Celebrating Natural Women
I recently had posted if you have natural hair reply “I do” on this post on my FaceBook wall. I’m going to be honest with you, I was a little surprised, and overjoyed, to see how many women responded.
Being natural has become the trend nowadays, I still remember the days where straight hair was the norm, growing up in a country where the colonized mentality reigned among all social classes.
I was 16 when I first had a relaxer, having to leave the nest at 18, I kept the look, even though I didn’t quite like the whole process of having to burn my scalp every 2 months. In 2004 being in a circle where the men wore locks and the women didn’t care much for relaxers I’d decided to go natural, yes I had locks..and they were growing. Then came 2008 when I moved to FL, my mother was flabbergasted, she couldn’t believe what I had done..well needless to say she called a family intervention (literally I’m not kidding, aunts uncles and cousins ganged up on me) to have my locks remove. To avoid confrontation, and since I love my mom so much I decided to remove them under the condition that I would not shave my head. It took me 2 weeks from dusk till dawn with only food and bathroom breaks to untangle each lock one by one. So as you can see I’ve been rocking a natural look ever since, but early this year I was introduced to weaves and wigs..which will be for another blog..of course.
Just a little history about Black hair you can read more on Wikipedia : Since the beginning of African civilization, hairstyles have been used to convey messages to greater society. As early as the 15th century, different styles could “indicate a person’s marital status, age, religion, ethnic identity, wealth and rank within the community.”[1] Unkempt hair in nearly every West African culture was considered unattractive to the opposite sex and a sign that one was dirty, had bad morals or was even insane.[2] Hair maintenance in traditional Africa was aimed at creating a sense of beauty. “A woman with long thick hair demonstrated the life force, the multiplying power of profusion, prosperity. A green thumb for raising bountiful farms and many healthy children,” wrote Sylvia Ardyn Boone, an anthropologist specializing in the Mende culture of Sierra Leon.[3] In Yoruba culture, people braided their hair to send messages to the gods. The hair is the most elevated part of the body and was therefore considered a portal for spirits to pass through to the soul. Because of the cultural and spiritual importance of hair for Africans, the practice of having their heads involuntarily shaved before being sold as slaves was in itself a dehumanizing act. “The shaved head was the first step the Europeans took to erase the slaves’ culture and alter the relationship between the African and his or her hair”.
This was actually my way to uplift the women who rock a natural look CONGRATULATIONS LADIES and Happy Women’s month!!
