hair hype...

2/8/2010- I wrote this several months ago (in October) but I still wanted to post...Enjoy!

I know I've been a bad lil blogger, but life has thrown many curve balls these days. I am still here and working with what I've got, though. Seems like I've been talking my ish in many a convo and I just had to put up something in response to all the media hype about Black women's hair these days. So here we go:

As a Black woman hair blogger—among varied and sundry interests-- the past couple of weeks have been pretty gag inducing and well…disappointing. The blogs, television shows, and all other media have been all over Black women and their hair. Tyra, Oprah, Chris Rock, all the gossip blogs, and news channels have seized an opportunity to wax poetic about the state of Black women and their hair. So what's so bad about that, you may be asking. Well, what has me so miffed about this coverage of Black hair is that there seems to be an incomplete story and lack an overall message. And if there is some message that can be derived in certain instances, they seem to cater to well-worn, surface notions about Black women's relationship with their hair and present a narrow aspect of Black hair. Over the past few weeks, I’ve had a chance to view coverage that has concerned me.

Let me highlight some of the things I've seen:
Tyra- Expectations...MET. They were (and are) pretty low to begin with, and she met the mark. Yes, she did go sans-weave, but why come out with wet, permy hair? WTF was that about? Then she whines over her hair being cut a few silly inches, really WTF? Then she lets audience members feel for tracks, umm? Then she gets her hair styled on set, umm really? And a large segment is devoted to giving guests "real hair makeovers", but not one guest has that original "snap back" (you know the real nappy) that is not altered to makeover. So essentially, the show was about not wearing weave. Which in and of itself is not a bad thing but it seems to be off the mark when tackling the good/bad hair thing and self-appreciation. Where were the women who couldn’t remember their natural hair texture? Even staying with the sans-weave theme, where were the perpetual braid wearers (think Brandy, hell even myself in college)? Furthermore, Ty Ty may want to re-think the chemicals because her hair quality did look rather poor. I know I'm not the only one who noticed split ends, wispy strands, and thinning. When she is ready to do a real makeover on herself, maybe then I would watch that piece of a show.
Update 2/2010- The show has been canceled recently.

Oprah- Dang, O, you could have styled your real hair for the show with Chris Rock, the one show you decide to reveal it. One part of the show that I was actually in agreement with her was when she made a good point of noting Rock's intentions of basically outing sista's hair issues, but why not push it further. Could it be that that show was intended as a tutorial for her "core audience"? Which leaves me questioning what the intent of the entire show was. At one point, Rock mentions that the purpose of a relaxer was more so to relax White folks. Soooo, is this a rally cry for Black women to abandon relaxers or is this observance pointing out that Black women still wear relaxers to appease Whites? In reference to Solo (aka Solange), SOME people did say some dirty, sideways comments about your short natural, but most of the comments I read surrounded female entertainers (Solo in this instance) doing a big chop for ATTENTION, not necessarily for the look. Well, you got it (attention that is), but please don't make it seem like it was ALL about you rocking a natural. Unfortunately (and fortunately), people regard you as Bey’s lil sis and typically when big sisters get lots of attention for one thing or another, there is a perception that lil sisters will seek out attention as well (re: Marsha v Jan Brady). If you wanna really take it there, why not interview without the texturizer (or the grease & water) look?

One observation I made about BOTH Tyra & Oprah shows is that neither broached the topic of natural hair! There was no guest spot, no informational, nor any commentary about natural Black hair. In fact, Rock joked about O’s cute little plaits when she was a young girl and her afro as a young adult… and that was it.

Good Hair Movie- Where do I even begin with this one? This is what really sparked this post. I was sitting on the “GOOD HAIR” post for quite some time now and I figured why not put it out there. This is a tricky one because I've been having an internal conflict about supporting this film. I want to see it because it talks about Black hair and a concept that almost every Black girl has been knowledgeable about... "good & bad" hair. HOWEVER, based on the ads, interviews, and previews, I'm not sure what it actually accomplishes if anything. When I first heard that Black hair would be discussed in any form or fashion in the mainstream, I was excited. Then, as the ads started to air, I’ve come to question what this movie is really about. I’ve yet to see a natural haired woman in the ads, with the exception the image of Angela Davis turning into Naomi Campbell, and even then, it had a slight negative connotation to it. Is this movie explaining (or dare I say re-enforcing) the notion of good hair? I know Chris Rock’s shtick is based on satirizing deep issues, but is a message lost within all the joking? There are many questions that I am curious about regarding this movie, but I will reserve them for the sake of not pre-judging it (on this blog at least). Rest assured, I will be doing a follow up when (or if) I get around to seeing it. My fear is that the movie is made for cheap laughs at Black women’s expense.

Update: How ironic is it that a Black women (Regina Kimbell) is suing Chris Rock for swagger jacking her previous movie "My Nappy Roots: A Journey Through Black Hair-itage ". I bet you, this movie had a more comprehensive view of Black hair, perhaps because it was made by an actual Black woman (big up to EcoSoul for highlighting that aspect).

Another Update: Saw Good Hair... still wondering about intentions. The good things: I guess it wanted to promote Blacks going into their own manufacturing of hair products. The questionable things: Where was the coverage of natural hair? Why not visit the Baltimore Black Hair Expo? Why not go to natural hair salons?


I must say this: This is the very reason that I love the NATURAL Black Hair blogosphere. We are speaking to a subject that many people do not want (or refuse) to face. I am far from a natural hair zealot (though I can respect some folks who get down like that), but in this recent wave of mainstream media coverage of Black hair, there is a huge misrepresentation of Black hair and certainly NO representation of natural Black hair. These events have renewed my commitment to talking about natural hair and all the experiences (positive and otherwise) that have come along with it. And for that, I’m thankful.