Thursday, November 30, 2006

What's natural?

My blog friend over at Afrobella posted about what constitutes "natural hair" and it got me to thinking about living naturally.

I started making a mental note of all the things in my life are so NOT natural, like:

Brushing my teeth. Now of course I realize the importance of brushing my teeth...I don't want to be toothless by 45. And I'd like for what does remain in my head to be shiny and bright. But how natural is it to brush? When you think about it, it's kind of random. Back in the day they just woke up, ate breakfast and kept it moving.

Wearing make-up. I don't wear it much at all...mostly when I go out on the town or it's a special occasion. Like a hot date with a mystery man (just kidding, LC!). But it's so completely unnatural to cake your face with powdery substances. Do you think we're trained to know that a face perfected with make-up is more attractive than one without? Or do we just know a made up face is cuter than a natural one?

Drinking through a straw. Why don't we use glasses? What added value does a straw have? For me it was always about not having to put my lips on public cups...but still. Not really that natural.


Cutting my fingernails. God did not invent scissors, nail clippers or emory boards. So why do we trim down our tresses, push back our cuticles and keep our legs smooth and hairless? Makes no sense. But then again, thank God we do.

So in the end, how can we criticize women like Leela James for rocking fake naturals? Seems like little we do is natural, so why get upset about some dead follicles?

6 souls spinning:

At 6:24 PM, December 04, 2006, Blogger Bridgette's Odyssey said...

How about combing our hair. Is that natural or was it supposed to nap up and stay that way??? Hmm?

 
At 6:56 PM, December 04, 2006, Blogger Your Girl said...

Good point. Now that I wear my hair natural I almost never put a comb through mine and it looks just fine. In fact I like it better than after it's battled a pesky comb.

 
At 11:03 AM, December 05, 2006, Blogger Miz JJ said...

I think black women put too much pressure on each other in terms of hair. I do what is easiest. I debated natural hair, but that would not easy for me.

 
At 11:17 AM, December 13, 2006, Blogger me said...

How funny...I HATE to brush my hair and wish I could get away with never brushing; it'd look like hell and a half though. But I like it when someone else does...it's relaxing.

 
At 3:24 PM, March 27, 2007, Anonymous Anonymous said...

This post is asinine. First of all, there is nothing wrong with natural hair i.e. any relaxer or hair straightening by comb or flattening iron. Black women and men with natural hair have healthy hair as opposed to those who regularly apply perms and hot combs. Straightening your hair chemically or manually damages your hair beyond repair and the only way to repair that damage is to grow out new hair from the root. The black people who decide to leave their hair natural are looked down upon and often considered not to have their hair done just because they are not into European brainwashing in relation to their hair. There’s a reason why you hardly ever see black women with hair past their bra straps. Your hair is so damaged it refuses to grow. Don’t confuse shiny hair and bounce as a sign of healthy hair in black women with perms because that’s just surface, your hair and scalp is permanently damaged. Of course every one has the right to do what ever they want with their hair, but don’t look down on the black people with natural hair talking about their hair isn’t done and looks nasty because at least they accepted what genetic card they were thrown and not only find their natural hair beautiful but they appreciate the beauty of it. Also, black people with natural hair do comb their hair or finger separate, which is equivalent to combing. They don’t go out of their way to obtain this Causoid sense of beauty like most black people. So brushing your teeth, drinking out a straw, and all the rest of the list is moot because that had nothing to do and does not compare to choosing to keep your hair natural.

 
At 9:52 PM, March 29, 2007, Blogger Your Girl said...

um, i'm a black woman who wears her hair naturally kinky, so i'm confused by your justification of natural hair and by youd hate on this post.

 

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