Or, does hairstyle determine head sense?

You know, nappturals are an interesting bunch. We really are. There are many reasons why a woman of African descent suddenly decides to stop chemically straightening her hair. You’ve got the “Power to the people!” nappturals, who think nappy is the only way to go, because any variation is indicative of deep-seated self-hatred of one’s “blackness”. You’ve got the “Healthy” nappturals, who believe that just about all chemicals should be avoided, to avoid cancer and other health problems, as well as damaged hair. You got the “Sick and tired” nappturals (my personal classification), who just got sick and tired of spending ridiculous amounts of money on all-day salon visits, along with whatever else they grew tired of.

Many of us are probably a blend of all three, but we lean towards one main classification. What I’ve learned, recently, is that folks engage in some serious presumption, when it comes to how one wears the hair on the head. It amazes me that folks will take a look at my hair, and come to some conclusions about me that could be (and probably are) way out in left field. And they think that’s okay.

There’s so much that divides people of African descent. So much. Yet, so many of us are willing players, in the game of “Divide the Blacks, So They’ll Scatter”. I’m a woman. I’m a black woman. There’s a natural affinity I feel towards women in general, but black women in particular. We have a unique way of relating/loving/being, that feels like “home” to me. There’s no way I’m going to alienate (psychologically) myself from another black woman, simply because of how she chooses to wear her own hair. That, to me, is ignorance magnified.

It’s foolish to automatically associate wearing one’s hair in its nappy state, with anything that has to do with self-love/acceptance. Where does that association come from? Do we realize that there are folks who just like nappy hair? For them, it has nothing to do with being proud of one’s ethnicity. Just because I may have had problems accepting my hair (for whatever reasons), doesn’t mean that everybody else had/has the same problems. Some of us jump on a “cause”, and we run with it — right off a cliff. Some women have ALWAYS worn their hair nappy, and many aren’t nearly as uptight and self-righteous as those who just stopped the creamy crack a few years back, but come off as if they were never part of the foolishness (if that’s indeed what it is). Also, it’s very easy to focus on the superficial, while ignoring the critical.

There are many women, who will not complete the journey to “nappily ever after”. They won’t. The reasons vary. For some, it’s simply a phase. So, just because a person is all gung ho, about the napps today, doesn’t mean that they’ll be on the same bandwagon, ten years from now. I’ve seen women go from locs, to short, relaxed pixie cuts — and they rocked the locs, and currently rock the straight, both with a fierceness. They were beautiful black women, thru all of it. I ain’t mad…:)

A Nappy Girl