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Five months ago, after wearing my hair natural for almost three years, I ‘relaxed’ my hair. It wasn’t an easy decision, as having chemically-straightened hair meant more time getting ready in the morning and the arduous task of spending a ton of money getting ‘touch-ups.’ But frankly, my natural hair was out of control. Cursed with difficult hair that in its natural state is the texture of a brillo pad, it had grown to a length where my once cute Afro-Puffs and sexy little twists looked dirty and matted. I couldn’t comb it, couldn’t blow-dry it, couldn’t do anything….so it was time to revert back to something that I had told myself I wouldn’t never, ever do again – head to the hairdresser’s.
And trust me it was painful - literally and figuratively. I had to wrestle with the notion that perhaps secretly I was ashamed of my natural ‘fro. I wondered that if having long tresses like Beyonce would help me get laid – let’s be frank, y’all. I had a job that hired me with my natural hair and tattoos on both my hands, so I wasn’t too worried about that, but still, I had this feeling…something that even today I am wrestling with - that I sold out.
Since I was a kid I wanted to look like Angela Davis during the Black Power era, with a towering ‘fro, fierce fitted leather jacket and a micro-mini – proudly showing of my long, chestnut-brown sexy legs, glistening with baby oil, my feet encased in 5-inch platforms. She was strong, she was powerful, and most importantly, she didn’t give a shit about what anyone thought about her. But my hair (and my fragile self-esteem) wouldn’t let me. But to me, my natural hair served as a statement to the outside world that I was proud of my hair, proud to be black, so by relaxing it, wouldn’t I be a hypocrite, a self-hating motherf@#$er? Hmm.
So when it was reported last summer that Ashley Baker, a fashion editor at Glamour Magazine told a group of female attorneys at a law firm that African / Black-oriented hairstyles were a fashion ‘don’t’ - “no offense, but those ‘political hairstyles’ really have to go, “she reportedly said - I got a little nervous – and a little angry. Angry at the connotation that one’s hair in its natural state was considered a social offence. But really, Baker’s personal opinion means little to me, nor to countless other women of African descent, but what made me nervous was the immediate presence in my mind – the voice of that little, insecure girl that lurks inside of me that immediately thought that maybe there was an ounce of truth to Baker’s (who later resigned from Glamour) sweeping and bigoted remark. There is certainly enough fodder to back up her assumptions about the ‘acceptability’ of black hair.
From “Ethnic hairstyles in corporate life” in Newsday:
"Black hair is sensitive," said Anna Holmes, who is biracial and the managing editor of Jezebel, a celebrity, sex and fashion blog for women, who followed the Baker story closely. "What Baker said was inappropriate, but was she inaccurate? No. She hit a nerve ... society is uncomfortable with ethnic hair, and it is uncomfortable about race. And it's tough talking about all of it because emotion gets in the way."
An undertone that natural hair is unacceptable, unprofessional and even ugly continues to exist in society.
Glamour received hundreds of angry letters from readers, to the point where the Editor-in-Chief posted an apology on the website. This Tuesday, Glamour hosted a panel, ‘Women, Race & Beauty” to discuss, among other issues, ethnic hairstyles in corporate America. Inviting a pretty impressive group of women, such as moderator Farai Chideya and Barbara Trepagnier author of Silent Racism. Let’s hope that the discussion will prove to be more than a slick PR move for Conde Nast.
Calling me a cynic? Really, what is one panel going to do? It is great that Baker’s remarks have sparked a much-needed dialogue, but there is waay more to this issue. You might be able to draft policies in your workplace so people will not discriminate based on a hairstyle, but in reality, black hair is in some ways, just as political as Baker stated – albeit, in a dismissive manner. From Feministing:
Maybe that's a large part of why corporate America treats Afros, braids, and other natural styles as "inappropriate" for the
