Growing up, I often heard the term “good hair” when I was down in Louisiana visiting my mom’s family- I also heard things like “uppity” and “ high yellow” but those are stories for another day. When my aunt’s talked at me (yes, I do mean: at) they would comment on my hair and how “good” it was. I know that you don’t understand what that means, but I am about to drop a little knowledge on you.
Good hair is hair that is soft to the touch and manageable. Black women, especially, want to have good hair because it ‘blows in the wind.’ By ‘blows in the wind’ I mean that when the wind blows, your hair flows with it instead of sticking straight up and making you look like a crack head. So when a black person tells another black person that they have “good hair,” it’s a compliment.
Black hair in its natural state is not “good”- which is why it is really surprising that my aunties said that I had “good hair.” In its natural state black hair is kinky a.k.a. nappy, dry and seemingly impossible to control (unless you are walking around with a black power hair pic in your hair or you happen to be mixed- one parent is black and the other parent is of another race/ethnicity). Since, we feel that our hair is unmanageable, we “perm” it. Not the kind of perm that makes straight hair curly but the kind that makes curly hair straight.
Stay tuned for more on relaxers and where I stand on the issue...
Hi LA-A,
ReplyDeleteThis entry about "good hair" recalls, for me, some feminist essays I read as an undergrad that critiqued the idealization of soft, silky hair for black women--a kind of hair that is hard to achieve for many. I just came across this entry in another blog about a black barbie whose hair you can straighten. I wonder what you think about this? http://www.feministing.com/archives/018544.html
I think your blog is AWESOME. The color scheme, visuals, tags, and prompts for readers make the blog space inviting and fun to read. In response to your last post I think that because your readership is primarily based in our class you may find it hard to elicit honest questions. After all, the following week they have to look you in the eye as they ask for your initials and, as you point out, we (as a society) are not encouraged to ask questions based on race.
Perhaps you could advertise your blog to a wider public (share your URL with friends, "tag" it via google, etc).
Again, I love this blog idea. It reminds me of the "Ask a Mexican" column in the Tucson Weekly. I look forward to reading more. . .