Peple with brastrap length ..do you have aparent or grandparent of another race

[gmw]

Y'all are going to spank me, but I am just going to say it and suffer (I've been here long enough to know the deal) the consequences. Some of the people here who have ultra long hair are "garden variety black" (like me), 100% African, or biracial. There are some, however, who say "I'm a plain 'ole' black person" leaving out the fact they have creole ancestry which some would call black (which, to me and several other people, is a little different from plain 'ole' black) or there parents and grandparents are individuals like those in Our Kind of People who selected mates based on having a certain appearance (long hair-3b or not) and continued to do that through generations. To me, the people in this category are still black, but it's a little different.

I agree, and I guess I wonder what the OP really wants to know...

I would also add that it doesn't really matter at all... Once we alll learn how to take care of our INDIVIDUAL HAIR, it stays on our head as the new growth comes in. The better we take care of our length, the longer our gets regardless of ancestry and texture. It just does not matter.

You will have people argue from whatever vantage point that their hair doesn't grow, and that simply is not the case. Then they will look at someone and say "oh she is (enter here whatever nationality or mixture or lack thereof you want) and that is why she has long hair" I have heard that statement from people with realy soft curly hair too! They have made that very comment about someone with course kinky hair, saying they have more strength in their hair....

Faulty thinking...

 

[billions]

My family is a mixture of native american,black, and some other things.. before i started putting my hands in my head( around Jr. high) my hair was waist length.... my mom's hair has always been below bra strap lenght....cousin's that are ankle length..and some family members that never made it past neck length.... hair textures range from 2a to 4d... but when its all said and done....
hair is just that.... hair!
be happy with what you got and don't be concerned with what you didn't get or why you didn't get it!!!

 

[Vshanell]

Y'all are going to spank me, but I am just going to say it and suffer the consequences (I've been here long enough to know the deal). Some of the people here who have ultra long hair are "garden variety black" (like me), 100% African, or biracial.. (which, to me and several other people, is a little different from plain 'ole' black) or there parents and grandparents are individuals like those in Our Kind of People who selected mates based on having a certain appearance (long hair-3b or not) and continued to do that through generations. To me, the people in this category are still black, but it's a little different. Based on avatars and siggies, some of the people on this forum with BSL and over hair (NB-not all) look as if they might be descendants of these people...

They don't necessarily have to be leaving it out though......maybe they just don't know. Speaking for myself I only know my ancestry as far back as my living relatives can remember.

 

[topsyturvy86]

My hair is now past BSL and both sets of my grandparents are black. And both sets of my great-grand parents were black....I'm mixed with Black and Blacker!

U're mixed with black and blacker?

 

[Creatividual]

I have Native American and white in me from my great great grandparents but I still consider myself regly black. LOL. I'm not BSL yet but I'm past APL. =) I don't think it has to do with your race or ancestry if you can grow long hair. It's all in how you take care of those ends.

 

[Iluvsmuhgrass]

I have Native American and white in me from my great great grandparents but I still consider myself regly black. LOL. I'm not BSL yet but I'm past APL. =) I don't think it has to do with your race or ancestry if you can grow long hair. It's all in how you take care of those ends.

ITA and the line of demarcation if you're relaxed/texlaxed.

 

[Creatividual]

ITA and the line of demarcation if you're relaxed/texlaxed.

Yep yep! Right on, Miss, right on!

 

[didirose]

I really don't think ancestry has so much to do with length of hair as oppose to knowing your hair type and understanding how to best take care of it to achieve your goals.

That said I was reading this and thinking of the past threads and wondering why this particular topic touches a nerve so much on this board. Of course the answer is what I have stated above and being a little wiser to the hair growing game. As a result, I guess this reaction would be expected on a hair board. However in real life the situation is different. I could remember being in grade school and a teacher admiring a classmate's type 3 hair and correlating it with her white mother. Then she checked out my long type 4 hair and said I must have French in me. As far as I know going back to great grandparents I do not, and having Haitian parents definently doesn't equate to being French!

The child who admires and the child admired embrace these statements because it answers the "why" questions that children have when understanding their differences from their peers. As a result, I have met a number of people in real life who tell me they have long hair because they "got white/indian" in their families. On the flip side, I've heard dismissal of someone long hair accomplishments because "Oh, her hair long because she got white/indian in her family."

It's all just a full circle of dismissal that gets us no where because everyone is left feeling a bit insulted. I say this not to dismiss the notion that genetics doesn't play a role in hair length but to point out it's not as important as many of us have been repeatedly told.

 

[Oasis]

I really wish people would stop saying ALL American Blacks are mixed. We are not. There is a good percentage that is but all of us are not.

I also wish people would stop saying if only call yourself black you're denying your Indian, Chinese, Irish, whatever heritage.

I am well versed in my background and family tree and we are pure Negro. Nothing else.

 

[esoterica]

I am past BSL and my parents and grandparents are black.

 

[RegaLady]

Soooooo, if you have long hair 3c hair, and your sister has short or SL 4b hair, would you say the one with 3c hair is "more mixed" than the 4b SL sister? Even among families, blood families there is a variety. That's why you cannot think having something totally includes or excludes your from claiming anything. I have two children and they look completely different, and they have the same genes, and the same parents. Me and my sister are like this. It's easier to look at someone and assume, but when someone has a sister or even a twin with similar genetics, but look different, what explanation can you give?

 

[sunnydaze]

Soooooo, if you have long hair 3c hair, and your sister has short or SL 4b hair, would you say the one with 3c hair is "more mixed" than the 4b SL sister? Even among families, blood families there is a variety. That's why you cannot think having something totally includes or excludes your from claiming anything. I have two children and they look completely different, and they have the same genes, and the same parents. Me and my sister are like this. It's easier to look at someone and assume, but when someone has a sister or even a twin with similar genetics, but look different, what explanation can you give?

ITA..you can have a parent/grandparent of another race and have offspring with hair ranging from 2a-4b..they all have the same genes, so then the 2a cannot support one theory without the 4b supporting it as well.

 

[mango387]

I thought about this more, and I already know that long hair has more to do with the ability to retain rather than growth rates. Hey, my hair has even become healthier and longers as I learned better hair practices. Still, I know some people (not necessarily type 2/3s either) have to do very little to retain their ends while others have to wake up at midnight, kill horses, roll in applesauce, and turn around fifty times in a circle (Now, nobody better go out and try this foolishness) to retain while others can basically pull their hair out w/o having problems growing their hair. I make the argument that that fact may have to do with genetics.

While it is true that a set of parents can have a child with 4b hair that grows to the waist easily and one child with 3b hair that stays necklength w/o extra care, I would still argue that genetics has influenced both children's hair texture and length.

 

[bronzehair]

nope all blackity black

 

[PeaceFlow]

I agree with that this topic is met with disdain for a lot of people, I think the OP was right a poll would have been better.

A clean cut poll would clear the whole issue in an annoynomous way, anecdotes about the woman who lives up the street doesnt really satisfy some and will just end up in more threads being made.

ETA: Im guessing (like the tiny bit of curiosity in me), these topics usually more about people feeling that they are getting their hopes up too much by looking at others who have different backgrounds and hairtypes and wanting to be more realistic not about bashing or belittling peeps.

We can be told this stuff from a very young age, to expect people to believe 100% that either 4a/b or "full Blacks" can *all* grow midback after being on a forum for not long that contains different backgrounds is overestimating. Some "full Blacks" or 4a/bs get annoyed too, possibly partly because they don't want it to be true in any significant sense.

 

[chebaby]

No. BSL and no parents or grandparents of other races.

But there is no doubt that genetics (including race) play *a role* in how easily we can grow our hair long.

I don't know why people keep debating and redebating what is a very simple issue.

im not bsl but i feel this way as well. i dont know why pple find this quest offensive either. but hey.
im apl, my mom is black and indian and my dad is black and i dont know what else lol. what ever my dad's dad was he could pass for white and my dad and aunt have type 2a hair

 

[AfroKink]

Soooooo, if you have long hair 3c hair, and your sister has short or SL 4b hair, would you say the one with 3c hair is "more mixed" than the 4b SL sister? Even among families, blood families there is a variety. That's why you cannot think having something totally includes or excludes your from claiming anything. I have two children and they look completely different, and they have the same genes, and the same parents. Me and my sister are like this. It's easier to look at someone and assume, but when someone has a sister or even a twin with similar genetics, but look different, what explanation can you give?

Your children do not have the same genes. Everyone (aside from identical twins) has a unique genetic make up. Right, each of your daughters gets half of your DNA, but they may not get the same half. This is my understanding.

Like if these are your genes: I I I I I I I I
one daughter can get: I I I Iwhile the other gets: I I I I
So they have some of the same genes, but not all, even though they cam from you.
Let's say you were biracial, and the genes in bold came from a European parent, and the others came from an African parent...
Your genes could be:I I I I I I I I
one daughter can get: I II Iwhile the other gets: I I II

Depending on what genes they are getting from their father, the first daughter is genetically more African than the second.

So I guess my answer to your question is "yes", one child can be 'more mixed' than a sibling from the same parent. I think this is why people get so surprised by those autosomal DNA tests...

Lys

 

[envybeauty]

I don't think it is about race as much as it isi about texture of hair. A lot of Africans have 3a hair which is different from 4b and they are BLACK. People need to accept that not all Black people have 4b hair.

4b has got to be the driest hair I have ever come across...........also the most kinkiest in coils....so 4b would take MUCH longer to get to BSL than 3a in its natural state.

 

[motherx2esq]

My paternal grandfather is white and native American and I still have not made BSL. But I was MBL as a child. So I'm not sure if that proves a point or not. erplexed

 

[Silver]

Your children do not have the same genes. Everyone (aside from identical twins) has a unique genetic make up. Right, each of your daughters gets half of your DNA, but they may not get the same half. This is my understanding.

Like if these are your genes: I I I I I I I I
one daughter can get: I I I Iwhile the other gets: I I I I
So they have some of the same genes, but not all, even though they cam from you.
Let's say you were biracial, and the genes in bold came from a European parent, and the others came from an African parent...
Your genes could be:I I I I I I I I
one daughter can get: I II Iwhile the other gets: I I II

Depending on what genes they are getting from their father, the first daughter is genetically more African than the second.

So I guess my answer to your question is "yes", one child can be 'more mixed' than a sibling from the same parent. I think this is why people get so surprised by those autosomal DNA tests...

Lys

I did not want to join this thread. But I just wanted to clear up your statement for other people. In the case you mentioned one parent was African and one European. In this case, the children would be equally "mixed", getting half African genes and half European genes. They will not get the same genes, but half of the genes will be African and half European for each child. Only if the parents are not 100% African or 100% European (the parents are mixed), then genetically speaking a child can obtain more African genes, than European genes and vice versa, but "more mixed" does not describe it in being biracial. (I am an integrative biology and chemistry student, I apologize but I just had to clear that little bit up, your understanding of it is great though). I don't see why being more mixed matters though.

 

[CarLiTa]

this is a little off topic,

but i really don't buy that "all races have the same growth rate" thing.

why?
a WHOLE lot of "other" friends/people grow their hair to waistlength every single year. EVERY SINGLE YEAR.
Cut their hair to APL and they're like oh, next year this time, it should be waist again... and it sure is.

i know for sure my hair grows at the .5" and sometimes a bit more and my hair doesn't go from APL to WSL every year

i accept the differences and I don't harp on them.

 

[laurend]

I really wish people would stop saying ALL American Blacks are mixed. We are not. There is a good percentage that is but all of us are not.

I also wish people would stop saying if only call yourself black you're denying your Indian, Chinese, Irish, whatever heritage.

I am well versed in my background and family tree and we are pure Negro. Nothing else.

Have you had a DNA test, so how do you know 100% that you are pure nergo?

 

[snugglez41685]

I am no where near BSL (an inch or two past shoulder). My Mother's mother is Half Irish and Cherokee. And her father is American black. My father's mother is American black and I think Black foot. My father doesn't know his father as far as I know. So basically I have a screwed up hair type(3c,4a,4b) which makes it hard to retain length. I use to think that having all of theses nationalities would make hair life easier but it doesn't Because i have all of theses races my hair type is crazy. I think that if a person had 4b or so it would be easier to retain length cause they would be better able to know what there hair needs by it being one type as well as being the stronger type. I thinks genes do have something to do with it like other posters have said already. but as far as rate of growth for hair, 1/2 in a month is only an estimate, everyone has a different growth rates no matter what race you are. This is just my opinion no beating it with a bat please.

 

[ebonylocs]

I agree with the person who pointed out that many who say "I'm full Black" are not answering the real question, which is, "Are you full AFRICAN" (and sub-Saharan African at that - not Morroccan or something).

Truth is, it has NEVER been requirement in the US to be 100% African to call oneself "Black". We all know about the old 1 drop rule. So saying "I'm full Black" doesn't convey complete info about genetic makeup, and could conceal a lot. Someone could *truthfully* say that who has blood from all the continents running through their veins.

As for, "Both my parents are Black, none were of another race." Well, e.g. Zoe Kravitz could say that. Because, given the one drop rule, Lenny Kravitz and Lisa Bonet (both half Jewish) are labelled "Black". But when you have two half Jewish parents, genetically it's likely that you're going to be half Jewish. So Zoe's two "Black" parents are exactly equivalent to one African parent and one Jewish parent. (That's assuming Lenny and Lisa's black parents were full African. They may not have been - in which case, Zoe would be genetically more Jewish than she's African.)
----
That all said, many ladies who know for *sure* that they're full African have BSL or longer hair. Sonce has been mentioned, and I counted three others so far in this thread.

----

OFF TOPIC: Why do Americans call Latinos "Spanish"??? It's not accurate. Most Latinos have a mixture of Spanish + Native Amerindian (e.g. Aztec, Inca, Arawak) + African blood. Some have very little Spanish blood - tending more to the native Amerindian / African.

 

[CurlyMoo]

Not brastrap currently, but been there. Grandfather white, but it doesn't show in my hair texture. It's 4.

Doesn't matter, some Irish folks have 3/4 hair.

 

[CurlyMoo]

this is a little off topic,

but i really don't buy that "all races have the same growth rate" thing.

why?
a WHOLE lot of "other" friends/people grow their hair to waistlength every single year. EVERY SINGLE YEAR.
Cut their hair to APL and they're like oh, next year this time, it should be waist again... and it sure is.

i know for sure my hair grows at the .5" and sometimes a bit more and my hair doesn't go from APL to WSL every year

i accept the differences and I don't harp on them.

Did you ask these people about their diet? Hair care regimen? Exercise? Vitamins? Did you measure these people's height/torso ratio. APL on you might be Midback to someone else. And then there is the growth cycle. I don't think it was ever claimed that we all had the same growth rate but it is close. 5-8 inches a year it varies, we all fall within these ranges I believe. I'm sure there are some exceptions.

 

[Oasis]

Have you had a DNA test, so how do you know 100% that you are pure nergo?

Yes, I have. Thank you for your interest.

 

[KEWLKAT103]

this is a little off topic,

but i really don't buy that "all races have the same growth rate" thing.

why?
a WHOLE lot of "other" friends/people grow their hair to waistlength every single year. EVERY SINGLE YEAR.
Cut their hair to APL and they're like oh, next year this time, it should be waist again... and it sure is.

i know for sure my hair grows at the .5" and sometimes a bit more and my hair doesn't go from APL to WSL every year

i accept the differences and I don't harp on them.

Absolutely!
ITA!!

 

[CurlyMoo]

OFF TOPIC: Why do Americans call Latinos "Spanish"??? It's not accurate. Most Latinos have a mixture of Spanish + Native Amerindian (e.g. Aztec, Inca, Arawak) + African blood. Some have very little Spanish blood - tending more to the native Amerindian / African.[/quote]

-----------------------------------------------------------------------
You do know that many Americans including those you speak of, can't find the US on a map!

Example below:


Poe thang..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lj3iNxZ8Dww

 

[AfroKink]

I did not want to join this thread. But I just wanted to clear up your statement for other people. In the case you mentioned one parent was African and one European. In this case, the children would be equally "mixed", getting half African genes and half European genes. They will not get the same genes, but half of the genes will be African and half European for each child. Only if the parents are not 100% African or 100% European (the parents are mixed), then genetically speaking a child can obtain more African genes, than European genes and vice versa, but "more mixed" does not describe it in being biracial. (I am an integrative biology and chemistry student, I apologize but I just had to clear that little bit up, your understanding of it is great though). I don't see why being more mixed matters though.

Maybe I didn't say it right in my post. What I meant was, the child of the African and European parents was the "parent" in my example. So yes, this "parent" would have half African genes and half European genes. But the children (the two "daughters") of this biracial parent will not necessarily get equal numbers of African and European genes from the "parent". So I was talking about the children of a biracial person

Lys