My Afro is not a political statement!

Dear Men

Here is some unsolicited advice- use it, don't use it; women and their hair is sometimes a prickly subject...but black women and their hair is ALWAYS a prickly subject. Compliment it, or just keep quiet! The end.

(Aaah...whoosah! feels so good to have gotten that out there.)

On the real though, I recently transitioned from chemically treated hair to my natural hair. That simply means that I stopped relaxing my hair using these products which contain Sodium hydroxide. I finally did my own research and made certain decisions based on that. So now all that remains is my coiled, kinky-and-very-often kroes-hair and people's reactions to my hair, have been very interesting. 

From my fellow black sisters, it's either, " Oh, you took your braids out, haven't you had time to do your hair?" To which I then answer, " No actually, this is my hair done." and then they give me that look that only black women understand. It is that look that says- "Shame, ha na chelete." The other half commend me on taking the daunting step of day-to-day care of the Afro, and then usually launch into a step-by-step tutorial of how I should look after it, how to get it soft and what products I should be using. (While on this subject, a close friend has started a hair care line for natural hair, so if you are in my position, holler and I will send you her contacts. ;-)..)

Back to this hairy subject, I find the reactions that I get from white people most interesting. My colleagues have either been completely quiet about the change or they have been overly curious to the point of wanting to 'run their fingers through my hair'. I can only chuckle, because 'run' your fingers through is not quite the terminology I would use. My 'fro is tightly coiled, so it is more a case of 'putting' your fingers into the fro and then 'pulling' them out again- there is no fluidity of motion. They seemed a bit let down by this fact.

Here's the group that really gets to me --> the black men They stop me to tell me how proud of me they are, and how they wish that other black sisters would take a leaf out of my page in embracing my African roots. Despite some heavy eye-rolling from me, they will continue to tell me how sad it is that women hate their blackness just because they like to weave their hair...etc etc. Oh please! My Afro is not a political statement. I have not suddenly become more African because I am wearing my hair differently. I like change and I like having choices. So, sorry to disappoint you, but I will most definitely still plait, braid and weave my hair as I please. The reasons? Simply because I like it and two, because I want to. Let's leave the politics out of it...tuu!

To my Jah sisters out there! Salute!!