Typically when men as carnal as I was back then see a girl, their thoughts go straight to sexual matters but in that instance I was not thinking of any such thing. I was more interested in poetic things such as discovering the contents of her cranium - that is her thoughts. You see there was something about her natural afro-hair that demanded respect in the gentlest way, that said I have accepted that I am a black woman, that said I have an interesting mind worth discovering. You see in those days I used to sag my pants, as was the trend, but I felt I had to pull them up and come correct and that is what I did. I spoke very briefly with the sister and never saw her again.
I can safely say that that was the first time in my young adult life that I had met a black woman with natural afro-hair in the diaspora. Many of our sisters at the time were either rocking braids, weaves or relaxed hair and although I like braids I can safely say that the day I met that young lady was the day I fell in love with natural afro-hair (I am sorry for repeatedly calling natural hair ‘natural afro-hair’ but I must say afro-hair because women of every other ethnicity wear their natural hair so to say simply say natural hair is to be vague). I should really put up signs on my posts for digressions just like the ones they put up in the roads for diversions, lol. Anyway, I did not see another woman with an afro for a long time since that initial encounter. You see the trendsetters that be had not deemed the black woman’s crown as beautiful yet so many of our sisters hid their glory under wigs and weaves for a few more years until recently.
It seems that many @Africanindiaspos are now witnessing the renaissance of the afro. Many of our sisters are unapologetically going back to their roots (no pun intended, I’m just too good haha). Nowadays I spot a lot more sisters wearing their crowns and radiating the glory that almost rendered me mute years ago and it excites me a lot. Even my current partner is also on her ‘natural journey’ so I get to learn a lot of cool terms such as twist-outs, wash and go and protective styles, etc. If all else fails with this blog I am starting one on natural hair. I really need to stop digressing.
Personally, I have never been a fan of make-up or superficial beauty. Instead, I have always liked the natural look on a woman and so I thought myself to be weird and the only man with such a preference since many @Africanindiaspo sisters, from my interactions with them, did not really maintain natural looks about them. I just assumed they looked that way for brothers who liked weaves, fake brows, etc until I recently realised this to not be the case. One sister took to the streets of the USA to ask black men what type of woman they preferred, between one with weave and one with a natural look, and it seems as though they all pretty much shared the same sentiments as me. (Link to part 1 of the survey: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MrWdBiMAYWE).
Whilst I was elated to learn that I was not the crazy traditionalist who I am often labelled to be, I was left with more questions than answers - the most significant one being ‘why then do our sisters maintain looks which are unnatural to their ethnicity despite the fact that black men do not really like them?’ Who are they trying to attract and/or impress with blonde, brunette or red weave hair? Could it be that they are trying to impress or fit in with white people? Is this the media’s fault? Are our sisters so subservient to trends irrespective of the fact that the trends being set are for white women? This is a serious complex my dear brothers and sisters. We do not see white women with afro wigs do we? Even worse, imagine seeing a black brother wearing a blonde wig to look like a white man. That would be a comical sight and I do not think any such man would be taken seriously. Why is it then that this complex only affects our women?
In their defence for weaves, I have heard sisters say things like ‘it is easier to maintain white-looking hair than to maintain their own hair’. If this was a matter of convenience then why do our sisters not wear afro-weaves instead of European weaves? Also if our sisters have Brazilian/Indian/Synthetic hair to look like other ethnicities and we cannot touch this ‘glorious’ hair then is it a surprise when black men end up being attracted to the originators of the glorious hair? I mean if Samsung put Apple logos on their devices because the logo looks so great, would I be out of my mind to want to buy Apple devices only going forward?
I guess the point I am trying to make is that I wish my very precious sisters would all wear their God-given crowns, that they would not make any excuses to look like their ‘nemesis’ and that it would not be considered such a big deal. I mean I have never seen women from any other ethnicity say ‘I am going natural’ and even if they did, I do not think they would be hailed queens of the universe. In recent news we have heard of Rachel Dolezal, the white woman who pretended to be black, can you imagine if she started YouTube videos of her going natural? Think about it @Africanindiaspos. Additionally, I must say that I wish that the increase in sisters wearing their afro-hair was not a just another fad to fade in a short while though I fear that that is exactly what it is. I also wish that when sisters wear their natural they embrace all things afro-centric which are to do with culture and values. There is nothing worse than an Afro whore, pardon the strong words but that is not who we are as Africans.
I have written a slightly longer post but I hope it has been worth your while to read and if I have been more poetic than I have been in other posts it is because I have been writing whilst under the influence – influence of neo-soul that is. Send me the ticket, lol. If you do not know what music that is then perhaps you should cease to be my cyber friend, I am just kidding. I must pen out my ink is running low.
Until next time, let us share let us grow.
‘Afro hair is the natural crown that God has given
to the black woman, a crown that radiates of indescribable beauty worthy of
admiration’ - @Africanindiaspo
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