Comments on: Shut Your Sh%# And Clap Your Hands

By: GOODENess

GOODENess — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 16:18:32 +0000

When was the last time you met a woman with the “hair” that had the best of Ying Yang Twins bumping in their ride?

ummmmm…yesterday..lol… I love me some Whisper Song (remix)…I agree with er’thang you just typed!!! I am my hair…very much so…and I wear it this way so you will have an idea of what you are geting yourself into BEFORE you even speak to me…now that being said, my is an extension of me…my thought processes…my preferences…and lifestyle…but there is more to me than that…I don’t mind being stereotyped for the most part…my issue comes in when you approach me based on what you think I want to hear because of how I look and it’s not really who YOU are…just be YOU…I am just a Southern soul sister with alot of love to give…yeah I got a fro…rock earth tones and tribal tattoos…I don’t wear makeup…I read…I spit…I got God but no religion…and prefer Little Brother to Young ANYBODY…but I still (occasionally) do dumb shit…I eat fried chicken…I know how to “Superman that ho”…drive a big ole gas guzzling truck…I curse in 5 languages…and I dance like a stripper…and WHAT???

lol… I enjoy the stereotype…just know that ain’t all there is…

By: Princess Soldier

Princess Soldier — Tue, 23 May 2006 03:31:59 +0000

I’m glad that someone agrees with me…Alicia Keys is totally overrated.
I must say that I really like India.Arie’s music, including her “hair” song. I used to wear my hair natural, but it was no representation of my personality, I just got tired of getting relaxers. Relaxed hair is purposely damaged hair, and I wanted mine to be healthy.

By: Brick again

Brick again — Mon, 22 May 2006 22:46:55 +0000

BTW….I am the first one to drop it like it’s hot in the club! LOL

By: Brick

Brick — Mon, 22 May 2006 22:43:26 +0000

LOL!!!

I have “the hair” and I confess, I will mess with an incense stick and a headwrap here and there. This was a funny entry to me for just that reason.

I will say that for me, doing my hair natural is easier then maintaining a perm, because I guess that I’m just one of those women whose hair just fought the chemicals. There was always a portion of my hair that refused to straighten, and having different textures is a pain in the butt…but I digress.

I will say that I do feel that my hair does represent me….my resentment stems not from people recognizing that, but moreso from people resenting that. I get more bs from black folk about my hair then I deserve. My thing is, can I not wear a relaxer in peace? Everywhere I go, it’s “how do you get jobs with your hair like that” or, the dreaded “goodness, if you relaxed your hair now it would be so long”. Ugh! It gives me a headache every time.

People actively resent my natural. Women with relaxed hair feel almost as if I am making a commentary about them, when honestly I could care less. I don’t know you chick! What do I care?

It’s like what Jill Scott said…complaining that because she had a natural, people thought she was this positive person when she was really just human. I am just human too, trying to live my life, and my choice is in no way a commentary on anyone else’s hair or lifestyle, I just chose to do what works for me.

By: Kamala

Kamala — Sat, 20 May 2006 15:05:27 +0000

Yes, this topic is funny. Many people who have dreds are stereotyped as being “conscious.” The funny thing is to me nowadays wherever you may be from if you have dreds or natural hair, I initially assume one’s hair is in such styles for fashion reasons, not because they’re “conscious.” I don’t get into the whole “conscious” scene (that India Arie seems to be a part of or that she is assumed to be a part of) because a lot of that gets into so called cultural nationalism which is usually a facade that many self-hating negroes hide behind to persecute “uninformed” Blacks. Believe me, it’s been assumed by some so-called “conscious” cats that I was some intellectual slouch because I wasn’t into the whole “hair” thing or some other tangible qualifier that allegedly symbolizes Black nationalism until I had to break ‘em off something. I’m just on some other “hair” stuff, that “Don King/hair/get ya money ish.”

Me personally, I’m a Louisiana native and I have no problem with the popularity of dreds down here. Hell, I’m thinking about growing some for purely fashion reasons. Matter of fact, I think that Erykah Badu’s popularity has something to do with the fact that she is regarded as “conscious” and “hood” at the same time. Badu seems to embrace some aspects of cultural nationalism and at the same time Black ghetto culture.

It just seems that some of the people that have posted responses assume that southern and Bay area rappers are ignorant and they are the prime examples of why you can’t assume people with the “hair” are “conscious.” I’m not going to get into any debate, but what is the so called “conscious” or “hair” community doing for the masses of Black folks? Talking about them like dogs and offering no concrete solutions to problems. I’m just to the point where I could care less about “arm chair revolutionaries” (like Michael Dyson). I’m not saying that many of the popular southern or Bay area rappers are doing much to help the community, but they don’t pretend to either. I see no contradiction with listening to Lil’ Boosie and Fela Kuti.

By: grey

grey — Sat, 20 May 2006 05:16:06 +0000

yo, i dont understand how easy it is for all of us to stereotype in those ways like that anymore…and maybe its just cause i’m from Cali (from the Bay, go to school in LA) and there are plenty of ignorant folks (male and female) all over the place with locs and naturals….as well as middle class folks, black professionals, and some bourgeios people with locs (more so than fros)…on the same hand i have met some “conscious” women with permed or straightened hair…and i feel like a lot of people out here recognize those possibilities…

@ Khia, that girl is prime example…she is not “enlightened,” what she was doing was nouthing new, lil kim, foxy brown etc been talkin about “sexual independence” for years now, Khia sure wasnt doing nothing new, revolutionary, or “enlightened”..

when I was younger and first got on to that concious tip in high school i mos definetly had certain expectations for folks, but now its definetly changed. Maybe my perspective is skewed tho cause I am a black women who wears her hair natural (which by the way is not messy or unkempt in reference to a previous comment)…but we’re all complicated people mayne…please believe I go to poetry readings and wear african jewelrey, have that concious look and lifestyle down, but dont be surprised if you see me getting down at the club…cause i do and i will…lets not be limited….sorry i’m rambling…

in short, i feel like myself, and a lot of others, dont stereotype as much as they used to with hair (especially with the popularity of locs ie The Bay, the South)…however i personally feel that hair is a statement, specifically for black women, whether you cite managability or connection to your culture as a reason

ps this is one of my favorite blogs…keep writing long posts, helps me procrastinate lol

By: johnny kwest

johnny kwest — Fri, 19 May 2006 23:04:35 +0000

you know…i sat for a while trying to figure how i wanted to weigh in on this…i mean, dude, your post hits on a lot of different talking pts.

i agree w/ a lot of what people have said here and your prevailing pt. about being your hair.

while india might not be her hair, her skin or anybody’s expecta’shins’, it’s a reality that folks rely greatly on their assumptions for damn-near everything they do. who has the time to deconstruct every preconceived, unsubstantiated notion that you have about shit? you right…i might see a chick w/ locks, particularly the manicured kind, and think the chick is one of those incent burnin’, pre-tyrone erykah badu lovin’, late 90s spelmanite influencin’ chics. is that wrong? i guess so…only in a sense that i’m unfairly characterizing her. do i give a shit? not really, prolly b/c 1) she ain’t thinking about what i’m thinking about her and 2)i dont care enough to try to unpack my misperceptions everytime i encounter a situation and rely on my own thoughts rather than presuming my own ignorance.

but does it surprise me when one of the folks that, apperance-wise, is the antithesis of this “hair” image that you’re talking about…i mean the high fashion lovin, vvs recognizin’, devil wears prada worshippin’ kind…reads, writes well and can just as easily discuss her shoe game or her thoughs on hamas insurgents? not really…

matter of fact, there’s a banging chic that you’ve befriended on your blog that can do both adeptly and really isnt that surprising for being able to swing it.

By: SnapDragon

SnapDragon — Fri, 19 May 2006 22:33:29 +0000

I better be my hair; I’m the one paying to get it done!

By: Maverick

Maverick — Fri, 19 May 2006 22:31:00 +0000

Yeah, T…I don’t think that Panama is referring to the same thing that you are (but I could be mistaken). It seems that you are referring to the impressions that people get from you being well-kempt and hygenic…that people should be well-groomed at all times. He seems to be talking about the stereotypes about intelligence and understanding that people come to through the hairstyles that you choose. I think you are talking about two different things…

By: T

Fri, 19 May 2006 22:06:19 +0000

Okay, I couldn’t read all this, a little long it is, but I’m just gonna say…the whole “Don’t judge a book by its cover thing” is majorly flawed, not to mention unrealistic. ABSOLUTELY you are your hair, at least partly. One thing my mom did not play growing up was messy hair (She readily quoted the “a woman’s hair is her glory” thing from the Good Book still does, lol), so I’m glad that I understand the implications of hair. And you DO feel better when your hair is tight. I’ll admit to being a “permed” chick and I make no bones about it, I’m GLAD when times come to get out the kinks, lol, just being real *Shrug* But I don’t discount natural styles, some people wear them well, and more power to them…but let not them or anyone say your hair or your clothes or any part of your appearance shouldn’t matter–Bull, period.

BTW, this sentiment could easily be transferred to broader topics like your favorite music. Like many people say they don’t understand when folks get “embarrassed” when young rappers come with the gold teefes (lol) and the big medallions, etc. (Ala 36Mafia at the Oscars) “Whites shouldn’t juuddge them, boohoohoo.” Uum, whatever. Reality is what it is, period.

Have a great wknd!

P.S. If my comment didn’t follow your post, forgive me, it is Friday and I’m about to be out! lol