Why is hair such an issue?

I typed up a better post last night, but my computer decided to be stupid and not let me post it, so here's the gist:

I like to braid my hair. Always have. I think it's quite pretty! I love braids, and I've taken shit for it for years, from both white and black people.

Why? Why is it such a problem? It's my goddamn hair, not yours, so why do people feel the need to give me those "Oh I oughta shank a bitch!!!!" looks all the goddamn time when I've done my hair?

Staring me down on the bus isn't going to make me stop fixing my hair the way I want to. My hair has no bearing on your existence. So why the fuck does it matter so much?

 

Insecurity.

I bet the same BW giving you the evil eye would smile in your face if you were a WM wearing cornrows..They're just hypocrites.

The whites that trip are nosey bigots.

 

I think you should continue to wear you hair however you like.
YOU GO GIRL!!!:smt023

I grew up with a lot of restrictions on how I was allowed to wear my hair. My mother still insisted on combing it for me at the age of 10. I remember fighting for the right to comb it myself, my dad finally made her let me do it. But then she kept telling me over the years, that it either looked too sloppy, or too sexy, or something. I have no idea what she meant by that to this day.

I see a lot of emphasis on how people wear their hair as if it identified them with a gang, or as if it showed your level of sophistication. (military, hippie, thug, homeless, "sharp") All these have been used to describe hair styles, plus many more.

Unless you are going to a job interview, I wouldn't even play the game, but in a job interview you may have to. I personally think it's the only time you need to worry about it. Even then, it's neatness that matters not so much overall style.

 

After just reading the front section of today's newspaper, in the scope of things, how you (or anybody else, for that matter) wear your hair doesn't matter much at all.

 

That' hella stupid that people catch shit for that. As if people own some exclusive right to hair styles.

 

I've never understood it either. It's much easier for me to dress, speak, and act the way I prefer to here in Houston than it was back home, but I'm always catching shit for something or other. And apparently it's just as difficult to wear braids here as it was there, and man did I get a lot of flak for it back home. Small white town, openly racist (but only when it comes to black people and middle eastern people...the latter post 9/11, of course), people there hate anything different...so just imagine what lovely names I was called when I wore my braids.

All because of my hair. I don't get why -my personal choices that have no bearing on anyone else's life- can get everyone so riled up. It's not just the hair. I catch shit for listening to hip-hop, for dating black guys, for speaking my mind, for doing what the fuck -I- want to with my life.

People make no sense to me.

But whatever. I'mma keep braiding, they can keep hatin'. It's not like I've never dealt with the shit before. I'm used to haters by now. It's just so frustrating sometimes.

Though, as a note, this only seems to happen either on the bus, or if I head out to one of the little stores in the neighborhood. I get a lot of perplexed stares around my apartment complex, and the attention I get from guys is like...doubled when I wear my braids *L* But the animousity? Thank god it's mostly just in certain areas.

At school most people tell me they like my braids. This one black chick I see sometimes (we're rarely at school at the same time, but she's so sweet I always say hi when I see her) stopped me tonight to tell me she thought my hair was really pretty! And the nice lady that works at CVS is always complimenting my braids. Fuck, I braid other people's hair at their request. I'm good at it, goddamnit. Did some really nice itty bitty cornrows on this one dude right after the hurricane. My shit is nice.

But ooo, lemme get on that bus and suddenly I'm public enemy number one, because apparently it's only ok for black people to braid their hair. Give me a fucking break. IT'S MY HAIR, GODDAMNIT!

P.S. My people braid, too.

The Celts did crazy shit with knots, in decoration and in their hair.



And we can't forget the Native Americans...



So the next time I see this shit



am I supposed to be offended?!

 

yeah hair shouldnt be an issue ...

the only thing i dont like about its when some white girls who try to speak and act black LOL!! i think thats just plain funny ...


:smt006

 

Awwww shit.....mighta started something.

 

Good shit. Keep braiding hair and getting your hair braided. Fuck the others mufuckas who disagree.

 

People in society today are scared of anything different, rather than try to understand it they hate on it.

I know what you mean, although I don't braid my hair (I've had one side at the roots done, if you get me...http://img.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2007/11_01/JossStoneWI_800x776.jpg) I get hated on for other things, and I know this sounds bad, but it's mostly black women that have problems. I don't dress particularly "ghetto/urban" or whatever but I even had a lady say shit to me because I wore a ROCAWEAR top to a JAY-Z concert, apparently I wanted to be black according to her. Why can't you do certain things and not want to be a different colour (it makes sense if you think about it, I'm just not good at wording things and ya kinda off topic).

But just screw everyone else, if they don't like you then they sure as hell shouldn't care about your hair. Keep doin' the cornrows People will look for anything that's different and pick on it. Pathetic.

 

Eh, it's not usually cornrows. I can do them so much tighter on other people, so when I cornrow my hair the braids always start slipping out very quickly. I generally do either a mixed style with both cornrows and regular braids, or just plain regular braids with pretty parts. I love the way I did it this time (I'm having to take it down as I type, though, cause I gotta find a job!) but I did cornrows coming out from a part that goes diagonally from the right side of my forehead to the left side of my crown on the top, braided em down a little, then just braided the rest regularly. and then underneath were just a bunch of regular braids with square parts. Like two layers of them. I liked it!

And sometimes I just wear one cornrow. I get the "bangs" area of my hair and just do a braid attached to my head from the left side to the right. It looks cute, like a little hair tiara or some shit. *L*

The only time I don't do my hair the way I want to is when I have to have it a certain way for work. If only I could -just- be a college student then I could do my hair in all kinds of awesome ways. And so many colors!!! I love doing my hair in "koolaid red". It's so pretty!

 

Ahh I see very cool I used to put some pretty crazy colours in my hair but due to being a mother I thought I wanted to look more like one, so I'm back to brown *sigh*
The best colour I had in it was turquoise, that was hot and no one else I'd seen had it

 

Oh, and apparently Koreans are really diggin on afros, dreads, and braids right now

 

I like the dreads on the 1st girl.

 

Haha, when I have kids they're always going to be wondering just what color mommy's hair is going to be each week. *L* I'm a firm supporter of self expression.

 

I would still totally do it but the toddler groups are pretty cliquey (I am 99% sure I spelt that wrong, lol) and with me looking dodgy enough as it is I don't need a reason for them to exclude me further.
I'm not really dodgy but I used to have a good few piercings and other things, only got the vertical labret left though.
It's not that I care what the other mothers think I just don't want it to cause Jake to be excluded.
I did the whole diff colour each week, man the bleech fucked up my hair though! I remember I had "african green" one week, "hot pink" the next and "electric blue" the next

 

haha, I knew I liked you for a reason. I got my tongue pierced and 8 in my right ear, one in my left, but I've wanted a labret for sooo long. That or a Monroe, but I can't do facial piercings cause everywhere I can get a job refuses to allow them.

And I feel ya. I think I'd tone it down myself if I had kids and thought they'd be left out because of me. I wouldn't want them to deal with any extra bullshit, cause people got enough bullshit to deal with in the world.

 

I had my eyebrow done at one point, lasted about a month then I realised I hated it, I had a regular lip piercing at the side and my nose pierced. I miss my nose piercing but I like my lip one ar the moment. I'm sure ya know what a vertical labret is, like a bar going down the middle it's hot and guys think it's nice during things if you get me. That sounds so whore-ish, I'm not though.

​

That's a hell of an old picture.

That was when I had the two in my lip at the same time.
I always wanted my tongue done but I'm too scared. I'm a pussy, haha. My last ex had it done so I didn't get it done because I thought it would look/feel odd.

Yeah, I'm young for being a mum too (under 20) and most of them are like, 30-40s so it's hard enough for me to mingle with them. I always worry about him fitting in, in high school I never really fit in, I had bunches of friends but I never truly fit in I don't think with the popular folks. I feel I fit in so much better at college. I was just too opinionated for anyone basically and I want him to fit in, but if the he has similar people in school to what I had I wouldn't want him to fit in with them. I spoke to everyone just didn't hang with them. (rambling, lol)

 

This one is easy to answer, Blacks, well some blacks, think whites steal parts of their culture.
If Blacks are doing it, its look down upon with disgust , but Whites do it..then its acceptable, accolades are given.
A lot of Black women were pissed as hell when Bo Derek sported those braids in "10".
Elvis,Eminem,Justin TimberFAKE,rap rock,etc.
Its your hair, do as you please.

 

Maybe some ppl don't like it when ppl take on another race's "identity" or culture. It's funny but sometimes whiggers are looked down upon by black guys too.