Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Her Crown of Glory


The topic of hair, especially "black hair" has been extremely popular in American media over the past few years, with India Arie's "I am not my hair" video, Tyra Banks' feature on Black Women's hair, Chris Rock's documentary "Good Hair" and now we have Willow Smith's "I whip my hair" and Sesame Street's "I Love my Haiiiir". Now for those of you who do not appreciate this new found attention that the world has for a black woman's crown of glory, take a trip down memory lane, and think of an instance where your hair, impacted the way you look at yourself or the way others look at you. It happens to all of us! For some its a positive moment, where we feel liberated as we flaunt our crown of glory and for other's it's a negative moment, where we shy away from the questions asked by curious or ignorant peers.

When CNN news featured the new skit on Sesame Street, I was filled with excitement and joy! I can't wait til all my little nieces and nephews watch it.



So let me share with you a story, a story of me as a child. A child who was surrounded by blond hair, blue eyed British girls. British girls who constantly asked me why my hair was so "springy". In tears I would run home and beg my mother to give me long blond hair. It wasn't that I hated my hair, it was just that I wanted to "fit in", and at the young age of 5, I sat in elementary school and took a pair of scissors to my beautiful long black locks. Well I only managed to cut off one braid before my teacher reprimanded me and sent my hair in a zip lock bag to my concerned mother, who had no idea how she would braid around this bald spot on the side of my hair.





As I grew up, I learnt to love my crown of glory and I even flaunt it once in a while. Everyone chooses to rock their hair as they please, some let it all out, some braid it, twist it, dread it, or weave it up. And despite the opinions of others, we all have our reasons for wearing our hair as we do, some for aesthetic reasons, some for practicality, some for employment opportunities and some for the health and goodness of our hair. I love to experiment with my hair, enjoying the multiple options I have, I've grown to love and respect my crown of glory, and I must say that the process has been much easier now that we don't have to hide our hair secrets behind closed doors. Now I'm not saying everyone is comfortable with open discussions about their hair; but it is nice to see that the children of tomorrow can love and flaunt their hair without having to endure an interrogation from their classmates.




Stay FAB!

SiSi

1 comment:

  1. The picture of the baby combing her hair, who is this by/where is it from please? I'd like to see if prints are available.

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