The Shortlist

So first, a mini Going Natural update.

Mi viiiida! I am a few months into going natural, and it is....something else(to say the least, don't want to be cursing all over the place here). The natural hair has been coming in, enough to the point where simple detangling is a nightmare. Because my natural ringlets are so tiny and coiled, I don't even try to comb them. I have to comb the relaxed hair in this odd manner, so there's been a bit too much breakage for my liking. I've been looking for a salon that caters to transitioning hair that doesn't charge an arm and a leg- not to become a regular, mind you, just to teach me how to care for my head better- which is tough going- natural styles are already minimum TWICE what it cost to relax my hair, let alone dealing with much more complicated two texured transitional hair. Pretty annoying. It reminds me of how people are promoting all these eating organic initiatives and going green projects; sure, it's easy to TELL people to buy organic, but fail to realize how most organic food is way more expensive than non-organic products. And people these days just don't have the green(pun intended!) to spend.

That said, I am not about to go back to relaxing. The feeling I get touching my roots is wonderful; the hope of soon seeing what they look like is really too tempting to pass up on. I will be getting a haircut soon though, as soon as I find a manageable style/price/etc. And, though many a pro-natural head will not like to hear this, I do forsee a texturizer in my future! "Blasphemy," they will cry out! "A texturizer is the next step to a perm!" Perhaps for some. But I already know that my hair will be very hard to manage in its currently coiled form, and a texturizer will help ease the tightness of the curls. More on that another time.

See? I knew this would become a whole post! I think I'll jsut leave my second half for a new post tomorrow. Enjoy!

-SG

Oh. My. Goodness. TRB, how I have missed you!

I don't know where I have been. Around, I suppose. I guess I should fill you in.

So I just graduated from bartending school! Wheee! It has been a thrill. I don't think I have thrown myself into something so fully like that in a while. I'm in the job hunting stage now. Hopefully, I'll find a good starting point to keep me occupied so that I can devote more time to TRB.

That said, I want to keep this interesting. I unfortunately am one of those people who looves to get started on something new, but rarely finishes because by then, well, it's old. So I would like to see if we can reach out to find more readers who will be willing to just throw topics out there. Anything goes! If you want to just voice your opinion, go for it. If you want my perspective, that works too. Let's give that another try, shall we? If at first you don't suceed...

Finally, I'm doing a new TRB post today, but it will be brief. That is, at least one loooong ass paragraph. ;) Let's get some comments up in here.

Love!

SG

Ongoing Project: Going Natural Pt. 2

So this morning, when I was washing my hair(who would have thought?), I reached up to put in some conditioner and I felt something funny.


It was curls. Ha!


But I'm serious, though! A scalp covered in soft, tiny, tightly coiled curls. Amazing.

I vividly remember getting my hair done as a child and not once can I recall seeing not a damn curl on my head. I though about this for a good five minutes in the shower. And then I realized: Of course I saw a curl. I had a huge head full of them. Except, as I was taught, they weren't curls, but naps. Beady-bees. Peas.

Time to start dispelling some myths, people.

African Americans have naturally tightly coiled hair. It may be coarse, but can be soft. It may not be Shirley Temple ringlets, but they are curls. They can be tough, but they're not naps. Just hair.

As I type, I'm starting to bear a little grudge toward our beloved Madam C.J. She invented a hot comb that, in the time of the burgeoning influence of predominantly white culture and social image, was a virtual miracle. Though I will always respect her for being the great Black businesswoman she was, I cannot help but to resent her in that much of her work has led not only myself, but millions of Black women down a road that is just as winding and intricate as the lovely natural coils on our heads. As I ran my fingers through my hair in surprise, curiosity, and excitement, I really began to wonder why any woman would consult to destroy such a beautiful thing.

But I digress- that last sentiment could keep me here all day. Granted, I'm not at all opposed to straight hair- it does have its benefits- but there are a hundred different conversations to be had in that one sentence(don't worry, we can have all of them later). Anyway, in the midst of a deep condition, I mused. Mused about all the times someone's said "Put a comb through your hair"! Surprise: fact of the matter is, for most Black women, you don't need to.

How so, you might ask? Speaking from my own experience, I've been transitioning for a month now, and so I can safely say that I have a general grasp on the two drastically different textures on my head. Whereas I can(for the most part) detangle my relaxed ends fairly easy, once I get to the root, it's almost impossible without yanking my hair out and giving myself a literal headache. At first, I was annoyed. I've been cowashing, conditioning, moisturizing like crazy- so why won't this wide-ass toothed comb go through? The answer is simple- that comb wasn't meant to go through. At this point I can safely say that when my relaxer grows out, very rarely will I need to use anything but my fingers to get though my hair. See ladies, there is actually some benefit to rocking your natural hair. And when I say 'ladies', I mean my sister, who upon learning of my new adventure, she proudly proclaimed, "Pshh, get out of here. Perms for life, yo."

Now, I am really thinking. How odd it is that I can't recall not once potentially derogatory term for Caucasian hair? Asian? Hispanic? Surely there are some out there, but I certainly could easily identify them as anyone can identify Nappy, Kinky, Rough, Peasy. Like I said, these are only potentially derogatory; however, for as many times as 'nappy' has been used in an affectionate way, it's been used twice as many times in a negative, offensive one. And that needs to stop. There not enough "ups" in African American culture. At this point, Obama doesn't even count- way too many people believe that all is well now that a Black man has reached the nation's highest office. Obama was just the tip of the iceberg. That aside, you can find something negative to say or be said about pretty every part of a Black body:

Skin's so dark. Ashy looking.

Lips are so big.

Hair is so nappy.

Big, fast ass. Ew.

Her hips are sooo wide.

And so much more that I won't even deign to get into.

I think we've all had enough of that, haven't we?


Hopefully, when I write, I don't come across as some snob who looks down at everything. I am going on one of the biggest adventures of my life and I want nothing more to share. With each day, I am finding that this hair project is more than just my hair's roots. It's knowledge, perspective, confidence, and so much more, reaching down from the roots of my scalp into the roots of my being. Yes, a lot of feeling there, but it's real feeling. And it's not exclusive to me. I don't see myself as any better than the next, some neo-soul type secrecy, as lots of these sorts of Black-themed introspectives go, I just wonder why so many people are missing the boat- as I once was- when the boat has been anchored down at shore the entire time. Hm.


SG

Ongoing Project: Going Natural

In the last post, I mentioned that I was looking to "go natural," along with a few other keywords you might or might not recognize. So let's define those really quick.


Natural: Going "natural" generally refers to when a Black woman transitions from chemically processing her hair(relaxers) to allowing the hair to grow out, back into its original, or natural, state.

Touch Up: After someone receives their first relaxer, and salon visit after that requires using a relaxer is called a touch-up. When new hair growth comes in, it obviously looks rather different from the sleek, straightened hair, so in a period anywhere from 4-10 weeks, a person goes in to have their roots "touched up".

Tenderheaded: Oh, the bane of my existence. It is NOT easy to have kinky, wavy, curly, coarse hair yanked and combed and pulled and twisted into tight braids that dig in your scalp. Especially if you are already tenderheaded, or have a particularly sensitive scalp. *Shudders*




So now that I've gone over some things, let's cut to the chase. My plan for this summer is to grow out my relaxed hair and wear my natural texture for at least the summer. I've been getting my hair relaxed since I was 12 or so, and so I can preach firsthand that sweating out processed hair(which already tends to be hot because it retains all the heat from styling) in 90 degree, New York City Heat. I've been thinking about making the change for some time, and I feel that this is the first time I feel that I am educated enough to make the transition without damaging my hair. But first, a little background.

Going natural is a very real experience. I've only just started making the transition, and I've been all over the place. Doubt. Sadness. Confusion. But mostly, excitement. I've never had this much control over my own hair before! As a kid, my mom scrubbed, pulled, and twisted my crazy ass head of hair into submission. I never learned how to take care of it save for putting on an itchy stocking cap (literally, a stocking- we'd cut out the crotch area of a old pair of tights) before I went to sleep at night. The whole experience of braiding my hair was traumatic- it was painful, the grease was heavy and hot, and it left me lightheaded and nauseous. Not to mention, the nape of my neck would break out into painful bumps (yikes). When I started junior high school, I was determined to do whatever it took to not have to braid my hair again.

So I started relaxing, or "creamy crack," as natural hair care forums call it. It was a miracle in a tub! You know, despite the extreme 20 minutes of pain, which you could probably expect when you apply lye to your scalp. But even that miracle wore out its welcome- again, literally. My hair thinned out, broke off, fell out, grew back, broke off- crazy stuff.


Now, I'm back to square one. The basics: wash, dry and go. Some of you will find this intriguing, some of you will skip these posts. Irregardless, I think you'll find more in this series of posts than you think you will. Enjoy.

-SG

Question of the Day

Hi everyone!

In the last couple of weeks I've been thinking of ways to break up the inevitable monotony of fairly long RaceBlog entries. So I thought, why not do a Question of the Day? Even though I don't like the title- hopefully I'll come up with something a little more clever soon- the idea sounds good. So the plan is to put up the question here and on Twitter, where you can follow along by following us at http://www.twitter.com/theraceblog . and with that, here's our first Question of the Day!


Do you think that when white people tan, they are trying to be black?

Comment your answers. And don't forget to follow us on Twitter!


-SupremeGirl

Checking In

So to the.... hmm... grand total of five of you who are reading this blog, I do have other posts to put up, but I've been a bit bulazy- that is, busy and lazy(if anyone's got a better mashup, do let me know). The posts are more like anecdotes than anything, so it's a bit hard to edit down and still get the point across. But I do have a post that is 85% ready to go so expect it within the next couple of days. Also, I don't want to be the only one posting, so please feel free to email anything you'd like to contribute to http://www.theraceblog@gmail.com- or better- get the word out about TheRaceBlog! We've got a twitter and an AIM address. Let your friends, professors, and anyone you can think of know. We'd be more than thankful for the support.



SupremeGirl

Identity Crush

So, as my daily routine goes, I've been wading in the fascinating, yet sometimes overwhelming muck that is the internets. I was initially looking to find some good advice on treating relaxed hair, and possibly going natural*(more on that later). Though I did come across some helpful tips, I found far more than what I had expected to. That's the web for you- one thing always leads to another.

What started out as trying to find at most, a new conditioner for my sad ends has led me right into the middle of the strange condition that is our ethnic identity.

Or rather, the lengths we have gone, and will continue to go without intervention, to alter that identity.

It started off with the argument I've heard for years: Black women relaxing their hair as opposed to going natural. As far back as the hot comb, women have been going back and forth with the hair issue- throwing crude labels at each other in order to justify their stance. Black women who relax are wannabes- desperately trying to fit in a dominant white society that would never allow them to fit in, regardless of a change of hair. They are fake for supposedly trying to whitewash their identity. Black women who go natural are wannabes too- earth crunching, regal types who are so far up their asses, because they haven't "forsaken their true heritage", and therefore are that much closer to Africa. Somewhere in between those divides, there's the debate over mixed women and their "good hair", which allow them to simultaneously "assimilate" into white culture and still be "true to their roots." I don't agree with either side, really. I'm tenderheaded* as I don't know what, so I started relaxing my hair to avoid the painful horror that is braiding; I'm considering going natural because I want to avoid the painful horror that is the touch up*.

That tidbit of conflict linked me to more issues that haunt the community that has been affectionately and empoweringly named "The Brown Girls." Asian, African, South American women the world over risking health and identity by aggressively using bleach creams popularly touted in mainstream culture as the only way to be successful and happy- by literally whitewashing their heritage off of them. Eating disorders rising in Hong Kong women; Asian girls opting to undergo "double eyelid" surgery to erase one of the strongest defining characteristic of their ethnicity. Black women spending thousands of dollars on lip reductions.


On an even more eerie, yet far less discussed note, white women getting collagen injections, butt and breast implants, spending countless hours tanning. Tanning! Think about it- the dominant race actually going out of their way to become darker! Though much of these procedures, especially in regards to Caucasian women, are considered to just be a part of today's popular culture and are generally positively viewed upon, a closer look will reveal that white women are just as much a part of the identity crush as any other ethnicity(though perhaps not more so).
So what's going on here? Feel free to think about that, expand on that- just as long as you post it in the comments. :)

SupremeGirl