The haircare debates were raging again awhile back: Do white mothers of black daughters fetishize haircare? (yes) Are they really judged by 'the black community' (as if a monolith) by how well they 'keep' their daughters' hair? (depending on location, yes) Have real anxieties about transracial parenting been displaced onto black hair? (indeed yes) Has education about race been deferred while hours have been poured into picking the proper oil and pomade and shampoo and lotion and leave in conditioner and . . .? (also yes).
But the facts remain: In our neighborhood and school, it is most common for black daughters of black mothers to have their hair braided and beaded. My daughter admires braids, baubles and shiny beads, and so I braid. Recently, she has decided that she really loves her natural 'do just as it is, so we leave it curly and loose about half the week (the other half I do braids or twists so it isn't tangled or dried out and so the ends are protected).
Today she said the most fantastic thing:
"I love my hair. I want you to make it really BIG so all my friends can say 'Oh!'" and she beamed. So I picked it and then she shook it to an almost unimaginable height and oh the delight!
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6 comments:
I'm delighted just imagining what her beautiful hair must have looked like!!
Hope all is well in your world!
HA! LOVE this! Say and I have been rocking out to india.arie's "i am not my hair." and while the lyrics are a little ascetic at times, i'm loving it. here's to daughters whose hair is incredible and whose spirits amaze us all the more.
keely
I'll have to download it from itunes. I'll bet we'll love it.
I want to be Miss I. when I grow up.
Our guys are proud of their hair, too, and want it to be BIG. I think I may be a little guilty of obsessing about product, but I also do so for myself -- it's one of my few indulgences.
How long/big is Miss I's hair?
PS, I've tried to respond to your comments on my blog, but my emails get bounced back -- I may be spam! anyway, if you're interested in a pillow, let me know -- I'm going to get Etsy-fied one of these days...
I'll have to post a 'fro picture -- it's about eight inches when stretched out, though it coils to about half that length. When we pick it out, we can achieve quite a height for a relatively short person!
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