Whippin'

Miss Willow has done all of us a great favor and has come out with a club hit, celebrating not only her youth, but her hair. At only 9 years old, she has shaken up the way in which not only young Black children see their hair, but all kids. Obviously, there is a pun intended where she is in the school talking about whippin' her hair, as she wears her braids and a cotton candy afro-mohawk, but still. It's obvious that The Smiths have done an amazing job in how they have Miss Willow growing up. She's confident and has self-validated herself with this song.

This reminds me of Halloween this past weekend after going out and seeing all the crazy hairstyles Black women had to go along with their costumes. It just reminds me how many options I have with my hair and maybe dominant society should stop thinking that Black women only have three options for their hair: super straight or curly long hair. Or the stereotypical afro.

Options are endless.

Kudos to Willow.

kjt.

simply amazing.

This truly marks a new day of how media and society should view black hair. When I watched the video, I was taken a back. It is easy to forget how beautiful and unique yet conceptual we all our as individuals. And it is easier to blame dominant society for the trials and tribulations people go through - especially black women. But to disregard our beauty, and the aspects of ourselves that make us beautiful is only a disservice to ourselves. This thinking of "ugliness" and "never being good enough for a man" stems from images we see in the media. Maybe a series of events that happen in your personal life. It starts when we are young, and still learning about the world.

Sesame Street does an amazing job at addressing a real issue. I have to admit, I wasn't real keen on Sesame Street when they made the Cookie Monster the Veggie Monster, but I can do more than just appreciate this.

Dana Oliver blogs (yes, that is a link) about her hair journey and talks about the strong impact this video had on her as well.

For me, it was a validation of my self-worth as a Black woman, with hair that takes hours to tame. And for that, I am thankful.

kjt.

castor oil knowledge flow.

assignment #1: pick a scholarly article that relates to your blog topic in some way, shape or fashion.

done.

Abby Brisbon constructed her Senior thesis around this same idea of African-Americans and hair. She actively participates in the research by including her own journey with her hair, as it has come to define her today. Oh, but she took it one step deeper. She examines how African-Americans as a culture make the distinction between "good hair" and "bad hair" and also, how African-American see themselves (in terms of beauty) based on these mere distinctions. Literally, she takes it back to the slave ship and Madame CJ. DEEP. The opening quote to this 117-page research paper alone had me at hello:


"Everything I know about American history
I learned from looking at black people’s hair.
It’s the perfect metaphor for the
African experiment here: …the toll of
slavery and the costs of remaining.
It’s all in the hair.”
-- Lisa Jones, Bulletproof Diva1

Abby's article is a must read. Especially if you are ever so lucky and have an iPad to take it on the go with you.

To dream...
kjt.

intertwined.

Our hair defines us. Whether we like it or not..

"Those curious locks so aptly twin'd,
Whose every hair a soul doth bind."
-- Thomas Carew