I have thought about this topic many times myself. Essence did a big article on it over the summer. I had to ask myself:
1. Do I straighten my hair because I am ashamed of its natural texture?
2. Do I feel that I need to straighten my hair to succeed in the business world?
3. When we use the word "nappy" is it in a positive context or a negative one?
4. Why do we call straight hair "good" hair?
5. Why are the african students straightening their hair also? (Ethiopians are excluded since their hair is already fairly straight).
The basic question we should be asking ourselves is "Do you think you would be less attractive if you chose not to chemically alter you hair?"
I don't think so, but unfortunately a lot of women do. Whether we want to admit it or not, we originally started straightening our hair to emulate caucasian hair texture. Same thing goes with colored contacts. We can try to justify it today by saying straight hair gives us more styling options, but how many of us have even tried natural hairstyles?
For the record, I relax my hair. But I am thinking about doing a short natural like my friend has. It looks so beautiful on her.
------------------
"If you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen." ~Harry S. Truman~
|