Aulelia over a Charcoal Ink asked me a few weeks back to contribute to an essay she was writing as a submission for a competition. It’s a good piece commenting on the leaps and bounds the natural hair movement has made in the last few years. I’m glad I could be a part of it…

Here is the essay in full:

The Natural Ascent
In the 1865 novel, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, the Duchess tires of what she interprets as Alice’s ignorance. She reminds Alice: “You don’t know much and that’s a fact.” In hindsight, I should have told exactly that to a stylist who treated my hair a few years ago. After I asked her to blow dry my hair, I will never forget that look I saw reflected in the salon mirror. It is something I am now used to, but cut deep at the time. She was looking at my natural hair, and judging by how she blow-dried it, I realised that some of the pseudo pillars of the black beauty community do not know much about natural hair and that’s a fact.
Magazines aimed at black women such as Sophisticate’s Black Hair and Pride can be accused of leaving natural hair as an afterthought, with most coverage aimed at women who wear relaxers or weaves. Cherry Lola, a Canadian hair blogger living in London says: “It’s funny you should mention it, because last month’s Pride had a three-page spread about natural hair. Three pages which got all the tips wrong, in my opinion.” These magazines could be under threat from being forgotten about by the natural hair community. Natural hair is not an underground sensation, it is overground – magazines should recognise this in order to serve their readership better. In lieu of this lack of understanding, the explosion of natural hair blogs serve as a means of re-education.
black girl with long hair is a supermodel in the world of hair blogs. It bulges with comments from women worldwide congregating about one thing: natural hair. Leila Noelliste, 23, a Jamaican woman living in Chicago, US is the founder of the blog. A unique feature is the ‘naturals around the world’ series. Leila says: “I started it when I saw a comment on my blog written in broken English, with an apology for the poor grammar. Turns out the woman who wrote it was French and, despite not having a good grasp on English, read the blog almost every night. I realised that the natural movement is global and must be inclusive.” This feature has profiled women from countries like France and Ireland. Leila continues: “Since starting the ‘naturals from around the world’ series, I’ve discovered so many things about naturals in other countries that have been eye-opening. Knowing what other women are going through helps me to position the blog to be a catalyst and support for natural communities everywhere.”
The rise of natural hair in London is mirrored from a business perspective. Grace Kelly is an organiser of the Afro Hair & Beauty show in London. The event is in its’ 27th year, with over 10,000 people visiting it over the course of a weekend in May. When asked about exhibitors at the event, Kelly said: “There has been a rise of companies making natural products for natural hair”.
A source from the Eftal hair salon in Hackney, who did not want to named, said: “People are finding that their hair is breaking from chemicals. They are going natural and finding that their hair is growing.” The ‘hidden natural look’ has also emerged in some corners of the movement. Grace Kelly explains: “Generally, I think a lot of people are wearing their hair naturally but they are wearing a wig on top of it. Wigs have come a long way.” Celebrities who have publicised this undercover aesthetic include singers like Erykah Badu and Beyoncé, both known for having worn Afro wigs.
One celebrity who has not been hiding underground with her natural look is Shingai Shoniwa, lead singer of The Noisettes, the band behind the infectious No2 hit ‘Don’t Stop The Rhythm (Go Baby Go)’. Cherry Lola, whose YouTube channel on hair has over 150 subscribers, says: “I don’t think the UK has very many naturals, but I don’t feel the US does either. We definitely need more. Shingai is a wonderful example! Beautiful, trendy, hip, with an attitude that is not normally associated with black women and a style of music that is not normally considered black.”
Black hair advertising from mainly American corporations such as Softsheen Carson are the meat and bones of beauty magazines such as Black Hair. Have these companies been rendered obsolete in the natural hair movement? Leila Noelliste says: “People aren’t really checking for SoftSheen to make products. The vacuum that the major black hair care companies left has been filled by hugely popular start ups like Oyin and Qhemet. Natural products, for example, castor oil are major components of several natural regimens.” The titans of black hair have missed the boat, as customers take their gilded pounds to other docks.
During the Mad Hatter’s Tea Party, the Hatter tells Alice: “Your hair wants cutting.” The old school view of natural hair being ‘bad’ no longer applies. People who believe that ‘good hair’ is straight have tried to cut the spirit of natural hair supporters to conform. Changing social mores are reflected in culture from Oprah’s declaration that her hair is 100 per cent natural to the rich array of hair blogs. Natural hair is no longer just a foot note, but the essay itself. No cutting required.

Last night I finally had some time to myself to blog a bit and take a tour through my fave blogs. I spent a good amount of time on Watermelonsushiworld, and Yayoi linked to a thought provoking article on adoption and race.

I am half adopted. My mom is my mother, and my dad legally adopted me when I was 4, so I was no longer a step child, but legally his as well. There have been a few times in my life where I wonder what it must have been like for him. Carrying around my little brown bum. I wonder how much people stared, and if it made him uncomfortable.

It is not so uncommon now to see black and mixed raced children with white families. It is rarely the other way around. The article focuses on that rarity. A black family raising a white child. It’s an interesting read.

I recently came across this question on Yahoo Answers:

Do black people like country music?
I would like to know do black people like country music because I love it but wanna know what others think because when I go to school kids laugh at me sometimes because I am black and like country music.
And I would also like to know is there anything wrong with me liking it I try to act like I don’t like it sometimes but what can I do I like it.

The things I would like to say to this young boy.

This question took me back to similar questions of my little mixed raced heart when I was an eighth grader, one of 12 girls at a Catholic school in a tiny little town. It was at the height of the “New Country” wave and I wanted to sing like Reba MacEntire

In 9th Grade, I was into Nirvana, Aerosmith and Pearl Jam like every other girl I went to school with.

At night I’d hang out in our rec room and play my dad’s old Carly Simon records. I gave my heart to Carly Simon and her folksy sound. She still has it.
It was right around this time I began to realize that some of my ’skin kin’ thought this was ’selling out’- to quote one of the more prominent boys of my youth- let’s call him Marc -”washed my walls white”

In fact, my memory is coming to me now- I recall the first moment it consciously dawned on me that some people thought there are racial lines to be drawn when it come to personal taste. I was 12 and at the mall with 3 of my girlfriends for what must have been the 4th time without constant adult supervision. My best friends at the time: Shannon, Irish through and through, and Chris and Jina, both Italian. As we walked, 4 boys – including the previously mentioned Marc, shouted out to me.

Most of the words that came through the air elude me now. I remember the essence of the call, the remarks “honey coloured skin” and the “baby girl” remain with me. I was shocked-because this was the first time a boy had shouted out to me – never mind four. So I blushed, embarrassed. And kept walking, looking to my friends for support, giggling a little. Then these word came flying at me

“so you like that white s**t eh? You’ll learn”

And an (unwanted) education began.

What can I say. Sometimes we do it to each other.

Recently I was asked by Charcoal Ink to comment on what I think about Black Beauty magazines. Her focus was the lack of natural hair in Black Hair Magazines, but one of her quesitons was “do I buy Black Hair Magazines like Pride?”

My Answer: Not that often.
Why not?:
They try to put a ‘black’ spin on things. I think this is the biggest problem with black magazines; they talk to their audience like they are black women, not just women. As if all black women think alike. Please! I recently read an article in a black magazine about the Angry Black Worker. That ‘others’ see us as angry if we don’t smile or engage with office banter, and that this stems from slavery and a misunderstanding of how black people behave. As if all of “us” go to work with scowls on our faces, demanding the world our dues. As if we can’t have real relationships with our colleagues who are from different backgrounds. As if we all behave in the same way. Sure we have shared ‘black’ experiences, but I am pretty sure that the way I am as a person differs greatly from Lil’Kim. Or from Paula, who works in my office in the Marketing department, has dreads, likes new age music, wears crystals and turquoise and is a vegan.

This is what I think of as the pressure to “represent” This pressure lead me to some wonderful music in my adolescence, like Billie Holiday, Erykah Badu, The Roots, the Fugees. But it also lead me to Snoop, whose lyrics are so vile when it comes to women that I am certain it contributed to the trouble I got up to.

The pressure to represent led me ( and many others of my middle class brethren) to “act black” which I tell you with no hesitation, meant reenacting exactly what was feed to us through the media. Biggie Smalls lyrics, Patra’s romantic calls, the video girls, all part of a sea of misdirection. And only Mrs.Huxtable to see me through.

Instead of inviting one into a culture, all it does is lock you out of all others. This is such a silly notion: You’re black therefore you must only like things made by black people.

Although I can’t say that these pressures don’t still affect me. Recently I discovered that Carly Simon’s mother was Biracial. I felt elated in knowing this information. Partly because I felt we shared something, but also because I suddenly felt justified in my love her. As if her ethnic background has anything to do with her talent. As if it suddenly gave me permission to… I’m not sure what exactly.

And just last week, whilst planning my yearly trip home to Canada, I saw that Aerosmith was going to be stopping their tour in Toronto at the same time I was home. It been a while since I’ve been in Canada, but the old rules started to come back and i immediately thought- I can’t go to that.

Then I stopped. Because of course I can. I can rock out to Sweet Emotion in a cowboy hat and biker boots if I so choose.

Last year I went to see James Taylor play in Hammersmith. I used to listen to his records on my dad old 3 speed record player, and love him almost as much as I love Carly Simon. I sat in a theatre with C and about 2000 other people. I was probably one of 5 people of any colourful background- and definitely the youngest one there. And I cried the whole time, it was so good.

I was being myself

That’s my point. If you want to drive a pickup and sing out loud to Stoppin’ Tom Conners- do it. It’s your life and it’s your time ticking away. Why waste it on silly things like “representing”. You are just one person. The only one like you in the whole world. Go ahead and line dance.

I came across this website over the weekend which illustrates my point to a fault. Put on some Carly and take a look through it.

Looking forward to the feedback.

6 is the number of curly girls i saw today.
I’ve started counting.

It started today, when I decided that from now on I am not going to read the Metro in the morning. For 2 reasons. One, I hate that my fingers get all inky- (what is up with that?) and Two- it’s mostly full of rubbish in my opinion. So no more Metro, i brought this months copy of Atlantic instead.

Except the Atlantic is pretty heavy reading at 9am. So I started to look around and saw two natural in my carriage. So I’ve decided to start counting.

I won’t mention anything less then 6 until reach a number that’s higher and then i won’t mention anything less then that.

Is that too boring?

G’ Night Curlies!

I came across this book on Google books about Black History in Britain. It is fairly old, (1984) and extensive, and I’m only a little way through it, but I thought I would share, because my knowledge of Black British history is limited, spanning mostly over event’s after WW2, so I thought your might be too. You can read about the author (since, in a way this is his version of history) here

You can read the whole thing for free on Google book, but if you are like me and think reading a book means holding it your hands you can pick it up here in the UK:

And here in the USA:

Last night I was watching re-runs of Sex and the City on Paramount, because even though I have 300 gazillion channels, nothing was on. It was a great episode, with Miranda struggling with Brady screaming without rest, and Charlotte fighting with Bunny for the apartment. The solution for Charlotte involves her meeting Harry for the first time. (Love Harry) The solution for Miranda is delivered in the form of an oscillating chair. Delivered by her neighbor Kendall, played by the Hot Head of the day, Lisa Gaye Hamilton. Lisa is best known for playing Rebecca Washington on the ABC legal drama The Practice. But she’s cute everywhere.

What is going on here?
Is this just oil or something else. Any insight would be great- I would like to avoid using whatever it is…