Ok, Ok, Ok……Let’s talk about it. Have you seen the trailer for Chris Rock’s new movie “Good Hair”? How do you feel about it? For the next three weeks, I want to have an ongoing conversation with you how you feel about the good vs. bad hair issue.
I haven’t seen the movie yet…but it looks like it good hair vs. bad hair in the black community. Although… bad hair is in my opinion non-existent, it seemingly refers to tightly coiled hair. Some Jewish girls I know, or even clients for that matter, who hate their curly hair and want straight hair. Bad hair vs. good hair exists for them as well.
However, based upon my assumption, I will proceed. Week 1 – I want to discuss various the emotions surrounding the belief, Week 2 – the movie idea itself (something we “black folk” don’t want to talk about in front of other non black folk” almost “cooning”) and finally Week 3, – A closer look. I will choose a topic that seemed to be reoccurring in the previous two weeks and “take it there”. So if you haven’t seen the trailer yet, I’ve included it below.
So lets get started with WEEK 1
Good Hair????
I will stand tall and say “ I DON’T BELIEVE IN ‘GOOD HAIR’” Hair is hair…. If you have some, you should be thankful! It’s unfortunate that anyone looks at hair that way. Since I make a living from my association with hair, I’d still go out on a limb and say hair doesn’t make you or break you. Like India.Arie said “I am not my hair”. Hair is simply an extension of who we are so it doesn’t make us; it does however represent you. Just like if you were to look like a homeless person on the street and go into a job interview, chances are you wont get the job.
Good Hair is a myth. Everybody wants what he or she doesn’t have. Individuals with straight hair wish they had more body. The fact is…. I think we just want hair that we can handle and that we find represents what we feel…. just like a haircut.
What are your thoughts?
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Growing up in Miami I, like Chris’s daughter, often wondered why I didn’t have ‘good hair.’ Hair that was wavy and flowed down my back, even in a ponytail. From late elementary through high school, my mother relaxed my hair because naturally it was “too thick” to manage. Now, I pay for thicker hair via weaves and volumizing products. I’ve been toying with the idea of going natural but am often discouraged at month 8 or 9 without a relaxer when the curls at my root don’t curl quite right. This is my first time seeing the trailer and I’m eager to know other Black women’s experience with the battle for ‘good hair.’ I can’t wait to see the film!
i agree “good hair” is a myth. it is an idea that has been so deeply ingrained into our psyche as a people that we are not even aware of our true thougths and the true detriment we have suffered and continue to perpetuate in our lives and the lives of upcoming generations based on this myth.