Going Natural: It's Not Just About Hair
At the tender age of twelve I began to dislike my natural hair, wishing it were anything except tightly curled and gravity-defying. This wasn’t an innate belief, but rather something I was taught, a lie forced upon me during my impressionable middle school years. Hair bullies, as I like to call them, made snide remarks on a daily basis, saying my hair was “nappy” and I needed to “get a perm.” It was strange being told my hair was ugly, as my mother had always treated it with such tender care, oiling and braiding it into various styles that I loved. But as the hair bullying continued, I no longer saw my hair as something pretty or to be liked, but rather a source of shame; a detestable part of myself that I couldn’t get rid of.Then one day, one of my relatives gave me a home perm. While my mother was furious, I was ecstatic, and certain I would finally fit in. But as months passed and my hair started breaking off, I realized the perm thing wasn’t quite what I’d hoped for at all. Over time my hair got shorter, decreasing from bra strap length to above my shoulder. Plain looking buns soon replaced the thick braids down my back.
High school came and went but the perming of my hair continued. Soon I was an adult, and began experimenting with extensions. Wanting to possess hair looking nothing like my own, I always chose silky straight, and in a length that hit my lower back. I always felt more beautiful whenever my own hair was covered up, because in my eyes, people would like me better for it.
Instead of embracing my natural dandelion-like puffiness, I longed for sleek, straight locks, wanting to emulate the girls I saw in magazines. Years passed and I kept the bone straight weaves, which led to heat damage and overuse of perms. But society said straight was beautiful, so I had to obtain it at any cost.
When the natural hair movement came along, I began to feel pride in the hair I was born with. After years of perming I decided to stop, opting instead for natural styles. With the help of kinky hair gurus on youtube, I increasingly realized that afro-textured hair was a beautiful thing. My hair wasn’t ugly at all, but something to be celebrated in all its uniqueness.
Fueled by social media, the natural hair movement has shattered racialized standards of beauty, shifting and transforming the way that black women view their natural hair. It’s shown us that we are good enough, and to indulge in our one-of-a-kind locks.
Just recently the natural hair movement stormed the runways of Victoria’s Secret, when Angolan model Maria Borges rocked a short afro in a sea of extensions. With society forced to take notice, natural coils are gradually gaining acceptance. But most importantly of all, black women are breaking the molds which have repressed them, and in the process redefining beauty and making peace with their authentic selves.
