I Confess: I Am My Hair After All -
By: Leslie -
 I love India Arie’s “I Am Not My Hair”. It’s uplifting, clever, and has a nice beat. I think it expresses a powerful sentiment about our culture’s preoccupation with the physical.
We do tend to judge people based on looks and we sometimes make unfounded assumptions about what those looks mean in the process. While I agree that the whole of me cannot be summed up by a hairstyle, much of who I am is reflected in how I have chosen to wear my hair.
We all have the freedom to adorn ourselves as we see fit, right? Maybe, but for some, that freedom comes at a price. As much as people may not want to admit, black hair is still very political. Do you remember the story of a certain police department banning locs? What about the congresswoman who was called a “ghetto slut” because she wore a twist-out? Cases like these make it very clear that afro-textured hair is still a controversial subject. So, in a culture that generally tends to devalue natural black hairstyles, I think choosing to wear them anyway makes a pointed statement.
Some people opine that spending time talking about hair is silly in a world of poverty and war, but when it comes to Afro textured locks, it is not “just hair”. If it were, women would not agonize over the decision to go natural and there would be no serious ramifications from choosing to do so. While many ladies are still rocking relaxers and weaves, choosing to wear Black hair in its natural state communicates a strong message of pride as well as a preference for a distinctly African aesthetic. Nobody else on the planet has hair quite like ours so to flaunt it in all its glory is a beautiful affirmation of our uniqueness.
Will discussing hair solve global warming or cure world hunger? No. But on a day-to-day level, we may spark some social change about it. While it will never completely defines us, natural hair is a significant part of our identity that we should proudly embrace.
November 2, 2009
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