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I had decided not to see Chris Rock's "Good Hair" since my time is limited and so many smart observers had dissected the film thoroughly. But, when I was invited to discuss "colorism" and "Good Hair," on KPFK's radio show "Some of Us are Brave," I had to see it.
My reaction? Well let's put it this way, I was pretty heated and very thankful that I had an outlet to talk about my feelings right away. Call me relieved that Thandisizwe Chimurenga, creator and host of KPFK's "Some of us are Brave," hit the nail on the head when she linked "colorism" and "Good Hair," for our discussion.
The intra-racial disdain for natural, kinky, nappy hair was relentless in "Good Hair," and I was not prepared for it.
I had expected the discomfort of being bombarded with images of so many black women and girls chemically relaxing and weaving in hair. But I did not expect to hear so many black women express full-blown disdain for those of us who choose to wear our hair in kinky Afros or other natural styles. It makes me sad and angry that so many of us have internalized the Caucasian standard of beauty without even questioning it.
Free to be you and me? I am all for that. But in 2010, to have black women and girls believe that their natural hair texture is ugly and less "put together" than hair shorn from some woman's head, on the other side of the world, and sown onto their own, is mind blowing.
WHY do we love the weave and relaxer? WHY do we embrace white styles so enthusiastically?
To listen to the show - Click on the KPFK archive page and scroll down to 'Some of Us Are Brave, Thursday, October 23' - Our segment hits at 35 minutes in.
Comments: (15)
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By: Dorothy Piedrahita on 10/23/2009 8:30PM
I have had years of loving my hair. When I was younger my hair was longer and beauitfully black; now it is beautiful white, shorter and naural. I love my hair, my spouse love placing his finger thru it.
I used to get the "perm", but my hair rebelled, so I stopped all that setting at the salon for hours waiting to paid a stylist my hard earned money and the style lasted for that hour and the next day it looked like last week's salad.
Some Black women think they look good when they sew all that hair onto their natural hair, especially when the hair is black, blond or black ladies you look un-natural, I know the money is yours and you can do what what you want too.
Lastly, ladies when you put that false hair on your head, please use some makeup, long hair that just hang's look bad, help your face out this "the hair" a finished appearence.
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By: jill on 10/24/2009 12:35AM
The movie was ok but Chris could have given America something else to laugh about. Black women are not the only ones high maintenance, white women spend a lot on botox, hair bleaching and fake boobs, just to name a few..so, all seem to be a little high maintenance if you want to call it that..hair like anything else is just an issues of vanity..which is shared by both women and men.
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By: Proud OF BEING A BLACK WOMAN on 10/24/2009 5:17PM
It seems that many of us have been brainwashed into beleiving that being natural is a digrace . Being a black woman myself who sports a natural hairstlye with hair to my waist that is all me , i find it an insult for any person to try to change the natural order in which GOD has appointed to us . It is so clear that most hair problems for today such as , hair breakage which are results from :relaxing,glueing and other means to change the natural to an un natural state.This indicates that there are deeper issues other than what is being projected for everyone to see. As a people we are so impessionable and very easily lead away from what is real and what is not. Wake up all my sisters out there who feels that anything other that what u was born with defines you.If the state of ur own reality upsets you then that is so sad ,to try and make something that isn't real become real through your own misguided thinking.So many sisters are going bald from trying to alter the natural state of their hair in order to fit into whatever they are attempting to deceive within themselves. Nothing is wrong with being who you are.Wake up and love who you are.
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By: Tony on 10/24/2009 7:12PM
who gives a s$$t about someone's hair????????????????????????????????????
Black folks need jobs!!!!!!!!!!!!!! How can we help each other with the most urgent and pressing issue affecting out lives????????? Who gives a s$$t about a person's hair????????????????????????????????????????????????
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By: thoren on 10/24/2009 7:51PM
we women judge each other. i think we put on makeup to be approved by other women. women can be catty - - and nobody wants to be looked at in a negative way!!
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By: Irma on 10/24/2009 11:13PM
IMO, most black women are ashamed of their natural hair and get weaves that don’t match our hair texture. These weaves are so obviously fake that no one believes they are real. Women in general should stop perming their hair because the chemicals are extremely dangerous. Now, black women should let their natural hair grow on its own and stop patronizing the Koreans who monopolize the black hair care industry and won’t let blacks buy a share into the market. I’ve seen black women with their own hair down their backs, when it is in dreads. They are saving money and their scalps are healthy from not getting perms. Black women, stop making greedy Koreans rich by patronizing them and wear your beautiful hair.
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By: sugarbowl2009 on 10/28/2009 1:31AM
AND STOP TRYING TO HAVE BEAUTIFUL FLOWING "WHITE WOMEN" HAIR.. JUST FACE IT YOUR STUCK WITH DAT NAPPY STRAW TEXTURE LOOK..........WE ARE SO BLESSED! :-)~~~~~
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By: dancinginthedark on 10/25/2009 6:53PM
Well, I thought I wanted to see Chris Rock's movie, but after listening to you and reading some of your readers' comments I'll just keep my money.
I heard you, Carmen, on "Some of Us Are Brave" and deeply appreciated the candid discussion. It was wonderful to hear such honesty about the underlying roots and lengths so many of us go through to have "straight" hair.It was wonderful to hear young black women who think differently and want to educate their sisters to another way of thinking about themselves.
Fifty years ago, when I was 15, I decided that I hated having to have my hair "straightened." I decided to let it go natural. You cannot imagine how my classmates tormented me with laughter and criticisms for that decision. They were embarrassed that I would let their white classmates see my kinky hair. It was not loose because I wore it in a tight, neat French twist, but it was too much for the young black community to handle to see kinky edges and neckline. I am sorry to say that I eventually buckled under the pressure. Not only did I have my hair straightened, but I had it cut very short. The compliments poured in. My black classmates raved about how nice my hair looked short and straight.
It took me 30 years of straighteners accompanied with relaxer pain before I decided again that I could love myself with kinky hair. It took me 30 years to begin to see beauty in my dark brown skin and kinky hair. The messages I got from my black community was that dark skin and kinky hair were not beautiful or welcomed. I am so sorry to see that this screwed up concept exists today with so many young blacks.
The day I cut my hair so that it would grow into its natural state was the most liberating day in my life. Unfortunately, I have had to pay a big price for going natural too late to stop relaxers from damaging my scalp and not allowing the fullness I could have had had I not mistreated my scalp so needlessly.
In the radio show, someone at some point mentioned that the Obama black staff are all light skinned. I too noticed that a few weeks ago and felt guilty that that was my observation. Not only are they all light skinned, but they all have "straight" hair. The message is alive and well that to really achieve one must look as white as possible.
Perhaps Chris Rock has inadvertently made us think about what we are doing to ourselves and the price we pay for trying to be something that we are not and can never be. Perhaps this can be the beginning of more honest discussions that lead to our holding our naturalness in high esteem.
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By: j, Az on 10/25/2009 11:28PM
I wish blacks didn't feel the need to assimilate, but unforunately that is not the case..black women in corporate america especially feel the need to relaxe their hair in order to fit in with their white co-workers..my blacks friends state that their ethnic hair is not accepted in the workplace and many have gone to interviews with their nature hair and could never land a job..it wasn't until they wore their hair straight that they were employed..and these were all college educated women with Master's degrees.
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By: j, Az on 10/25/2009 11:28PM
I feel that a lot of black women especially those in corporate america feel the need to assimilate. I know black women who say that if the went on a job interview with thier ethnic hair wouldn't get the job. It was only after they straightened their hair did they get employed and these are college educated women.
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