Good Hair - Dispelling the myths

"Look at where you be in hair weaves like Europeans / Fake nails done by Koreans/Come Again/Come Again" (Lauryn Hill)

I recently watched the docu-film, ‘Good Hair’ by Chris Rock - he comically tackles the Afro-Caribbean obsession with impeccable tresses. Rock decided to make this production because his young daughter asked him why she did not have ‘good hair’. This sparked questions on culture and acceptance and ‘what constitutes good hair?’. My 'clichéd' response to this would be ‘healthy hair’.

For generations, some black women have fought with their natural hair; it has been permed, relaxed and teased incessantly. All for what? Is it so that they can look more socially ‘acceptable’ or is it simply for manageability purposes? While some people may argue that it is the former, on my part, it is largely the latter.

It seems to me that the general consensus is that conformists (to Westernized ideals of beauty) relax their hair, wear it in a weave, straighten it, whilst rebels, mavericks and Nubian queens alike chose to sport natural styles such as dreadlocks, afros or even a shorn head. I find these assumptions to be generalist, inaccurate and unfair. There was never a more evident case of ‘damned if you do and damned if you don’t’.

In the words of Lauryn Hill, ‘Look at where you be in hair weaves like Europeans / Fake nails done by Koreans/Come Again/Come Again’. Clearly, Miss Hill doesn’t advocate anything but the natural stuff and that is her prerogative.

It is easy to see why afro advocates believe that straightening or relaxing one’s hair equates I-Want-To-Look-Civilized-According-To-The-Western-Rule- book. According to the poll results on NaturallyCurly.com, 56% of voters weren’t ready for a First Lady with kinky hair. When Malia Obama wore her hair in twists in the summer of 2009, conservative America was revolted. Yes, revolted!

Looking at black, female celebrities who dominate the media, we have the likes of Beyonce, Rihanna and Tyra Banks. If you ever read comments written about these women on black celebrity websites regarding their looks, these women are labelled as ‘bounties’ and ‘sell outs’ and have arguably become pariahs of black sisterhood. On the other hand, there are the likes of Erykah Badu, Lauryn Hill, Angie Stone and India Arie who are constantly hailed as ‘soul sistas’ or are said to be more in touch with their ‘African-ness’. Notice a correlation?

I personally choose not to leave my hair tabula rasa and I most certainly do not relax or straighten my hair because I want to look 'white'! I chemically straighten my hair it expedites the processes of washing, combing and styling. Sometimes, if I feel like it, I might even heat-blast it into submission. Am I 'less black' for doing so? What does 'being black' even mean? I feel that members of the black community need to get off that proverbial high horse and stop consigning people to 'sell-out' status simply because of their grooming choices. After all, beauty is in the eye of the beholder.