‘indian huir’ and horse hair will.
Personally, I find all of these women attractive and some of it has to do with their hairstyles and how it fits them but this doesn’t mean that I will like them after hanging around them for an hour or two.
I love her smile
All nice and chocolatey....she is bad
I won't even give an explanation
short hair don't care...simple Ms. Keri
sense of humor...nuff said
November 2nd, 2009 at 5:04 pm
I wish I could say that black women’s hair has nothing to do with our relationship with men. Unfortunately, the men I meet like have expressed to me subtly and not so subtly that they like how thick & long my hair is. I might act like their opinion doesn’t matter, but at the end of the day, I am pretty sure the way I style my hair takes that into consideration. Now, whether we want to admit that what men think of our hair is important or not, we can all agree that grooming has always been a an area of great care and attention for us. What my hair smells like and feels like is important to me because I love running my fingers through my hair. When I saw “Good Hair”, I couldn’t really identify with much of what was discussed. Not a single one of my ancestors has worn a weave. My mother’s hair is naturally straight & so is the hair of my aunts. In this documentary, Chris Rock showcased hair that is chemically altered without getting to the root of why so many women of color take such measures on their hair. He didn’t address why Dominican women are so well known for their hair-straightening measures. He didn’t address why Brazilian women have so many chemical concoctions to alter the state of their hair. He left out the mixed chicks, the latinas, and the caribbean girls. Otherwise, I thought his “mock”umentary was entertaining & I will gladly go see it again. Nevertheless, I felt left out.
November 2nd, 2009 at 5:43 pm
Good Article.
I just think that with regard to black women and their hair, whatever works for you, looks good on you, or makes you feel good is what you should be doing with your hair. Any factors that contribute to you getting your hair to this point (i.e. influences from other women’s hair, your significant other’s opinon, or simply curiosity or the desire for a change) is your business. Reason being, the very same people that criticize whatever your doing with your hair will more than likely be trying it out behind closed doors anyway, so why not do YOU? Another point I’d like to make is that, as of late, I feel like this issue of black women and their hair is being taken way out of context and is cause for more discussion and analyzation than is even minimally necessary. Simply put, for most women of this generation, it’s not that deep. YES, when relaxers and straigteneing combs and extensions first came onto the scene, a lot of ethinic women DID want to try these styles out for the purpose of attempting to make thier “not-so-good” hair mimic that of those with “good hair” and MAYBE, at that time, it did have to do with an identity issue……but I just don’t feel that that is the case anymore and I wish that black america could see it for what it is and move on from it. As a young black woman today who has had my own hair down my back, short hair, colored hair, nautral hair, relaxed hair, hot-comb straighted hair, fake hair and a variety of other types of hair styles, I don’t think I’m alone when I say that my trying out each of these styles was not an effort to try and look like the white girl or the mixed girl with the “good hair” that I saw on TV….I did it because I wanted to and because I thought it would look good on me and be fun to try something different…period. Although we as black women may see women of other races and admire their hair, us trying to create that same style for ourselves is not always an issue of low self-esteem or an indication that we are not proud of what we have and I don’t think it’s fair or accurate to read so much into something that’s often nothing more than a personal style choice made for a positive reason.
November 2nd, 2009 at 5:45 pm
@Dylan I know that my response was a little to the left of what your article was actually about, but just to be clear, it was my opioon a topic closely related to what you wrote about, more so than a response.
November 2nd, 2009 at 6:37 pm
I’ve had it all. I’ve had super long, natural hair that others swore was a weave. I’ve had weave, short, curly, long, straight, wavy, the whole nine. For years, I wouldn’t put weave in because I didn’t want it to look bad and I didn’t want to be one of “those girls”…the ones who always rocked a weave and I thought were ashamed of who they really were. Well, I got tired of the same ole, same ole so I did something about it. I completely agree that what you do with your hair is your business. As long as it looks good and you like it, it should not be a problem. And Dylan, I completely agree with that assessment of black women talking all that stuff about the “white man” and conforming with hairstyles, yet those same women love a man in business attire and with a clean cut fade. So, the moral of “do you” has definitely not been lost on me. Thanks for the article.
November 3rd, 2009 at 1:18 am
Aisha: I totally agree with you about the documentary not covering every aspect of ‘black’ hair but that is the same argument made with CNN about not covering all of black people in ‘Black in America’. I recognize it but hope that people still use it as a learning moment if they are still struggling with the issue.
@mzlogic….I am so glad to know that there are so many people that have moved on well past the ’stereotypes’ and unnecessary ‘issues’ with good/bad hair. Unfortunately, there are still so many women who are still dealing with this issue.
I will put myself out there with this one. My 17 year old sister along with my own mother still dealt with this issue until recently. Crazy ass thing is that my own mother OWNED and OPERATED a hair dressing aslon while i was growing up. I wish I could sit down and actually talk to my mother about this issue for these same reasons.
But as the 3 year old was being interviewed in the video while getting a perm…no matter how much some women now think we have moved on from this issue…that same 3 year old will have to deal with that issue because the message has already being sent. All in all, this is definitely a good convo all around.
I wish I could say that guy’s should not even be included in this conversation but I am afraid of the day that my lil sister comes to me and says….hey I m cutting my hair or the day my wife decides to cut her hair all of and I don’t know how to react lol. Yea I m partial to the long hair but have also met some beautiful women with natural hairstyles. I just tend to lean one way.