The Politics of Black Hair

Black hair is so versatile that it confuses a lot of people; including black people themselves. It can grow silky, it can grow kinky, or it can grow up, down, left and right. You can relax it and still have it kinky or you can relax it and have it look silky smooth. You can straighten your natural hair and have it looking silky or you can texturise, braid, lock, corn row, bantu, box braid, weave or even sport a ‘twa’ (a Teeny Weeny Afro).

There are a million and one options for our black hair. It’s because there are so many options that we tend to get confused and cannot tag and stereotype black women. You see someone with a ‘fro and automatically assume they are vegan, ride a bike and walk around with bare feet. You see a black woman with a weave and assume she likes to party, gets wasted every weekend and has a lot of extra cash to spend on her hair. But don’t be fooled.

As black women, the versatility of our hair and the options we have is what sets us apart from the rest. It’s the fact that we are not stuck with one option for our hair and that makes us beautifully and vibrantly different. It’s the fact that our different styles speak to different aspects of our personalities and help us stand out. Don’t get stuck in a box because you are rocking a ‘fro at the moment. You might get a weave in the next 3 days. Don’t get stuck in a box because you relax your hair every six weeks. Who knows? You might only start your transition in a year. The fact that you’re able to switch up your look whenever and however you want is profoundly positive and you can thank your black hair for that.

The comments I have personally heard in the past two years because I’ve been able to showcase different aspects of my hair have been interesting. They says things like “Wow but you had such long hair, why would you cut it?”, “Why would you go natural? You had long silky hair”, “I didn’t know that light skinned people could grow afros”, “Your hair looks just like ours”, and “Oh, you have deserted the natural hair camp?”

The only reason people, including black people, feel they are at liberty to pass these comments is because we, as black women, fail to embrace the versatility of our hair! To this I say “Don’t be afraid of your hair! Style it, cut it, shape it, twist it, lock it, braid it, perm it, weave it - do whatever you want to it, because after all, it’s only hair and it grows back.