Not Every Black Woman with a Perm is Trying to 'Look White'
Black Women Who Choose Hair Relaxer Over Natural Hair
On a Womanist Musings blog, the writer states, "The mocking of her bald spot is not only sexist, it is racist. Who do you think created the standards of long flowing locks as the epitome of female beauty in the fist place?"
According to Merriam Webster dictionary, racism is defined as "a belief that race is the primary determinant of human traits and capacities and that racial differences produce an inherent superiority of a particular race."
Nowhere in the entire Gawker entry did anybody state that one race or sex is better than another race. Gawker definitely showed off Naomi Campbell's bald spot, but entertainment blogs and articles also went bananas to see Britney Spears with a bald head, another topic Gawker covered.
Throwing around the term "racism" every single time someone showcases blacks in a bad light is not only melodramatic, but when we really do need to use the word to describe a superiority complex, we're accused of throwing around the race card too much. It's a lot like crying wolf. Use the term "racist" to describe Chicago's own crooked cop Jon Burge, not Naomi Campbell's hair dilemma.
The assessment that black hair with a perm is a matter of pressure to conform to white beauty also doesn't take into account that there are white women who are also perming their hair to make it curly, white women who are bleaching their hair to get it more blonde and also constantly having their own hair damaged from excessive styling in the entertainment or modeling industry. If we're supposedly conforming to their beauty, what beauty are they conforming to?
It is inaccurate to believe that every single black woman who has a perm is trying to conform to looking white or matching a sense of white beauty. Flip through hair magazines and look at hairstyles of black women with perms. You will find hairstyles with flips, stacks and curls that white women simply cannot do with their hair without a whole lot of hairspray. Yes, there are black women who an audience may never see without weave in her hair (ex. Naomi Campbell, Beyoncé, Wendy Williams or Brandy), but there are also black women who are flexible with their hair rocking short haircuts, their natural hair as well as fake hair (ex. Missy Elliott, Nia Long, Taraji Henson, Regina King). There was a time when even "Higher Learning" actress and talk show host Tyra Banks was rocking her natural hair proudly, then stopped, then started again.
While it's much more difficult to debate the topic of assimiliation with women who are actually wearing hair weave from other races, a perm does not equal assimilation. Even with a perm, our hair just looks and feels differently. There are some black women who want a perm to have the flexibility to do other black hairstyles with their hair. There are some women whose hair falls out not from perm but from other issues, like the wrong conditioner or medicine. It could be hereditary baldness. Why assume it's perm or weave without actually asking her?
Unlike what Woman Musings states about, "We have been pressured to conform and have therefore endured the hot comb and the creamy crack (read: relaxer)," believe it or not, there are black women who don't feel "pressured to conform." They could sincerely just like some of the hairstyles that require relaxer or a pressing comb to do.
While natural hair certainly shouldn't be looked down upon, why should black women who want to perm their hair be described as these insecure damsels in hair distress? Yes, it is possible to get a bad perm and have your hair fall out. However, it's equally possible to have a perm and your hair continue to grow and be as healthy as possible. The goal for any woman should be to take care of her natural hair, no matter what weave, wig or comb she uses. And with Naomi Campbell's reputation, she could simply be having hair loss due to stress from all the court cases she's been involved in.
Published by Shamontiel
Shamontiel is the author of Round Trip and Change for a Twenty, and in mid-October became the Chicago Tribune s Digital News Editor. She works on National Travel, Health and occasionally Breaking News, and w... View profile
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6 Comments
Post a Comment...can't do. That's my point. No one is trying to be white because they have a relaxer. It's just a matter of preference. I didn't care for wearing my hair naturally. I tried it for a bit, and not putting a comb through it just wasn't for me. 5) We've never met and you don't know me so please refrain from telling me I don't like who I am. Getting a relaxer didn't make me into who I am today. It's not as if when I wore my hair naturally I was suddenly this new person. My mother and my brother both wear their hair naturally. Not one bit of their personality changed, just the hair.
Marshata, I want to say thank you for dropping by. Now that I said that, let me get into your message: 1) It's "How come" not "Why come." 2) Having a perm has absolutely nothing to do with us leading in every illness. Nobody got diabetes, gonorrhea, HIV/AIDS, etc. because they had a perm. They got it from being irresponsible during sex, not eating right or other medical conditions. Name ONE illness any black woman got from having a relaxer in her hair. 3) Society did not define what was good in the '60s. Through every generation, there's been a transformation for what was good, and in the '60s there were perms going on, too. Ever heard of Madame C.J. Walker? 4) I never said your natural hair is not good enough, but if someone is perming her hair, it's still her natural hair. While I've never worn weave in my hair because I think my natural hair is good enough, there are styles that I do with my hair in a relaxer that white women simply can
Why come your NATURAL beauty is NOT GOOD ENOUGH! We dialouge on this VERY ISSUE and when it is ALL SAID AND DONE, people don't LIKE the way THEY WERE BORN and YOU ARE TRYING TO BE SOMETHING YOU ARE NOT and CHEMICALS that DO NOT MIX WITH YOUR BODY is reason BEHIND US LEADING IN EVERY ILLNESS POSSIBLE! Be TRUE to THINE OWNSELF and LOVE THYSELF THE WAY GOD MADE YOU! Society DEFINED IN THE 60's what was GOOD and TODAY we DEFINE OUR BEAUTY OF WHICH IS NATURAL baby ALLL THE WAY!
...constantly pressing it. I really do think it should be a matter of choice, and no one should be made to feel guilty about what physical features they prefer. BTW, I love how you're commenting on all of these hair entries. I think this is the most comments I've gotten from you in one day ever. :-)
Saul, this idea is incredibly popular. However, in the past, there was a little truth to it. The idea of assimilating to what was popular and what would be considered proper by social standards and work standards has helped perpetuate it. There have been women who had legal cases about being turned down for jobs for wearing their hair in dreads. In grad school, I took a course on corporate culture and Disney World has ALL of these rules about how hair should be worn. So I have to defend the idea that it is pressured...initially. Now with that said, what bothers me is the line being drawn between those who perm their hair voluntarily and those who wear their hair natural. I like both. My mother wears her hair in twists and natural because of diabetes medicine pulling her hair out. Perm and diabetic medicine didn't work well together. I did try wearing my hair natural, and I did NOT like it. There were too many styles I wanted to do that just didn't work for natural hair without constant
It's not like these people who perm up wake up one day and say, "You know, I want to be more white. Let me don a perm, start talking through my nose, and learn to love hockey and yard flamingoes." Why is it people have to down others for liking a style or mannerism that is predominantly the domain of another race or ethnicity? Ridiculous. So what if black girl wants to be like Katy Perry instead of Beyonce. So what if white boy wants to be more like Snoop Dogg than Justin Bieber? To thine ownself be truest.