blackfolk: More...

denim_queen, 2004-12-10 05:18 pm UTC

littlebreeze, 2004-12-10 05:24 pm UTC

anese, 2004-12-11 06:18 am UTC

buttaa, 2004-12-13 02:05 am UTC

denim_queen, 2004-12-13 04:25 pm UTC

buttaa, 2004-12-14 02:28 am UTC

	seanp 2004-12-10 04:57 pm UTC (link)
	Why do so many black women straighten their hair? B/c they think it looks nice? (Reply to this) (Thread)

	littlebreeze 2004-12-10 04:59 pm UTC (link)
	someone should tell them it doesn't (Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

tuluum, 2004-12-10 05:00 pm UTC

seanp, 2004-12-10 05:16 pm UTC

littlebreeze, 2004-12-10 05:22 pm UTC

sardonic_girl, 2004-12-10 05:30 pm UTC

denim_queen, 2004-12-10 05:47 pm UTC

mercedes600, 2004-12-10 06:02 pm UTC

denim_queen, 2004-12-10 06:04 pm UTC

littlebreeze, 2004-12-10 06:15 pm UTC

denim_queen, 2004-12-10 06:24 pm UTC

littlebreeze, 2004-12-10 06:52 pm UTC

ebonbird, 2004-12-11 01:07 am UTC

bombyamom, 2004-12-12 05:44 am UTC

bombyamom, 2004-12-12 05:50 am UTC

sardonic_girl, 2004-12-10 10:21 pm UTC

denim_queen, 2004-12-10 10:33 pm UTC

maatka, 2004-12-11 12:34 am UTC

Cool! -

denim_queen, 2004-12-11 12:54 am UTC

Re: Cool! -

maatka, 2004-12-11 07:09 am UTC

Re: Cool! -

ebonbird, 2004-12-11 12:46 pm UTC

Re: Cool! -

denim_queen, 2004-12-11 03:05 pm UTC

thewayoftheid, 2004-12-11 12:41 am UTC

maatka, 2004-12-11 07:18 am UTC

littlebreeze, 2004-12-13 05:41 pm UTC

maatka, 2004-12-14 08:22 pm UTC

sardonic_girl, 2004-12-11 07:33 am UTC

cleojones, 2004-12-10 10:08 pm UTC

gwennierocks, 2004-12-11 01:01 am UTC

tuluum
2004-12-10 04:58 pm UTC (link)

that's an interesting one to me, being in a black country relaxed hair is an 'adult' thing like wearing makeup and dating. You don't see girls getting it done until they are in high school. And sometimes not even then. I know many women my age and much older who wear their hair natural. Right now my hair is relaxed but I have gone years inbetween with natural hair as well. I think you should not send children from such a young age the message that their hair 'needs' alteration. If they want the stylistic choice later on that's ok but it shouldn't be because they are running from their natural state. And sometimes I think when you see relaxer ads for kids barely out of pre school that's what it seems to suggest.

	tuluum 2004-12-10 04:59 pm UTC (link)
	hey i just realized i have seen your pic from guttaperk :) You're Bajan? I'm Trini, is it the same there re: relaxers and kids? :) (Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

littlebreeze, 2004-12-10 05:27 pm UTC

tuluum, 2004-12-10 05:59 pm UTC

sofvckinghot
2004-12-10 05:00 pm UTC (link)

Some people do it just to make it easier to comb thru the kid's hair and make grooming less of an ordeal. I remember screaming and hollering every time my mom would comb my hair because I was "tenderheaded" (do they still use that word??). I don't have kids and I didn't get relaxers until I was older. I never got many, because it was just a pain in the @ss. I stopped getting them at all, because the chemicals are so bad for your hair. And, they stink. That cream mixture is FUNKY! ;)

	sardonic_girl 2004-12-10 05:31 pm UTC (link)
	My mom still says I'm tenderheaded. :) (Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

littlebreeze, 2004-12-10 05:38 pm UTC

sardonic_girl, 2004-12-10 10:10 pm UTC

	thewayoftheid 2004-12-10 05:04 pm UTC (link)
	IMO, the worst thing you could do is introduce harmful chemicals to your 7 year-old's hair. Press, comb, and braid it until she's old enough to decide what she wants to do with it. That said, I still don't see the big deal about hair straightening. It's just a personal preference for some, and it doesn't make you more or less enlightened if you do that or rock locs. (Reply to this) (Thread)

	sardonic_girl 2004-12-10 05:32 pm UTC (link)
	True, I didn't perm my hair til I was 13, until then I either wore braids or got the scary hot comb treatment. (Reply to this) (Parent)

	venus_the_brave 2004-12-10 05:07 pm UTC (link)
	i know what you mean, I dont like to see that either. when i have a child, i'll prolly press their hair until they are at least 8 or 9 years old, my mom did same for me and my sisters. (Reply to this) (Thread)

	speedychi 2004-12-10 05:19 pm UTC (link)
	ditto. on everything. i used to straighten and relax my hair cuz its easier, but now i have locs. cuz thats even easier. i never touch them (Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

venus_the_brave, 2004-12-10 05:22 pm UTC

speedychi, 2004-12-10 05:30 pm UTC

venus_the_brave, 2004-12-10 06:31 pm UTC

littlebreeze, 2004-12-10 05:30 pm UTC

speedychi, 2004-12-10 05:33 pm UTC

sardonic_girl, 2004-12-10 05:35 pm UTC

littlebreeze, 2004-12-10 05:50 pm UTC

sardonic_girl, 2004-12-10 10:23 pm UTC

mercedes600, 2004-12-10 06:07 pm UTC

seeme, 2004-12-10 06:39 pm UTC

	gfrancie 2004-12-10 05:15 pm UTC (link)
	Because it doesn't help that for decades people were told their hair looked bad. I tell ya...that is probably one of the worst things you can do to your hair. That is why a number of these ladies end up bald. (Reply to this) (Thread)

	littleeva 2004-12-10 05:30 pm UTC (link)
	I used to straighten my hair but it's a pain in the ass now, so I cut it all off and now I color it different colors. Some women look better with natural hair, some look better with straight hair, some look better with long hair, some with short hair and some bald. (Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

gfrancie, 2004-12-10 05:36 pm UTC

mercedes600, 2004-12-10 06:08 pm UTC

littlebreeze, 2004-12-10 05:31 pm UTC

gfrancie, 2004-12-10 05:36 pm UTC

rgay
2004-12-10 05:34 pm UTC (link)

I think its really easy to say that hair-straightening is a sign of weakness or a leftover symptom of slavery, but often times that's just not the case.

It is bothersome to me, that people are so quick to judge and label people. Why do you give a rat's ass how someone else wears their hair? And how dare you act superior because you lock it up, or wear a natural afro. You are not special. You are not better than the sistah who spends her Saturday afternoon at the salon getting her shit done. Natural is beautiful, but there's nothing wrong with a perm, or braids, or a weave. While I will agree that some women torture their hair out of self-hatred, others simply prefer a different, straighter look. They are not traitors to the race. They are not evil incarnate. They are making a choice. Deal with it.

And, for the record, I go both ways.

	sardonic_girl 2004-12-10 05:36 pm UTC (link)
	right on, I agree. (Reply to this) (Parent)

littlebreeze, 2004-12-10 05:42 pm UTC

grennie, 2004-12-10 07:26 pm UTC

_infinitemind, 2004-12-10 05:46 pm UTC

the_afrodisiac, 2004-12-10 05:52 pm UTC

fluidspace, 2004-12-10 11:06 pm UTC

the_afrodisiac, 2004-12-11 02:41 am UTC

fluidspace, 2004-12-11 08:32 pm UTC

denim_queen, 2004-12-10 05:55 pm UTC

littlebreeze, 2004-12-10 06:07 pm UTC

denim_queen, 2004-12-10 06:09 pm UTC

mercedes600, 2004-12-10 06:09 pm UTC

littleeva, 2004-12-10 06:20 pm UTC

yogaclass4cats, 2004-12-11 09:14 am UTC

yogaclass4cats, 2004-12-11 09:23 am UTC

starfishncoffee
2004-12-10 05:54 pm UTC (link)

I do have to say that I resent when people make the very judgemental and generalizing blanket statement that any Black woman who straightens her hair does so out of self-hatred. While that may have been the root of the practice, for many of us today, like myself, we choose to do so because chemical processing is an option available to us just as white women have chemical processes like perming (and hair straightening) available to them.

I had natural hair until I was 10. My mother had natural hair for most of my life and I was brought up and ingrained with the notion that natural Black hair is just as beautiful as straight or wavy hair. I choose to straighten my hair because I like how I look with straightened hair. It's that simple.

I would not chemically straighten my young daughter's hair, personally, but I know many mothers who do. I choose not to judge them because that is their decision.

I just get tired of people assuming that they can make judgements about how I perceive my own racial identity and feel about Black culture, politics and beauty based upon my hairstyle. If one chooses to make a statement with style, then that's great. Not all of us choose to do so, however, and express our political and cultural beliefs in other ways.

Also I know plenty of people with natural hairstyles, locs and braids who have warped views of themselves and others as Black people. I don't assume that they are any more "down" than anyone else just like no one should assume that I'm any less "down" than they are.

(Reply from suspended user)

thewayoftheid, 2004-12-10 07:03 pm UTC

karnythia, 2004-12-10 07:10 pm UTC

yogaclass4cats, 2004-12-11 09:25 am UTC

littlebreeze, 2004-12-10 07:20 pm UTC

(Reply from suspended user)

yogaclass4cats, 2004-12-11 09:26 am UTC

toodani, 2004-12-10 08:11 pm UTC

kittylarock, 2004-12-11 09:16 am UTC

toodani, 2004-12-11 04:08 pm UTC

	polymexina 2004-12-10 06:20 pm UTC (link)
	i wonder how come straight hair is a personal choice, while skin bleaching is like... abhorrent? (Reply to this) (Thread)

	littlebreeze 2004-12-10 06:23 pm UTC (link)
	perhaps shin bleaching can also be labeled a personal choice and then we could all agree. (Reply to this) (Parent)

seeme, 2004-12-10 06:58 pm UTC

littlebreeze, 2004-12-10 07:01 pm UTC

derrr -

sharifa345, 2004-12-11 01:02 am UTC

polymexina, 2004-12-11 03:41 am UTC

sharifa345, 2004-12-11 04:51 pm UTC

kittylarock, 2004-12-11 09:10 am UTC

grennie, 2004-12-11 11:20 am UTC

copperqueen, 2004-12-13 06:09 am UTC

polymexina, 2004-12-13 02:08 pm UTC

	yobachi2003 2004-12-10 06:20 pm UTC (link)
	Why do so many black women straighten their hair? It's for fashion, and NO other reason. rolls eyes Oh yeah - and convenience. (Reply to this) (Thread)

	littlebreeze 2004-12-10 06:27 pm UTC (link)
	"rolls eyes" Make sure they don't fall out, it wouldn't be fashionable (Reply to this) (Parent)

recumbentgoat
2004-12-10 08:01 pm UTC (link)

Wow. Quite excessive. Anything taken to such lengths should really be reconsidered. But this is like parents who bombard their children with gender 'appropriate' toys. And dress their young children in pink for girls and blue for boys.

I'm surprised parents would subject their kids to these harsh hair treatments. Personally, I couldn't get a perm til I was in the 5th grade---and it was very reluctantly on my mom's part. Had a freakin' bowl cut most of my life....

Children are one thing---but adults are another. People find ways to fit in that are conscious and unconscious---

All women of all races experiment with their hair---and for poc women yes, they are unfairly affected by colonial/racist/white attitudes; but I don't assign value judgements on the varying degrees of assimilation people go through in order to cope in society.

As for hair vs. skin.....skin is your largest living organ. Why the fuck would anyone want to damage growing tissue? Tanning is a non-issue--I've seen plenty of poc who tan quite nicely.

(Reply to this)

	toodani 2004-12-10 08:14 pm UTC (link)
	just came to mind, what are your opinions on hair coloring? (Reply to this)

	graceschild 2004-12-10 08:17 pm UTC (link)
	With the state of the world as it is, who gives a damn what's on top of someone's head. That's as intrusive as being concerned with who's in someone's bed. Why do many white people get tans? Why do transexual people cross dress? (Reply to this) (Thread)

	littleeva 2004-12-10 08:56 pm UTC (link)
	Thanks for this, it really made my day. Personally I don't give a fcuk who's in anybody else's bed but mine. (Reply to this) (Parent)

	graceschild 2004-12-10 08:18 pm UTC (link)
	With the state of the world as it is, who gives a damn what's on top of someone's head. That's as intrusive as being concerned with who's in someone's bed. Why do many white people get tans? Why do transexual people cross dress? Who cares? (Reply to this)

	melaninjitsu 2004-12-10 08:35 pm UTC (link)
	At the end of the day, who cares. The fact that we use English fucking lANGUAGE is a carryover from slavery, and if you ask Dr. Cosby, some of us STILL aren't colonized well enough. hair is irrrelevant. If you don't define the individual inside, the outside is worthless. (Reply to this)

	White people straighten their hair :O nati_thoughts 2004-12-10 09:29 pm UTC (link)
	Lazy and self-hate?!?!? How about the mother work all the time and don't have time? Or they were going to a wedding or something and the mother wanted the child's hair to be a certain way for the occasion (Reply to this) (Thread)

	Re: White people straighten their hair :O littlebreeze 2004-12-10 09:43 pm UTC (link)
	What certain way would that be? dead? burnt? or caucasian? (Reply to this) (Parent)

littlebreeze, 2004-12-10 09:51 pm UTC

thewayoftheid, 2004-12-10 10:01 pm UTC

melaninjitsu, 2004-12-10 10:03 pm UTC

reve119, 2004-12-10 10:21 pm UTC

nati_thoughts, 2004-12-11 06:01 am UTC

yogaclass4cats, 2004-12-11 09:30 am UTC

	Fuck it. thewayoftheid 2004-12-10 10:15 pm UTC (link)
	I really didn't want to do this, but my hand was forced. (Reply to this) (Thread)

	kjpepper 2004-12-10 10:26 pm UTC (link)
	... (Reply to this) (Parent)

melaninjitsu, 2004-12-10 11:01 pm UTC

starfishncoffee, 2004-12-10 11:18 pm UTC

sardonic_girl, 2004-12-11 08:02 am UTC

denim_queen, 2004-12-10 11:26 pm UTC

recumbentgoat, 2004-12-11 01:28 am UTC

	fluidspace 2004-12-10 11:08 pm UTC (link)
	Better question: Who cares? (Reply to this)

Cause Bobby said its my perogative

xica_s
2004-12-10 11:16 pm UTC (link)

Well as a black woman, born of a black woman, and related to a whole heap of black women I feel qualifired to answer this question.

*ahem*

Cause I wanna. I didn't get my first perm until I was in the fifth grade and I thanked the heaven and earth when it happened because it meant no more sundays on a porch sitting between my mothers legs getting my scalped pulled every which way into braids that I never liked in the first place or being tortured with that damn hot comb. I still get my hair straightened today because I like the way it looks and because its convenient for me. I like the softness, i like being able to style it different ways, I like being able to change it up with color. My mom wears her hair naturally after years of a having tried literally every style in the book. Weaves, wigs, micros, afro, texturized, jherri curled (but it her defesne it was the 80's), twists, waves, tried desperately for locs, etc etc etc. Having her little baby fro doesn't make her any more aware of her blackness than me, its just means she hates going to the salon.

My aunt has four children, two of which are girls under the age of 8. Those girls hav never had any chemical put into their heads and it is a constant battle to get it looking any way but wild. I agree that they are too young for that kind of processing, but I doubt that when one of them they finally gets one she'll wipe her brow and say "phew, now I can start looking like the white girl I've always wanted to be!".

Re: Cause Bobby said its my perogative -

Re: Cause Bobby said its my perogative

cndrelm0
2004-12-10 11:57 pm UTC (link)

Thank YOU. I didn't have my hair straightened until I was in the 8th grade just because my mother wanted me to try different styles that were natural. (fro,braids,rows,etc.) And once I was older and she knew I knew and understood the potential damage that could be done to my hair, she allowed me to relax it so I could try new styles that were not natural. And I'm tired of people acting like if you straighten your hair then you'll NEVER get it back natural ever again. I've gone back natural numerous times over the years. This should end now

(Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

yogaclass4cats, 2004-12-11 09:34 am UTC

Re: Cause Bobby said its my perogative -

sardonic_girl, 2004-12-11 08:04 am UTC

Re: Cause Bobby said its my perogative -

missniceness, 2004-12-12 12:17 am UTC

	karnythia 2004-12-10 11:44 pm UTC (link)
	(Reply to this) (Thread)

	thewayoftheid 2004-12-10 11:47 pm UTC (link)
	...and the church says, "Amen." (Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

But uh, your Whitney could use a little...Rick. :) -

karnythia, 2004-12-10 11:56 pm UTC

thewayoftheid, 2004-12-11 12:03 am UTC

Mwa Ha Ha -

karnythia, 2004-12-11 12:07 am UTC

*dies* -

thewayoftheid, 2004-12-11 12:10 am UTC

Aiiiiiii! -

ebonbird, 2004-12-11 01:18 am UTC

Re: But uh, your Whitney could use a little...Rick. :) -

_infinitemind, 2004-12-11 01:35 am UTC

Re: But uh, your Whitney could use a little...Rick. :) -

missbrooks, 2004-12-11 06:00 am UTC