Black Women: Are you afraid of your hair?

Question

I see more and more black women trying to straighten their hair. Why not wear it natural? I like my hair curly and sometimes I'll style it in an afro. Why do some of you feel like that is not a good thing?

Answer 1

I'm half african american and I straighten my hair because it's easier to deal w/ straight. When my hair's curly I don't know what to do w/ it.

Answer 2

I'd point out to her that having hair like hers leaves her with more options to style than most other races.  As long as she isn't afraid to be who she truly is, I wouldn't be overly concerned.

Answer 3

In response to another post, I have a daughter with naturally straight hair. She happens to be white. In fact, she often is asked at her school how much time she spends on straightening her hair. Her answer? None because her hair is naturally that way. It hangs down completely straight. She doesn't have even have waves in it nor does she have little curly tendrils.

Answer 4

I'm not a black woman, but I am a woman, and as such, society constantly tries to make me into a fashionista... as that is now said, I have heard many "advices" about fashion by people who think I care, and most of it revolves around hair.

If you have naturally curly hair, you buy straightener.  If you have naturally straight hair, you buy curlers.  If you have greasy hair, you remove the grease.  If you have dry hair, you add the grease.

It's simply a matter of fashion and taste, not moral judgement.

Answer 5

You say you see more and more black women trying to straighten their hair...I think the trend is actually in the opposite direction. Doing the "Big Chop" and cutting off all your damaged relaxed hair is becoming a bigger and bigger phenomenon. The Natural hair movement is really gaining steam.

A lot of girls say "I don't know what to do with it when it's natural" but this movement is aiming to teach girls how to work with their beautiful natural hair texture and how to be proud of it instead of ashamed of it.

Answer 6

Black chix wif fros are da hottest

Answer 7

cuz i cant control it natural..i really want to be able to wear my hair curly one day...and then straight another..but it just dsent work like that for me..straightening it just makes it much easier to handle

Answer 8

I'm a Caucasian girl with very frizzy, curly, unmanageable hair. In high school I was teased for not brushing my hair, even though I did. I can see why people would want straight hair.  Its easy to take care of and it doesn't need to be styled to look neat.

However,  I wouldn't trade my curly hair for straight hair; it is a part of who I am.

P.S. I think African hair is beautiful; a woman can do so many cool things with it. It always upsets me when famous black actresses straiten their hair in the stereotypical Hollywood haircuts.

Answer 9

Asians are the ONLY race who have straight hair...........whites don't but come close but I don't understand why my white friends straighten out their hair everyday when it looks ok. But black peoples hair also sadly known as nappy...........really a old slave term to call black peoples hair which is just curly. Our hair is just curly and thats it and now that I am growing it longer I have long curls. No human should be afraid of their hair!

But I have a question when a black female straightens her hair why is she considered afraid? We are not allowed to style it like other races? When a black female wears fake eye contacts why is it then considered too fake then other races?

Just curious. I ask the same to a friend of mines (he is black) and ever since he shut up because it makes no sense to ask that.

You have to understand we live in America meaning we and ever race of women follow the trend of their county. Now if you moved to Africa some of them shave all of there hair off..............will you be trying that? And I bet you would if you were born there and so on but other Africans have long hair anyway by genetics. Your kids are normal they see there friends doing so and they understand what is considered beauty in there area. My friend is white and she goes crazy if her hair is not straight enough.

Its just hair and nothing more.

How about our names? Thats not African , Victoria is far from it so are we all going to go out and change our names?

Answer 10

I am not a black woman, but my late grandmother had hair similar to yours. She wore it in a bun , because she had a hard time controlling it otherwise throughout her entire life. I guess, hair products we have now were not available to her in her youth, so she just pulled it back and forgot about it all together. I still remember her comments about ladies with soft and wavy hair. I guess, we all want what we don't have, and it really is OK.

Answer 11

Having it afro style isn't as fashionable anymore and we are iun a scoeity where fashion and looks matter to a lot of people. Also we always want what we don't have, as someone with poker straight hair for years I yearned to have curls while my friends with curly hair did everything they could to keep it as straight as possible.

Now a miracle has been bestowed upon me....I have GHD's!!!

Although besides fashion a lot of my family are Jamaican from my brother's marrige and I didn't rea.ise just how much racism some peopel have against their own race. They want to apear as light and westernised as possible, my sister in law doesn't like the kids to spend too long in the sunshine in case they turned blacker?!?!

Answer 12

People want something different.

It can be about hating yourself, or it might just be about wanting something else for a while.

Most people come back to their own hair when life starts to get busy!

Cheers :-)

Answer 13

Black women have beautiful hair.  I remember a girlfriend of mine from many moons ago.  Many times she would use a heating brush and sometimes burn herself.  Other times she would wear a wig.  

I loved her for who she was and I preferred her to be natural.

Answer 14

Personally I think that a lot of black people have very nice hair (as long as it's conditioned, but that's just normal hair-care). Society keeps trying to whitewash non-caucasians and it's disgusting. Not everyone looks the same and not everyone should. Because of my latino ancestors I have a body shape not usually found on caucasians (though in terms of coloring I look white) but it suits me. And I wouldn't change it if I could. Your daughter just needs more black role models with natural hair :)