Chris Rock recently self-produced a mini-documentary on the subject (basically) of African American womens' ("AAW") hair.
It seems that 80% of the money that American women spend on "hair products" is spent on chemicals to treat the hair of AAW's, and other products (e.g., weaves) whose main purpose is to make AAW's hair look more "European." Further, some AAW are known to spend, individually, amounts that create financial hardship in other areas of their lives - missed utility bills, foregone food, and so forth, to maintain their "nice" hair.
A "Black" woman interviewed on a daytime talk show the other day made the "interesting" argument (in support of her hair Jones) that kinky, "rough" or "nappy" hair was appropriate for her ancestors when they lived in the African jungles, but it is not appropriate for the American climate or, frankly, for American contemporary culture.
The question one cringes to address is, "Is this striving for 'European' or 'nice' hair a form of Black self-loathing?"
Look to FLOTUS, if you will. I simply cannot imagine her going out in public with, say, cornrows, or something approaching what used to be called a "natural." The image she emphatically projects is one that includes chemically straightened hair.
A generation ago, the cry of "Black is Beautiful!" was, in large part a cry for acceptance of hair that was not "processed" or "straightened," and that generation of "Blacks" went to great lengths to make the "natural" style more aesthetically appealing, though I have it on good authority that it was not a "natural" look in any realistic sense. It required a great deal of attention to get it to look that way.
As an old "white" man, I blush to admit that the "Black" women I find attractive are uniformly women with straightened - and often colored - hair. While there is nothing repulsive about more natural hairstyles, I just don't find it aesthetically appealing. When I see side-by-side pictures of "Black" women with straight and natural hair, the straightened one always looks "better" to me, and sometimes dramatically so.
Is this a cultural problem, and if so, what can be done about it. Can America change what it apparently likes?
P.S. I suppose it would be apropos to mention here that most "white" women also go to some lengths (no pun intended) to change the appearance of their natural hair. They change its color, remove the gray, enhance the natural curliness or straightness, and so on.
It seems that 80% of the money that American women spend on "hair products" is spent on chemicals to treat the hair of AAW's, and other products (e.g., weaves) whose main purpose is to make AAW's hair look more "European." Further, some AAW are known to spend, individually, amounts that create financial hardship in other areas of their lives - missed utility bills, foregone food, and so forth, to maintain their "nice" hair.
A "Black" woman interviewed on a daytime talk show the other day made the "interesting" argument (in support of her hair Jones) that kinky, "rough" or "nappy" hair was appropriate for her ancestors when they lived in the African jungles, but it is not appropriate for the American climate or, frankly, for American contemporary culture.
The question one cringes to address is, "Is this striving for 'European' or 'nice' hair a form of Black self-loathing?"
Look to FLOTUS, if you will. I simply cannot imagine her going out in public with, say, cornrows, or something approaching what used to be called a "natural." The image she emphatically projects is one that includes chemically straightened hair.
A generation ago, the cry of "Black is Beautiful!" was, in large part a cry for acceptance of hair that was not "processed" or "straightened," and that generation of "Blacks" went to great lengths to make the "natural" style more aesthetically appealing, though I have it on good authority that it was not a "natural" look in any realistic sense. It required a great deal of attention to get it to look that way.
As an old "white" man, I blush to admit that the "Black" women I find attractive are uniformly women with straightened - and often colored - hair. While there is nothing repulsive about more natural hairstyles, I just don't find it aesthetically appealing. When I see side-by-side pictures of "Black" women with straight and natural hair, the straightened one always looks "better" to me, and sometimes dramatically so.
Is this a cultural problem, and if so, what can be done about it. Can America change what it apparently likes?
P.S. I suppose it would be apropos to mention here that most "white" women also go to some lengths (no pun intended) to change the appearance of their natural hair. They change its color, remove the gray, enhance the natural curliness or straightness, and so on.
