Naturals: Embrace the Taco Meat? Or Get a Lining?

[I Am So Blessed]

I simply don't understand why people feel the need to use such terms as taco meat, buckshot etc. to describe type 4 hair, it's simply not necessary at all and it certainly offends a lot of people!

WELL we all know who made those terms famous, Martin Laurance. is that a fare statment?

 

[vkb247]

I'm not natural. But...

I never really think about mine. Sometimes I brush them or twist it and almost always gel them but I don't think too long about them because I know they are going to do what they want anyway.

You all made me go search for fotki pics of my nape cause I am not even sure what mine looks like

It's all the extra hair on my sides behind me ears that I don't understand. I don't see many people with them. This is right after a touch up

 

[MonPetite]

I like my "twin tails" as I call them. They remind me of Geisha, the way the white make-up is painted upon the nape...

That said, I worry about knots back there, so I gently unravel any "beads" add moisturizer and let them be a soft little fluff back there in their twin-v shape.

I smooth them upwards with my fingers and water/leave-in, when I wear a banded style.

I'm not a fan of cutting hair in general and a I fear bumps on my nape. I like to keep the back of my neck and shoulders "bangin'", LOL.

 

[Sweet_Ambrosia]

I let my ‘kitchen’ be, I don’t try to brush it in place when I wear updo’s since it doesn’t like to lay down in the first place. It’s a different texture than the rest of my hair and it's similar to the baby hairs that are in the front. *lol*

 

[Aisling~Siahbon]

I have vampire teeth and in the center a spot that is a slick as a baby.. never has it grown any hair... it looks kind of weird even when I was relaxed... Back in the day I had a bob and was obsessed with tappering my hair into a V but over the years I have accepted the funky shape.. I've never had serious peasy hair in the back.. it's a different texture than the rest... But, I say why be slave to the salon.. just smooth it with some water and oil or gel

 

[my-my]

I leave mine. If I can't smooth them with my fingers, they're staying just like they are.

 

[J Hazel]

WELL we all know who made those terms famous, Martin Laurance. is that a fare statment?

I don't know who Martin Laurence is, but he sounds like an a**e to me.

 

[J Hazel]

WELL we all know who made those terms famous, Martin Laurance. is that a fare statment?

I think my statement is fare as the offensive term doesn't have to be repeated just because someone "famous" said it (I googled him).

 

[Irresistible]

I don't know who Martin Laurence is, but he sounds like an a**e to me.

Martin Lawrence had his own comedy sitcom 'MARTIN'

He didnt coin the term 'taco meat' (or if he did I missed that show) he used to clown his girlfreind's best friend on the show for having 'beady beads' and wearing a weave

 

[Whimsy]

Okay, okay, I'll try it. I think I'll brush them up. I'm looking at my mom's and hers is the same way. It's like you can make a twist out of it, it's so long.

I've been ignoring it, so thats why it looks so unruly. I won't cut it (yet), I'll try to show it some attention and see if I can get it to flow.

Hmm, maybe if u can twist it you can somehow add it to the updo?
I don't think you should get a line up, when I see that on ladies who don't have a supershort "halle" do or something...it just looks....wrong.

Or maybe you can try to work it the way people work their unruly front edges, moisturize and flatten with a scarf or something?

 

[Whimsy]

I just realized that an argument about taco meat has started lol....RE LAX people. This is not what the thread is about...start a spin off if you want to debate the pros/cons of using the term.

 

[PrincessLinzz]

I would shave it...

 

[dplyrooted]

I just believe my hairstyles should have uniformity. If my entire head is rolled up in little balls then so be it. But I refuse to have smooth hair all over, and then little peas rolling down my neck. Clean it up, not line it, but I say clean it up, and smooth out what u can. I'm natural as well, but I want to be natural while keeping it tight , crisp, and clean.

 

[mocha.li]

i hate the term taco meat. bleh. anyways no i don't line up my edges. i think that looks weird

I usually use that term when I talk about men with a hairy chest.

 

[Honey Bee]

^^^ I thought that was where it originated. This second usage, as in using it to describe the 'kitchen', is new to me. Among (mostly) black women, on a hair board, I think it's use is amusingly apropos, but can also see how it could offend.

Anyway, when I went natural (the second time), it was done in a (black) barbershop, so they lined me up. I let it grow back out, cuz I was in school, far, far away from any black barbers and I wasn't letting no rural white man no where near my nape, sorry, no sir.

 

[MA2010]

vkb247- Your kitchen is lovely!!!!

 

[AfroKink]

wow... You guys make the hair game necessarily hard, especially for the 4b girls. You can even see from this thread that ladies with 3-something hair get the "you're nape is cute" comments while the 4-somethings have vampire taco meat that needs to be altered in some way. *whatever*

I think the negative terms surrounding our hair in that area moves people to want to change it. (If taco meat isn't a negative, why are you trying to change it?). If you're a 3-something or lower, it's "cute baby hairs" and you leave it. If you're 4-something its "taco meat, beadybees, buckshots, ni**ger knots" and you have to do something with it. I reject that. Someone in this thread called them "tiny coils" or something of that nature. I like that.

I leave mine alone. I take care of it like I do the rest of my hair. Because of this it has grown. It's about 3 inches when I stretch it out and I can include the whole vampire tooth in the rest of my hair when I style (if I want to). Gelling, brushing, combing, smoothing etc. may be causing yours to break off and stay short.

 

[purplepeace79]

I agree with post #10... now let me read the rest

 

[purplepeace79]

MissAlyssa made a great point and I hope everyone goes back and reads this thread again and sees the obvious bias. I'm reading through this and my mouth is gaping open lol Like, its just so bold and obvious and pretty ridiculous.

Why are some so averse to complimenting the natural tendencies and beauty of coarse type 4 hair, but gush over looser curl patterns and show more acceptance? Yeah, I already know the answer... dont quote and respond lol

If we remember Martin's show correctly (or any other comedian who has ridiculed Black people's natural hair), he used those terms to ridicule Pam and speak about her hair as though it was ugly for being nappy. Granted, there are many reading this who still feel that nappy hair is ugly, but as someone said, do we have to keep perpetuating it? When you know better, you do better. Some sistas have presented alternative, non-insulting or degrading terms to describe the hair along one's nape. Maybe we can embrace some of those?

 

[Southernbella.]

I leave my kitchen alone. I honestly never even look back there.

I also agree with MissAlyssa. I'll leave it at that.

 

[SelahOco]

Seriously....?

I have issues because I said taco meat? I swear, yall can make an issue out of anything.

 

[andromeda]

You know, I was thinking about that, specifically the bold, after reading this thread. Re: the bold, the "chicken or egg" question comes to mind. Is the hair viewed as negative by virtue of the terms used to describe it or are the terms viewed as negative by virtue of the hair type it describes?

The first time I heard the "taco meat" was a couple of months ago on this board. It was used with derision and the person using was swiftly chastised. I've only heard beady-beads a few times throughout my life (never watched Martin) and to me, it was a descriptive term, not a pejorative. Same with the word "nappy". Once again, not a term that was used a lot but in my family, but 4b hair wasn't a negative thing for us, so we viewed the word was a descriptor. (Of course I know that these words are used in negative manner).

I think the issue with such words is not the words themselves (with the exception of n**** knots, really?) but the fact that they're used to describe a type of hair that is almost universally derided. It seems as if any descriptive term that's creative or metaphoric is offensive (or has the potential to be viewed that way) by virtue of the fact that it's used to describe 4b hair, even if its origin is neutral.

"A rose by any other name would smell as sweet". If one, or society for that matter, has a fundamental issue with 4b hair, the issue will still be there regardless of what inherently neutral name is applied. (Once again, excepting inherently negative terms like "n**** naps".)

I don't think the simple use of the word in question is a definitive reflection of "issues".

I think the negative terms surrounding our hair in that area moves people to want to change it. (If taco meat isn't a negative, why are you trying to change it?). If you're a 3-something or lower, it's "cute baby hairs" and you leave it. If you're 4-something its "taco meat, beadybees, buckshots, ni**ger knots" and you have to do something with it. I reject that. Someone in this thread called them "tiny coils" or something of that nature. I like that.

I leave mine alone. I take care of it like I do the rest of my hair. Because of this it has grown. It's about 3 inches when I stretch it out and I can include the whole vampire tooth in the rest of my hair when I style (if I want to). Gelling, brushing, combing, smoothing etc. may be causing yours to break off and stay short.

 

[glamazon386]

Seriously....?

I have issues because I said taco meat? I swear, yall can make an issue out of anything.

OP - I didn't think it was that serious and didn't really pay it any mind. I thought you were just going for an eye catching thread title. We've all heard those words before I wasn't offended. But you know how some people are.

wow... You guys make the hair game necessarily hard, especially for the 4b girls. You can even see from this thread that ladies with 3-something hair get the "you're nape is cute" comments while the 4-somethings have vampire taco meat that needs to be altered in some way. *whatever*

I think the negative terms surrounding our hair in that area moves people to want to change it. (If taco meat isn't a negative, why are you trying to change it?). If you're a 3-something or lower, it's "cute baby hairs" and you leave it. If you're 4-something its "taco meat, beadybees, buckshots, ni**ger knots" and you have to do something with it. I reject that. Someone in this thread called them "tiny coils" or something of that nature. I like that.

I leave mine alone. I take care of it like I do the rest of my hair. Because of this it has grown. It's about 3 inches when I stretch it out and I can include the whole vampire tooth in the rest of my hair when I style (if I want to). Gelling, brushing, combing, smoothing etc. may be causing yours to break off and stay short.

I do get what MissAlyssa is saying though and I'd have to agree about the division between the 3's and 4's which the posters comments in the thread brought about not necessarily the OP. But certain statements always take conversations south around these parts especially when discussing texture.

I never really gave my nape much thought. I smooth and brush it up just like the rest of my hair when wearing a puff/bun but other than that I don't bother it. I always have pieces falling back down by the end of the day anyway. My mom used to get hers lined up though back when she wore updos and it got jacked up. I'd never do that.

 

[SelahOco]

If the term or phrase or joke offends you - again, that was not my intent. Certain terms that have been used in this thread offend me, but I understand that people have different history with certain words.

If I thought people would take my use of the term "taco meat" as an offense, I would never have used it or put it in the thread title. I didn't know that it was negative to people.

My entire head is nappy, and I love it. I never said my hair was gross or that I wish I was 3b or whatever. My nape, like my eyebrows grows out of control. It grows down my neck. Once people (3b or 4Z) posted their pics I could see why people didn't know what I was talking about.

Mzwedi (sp?) posted her pics and her hair is not type 3. Her nape is lovely and even and is not what I'm dealing with.

I have "vampire teeth" - something I said to describe the pattern. And now people take offense to that too? Seriously?

But then - this is a thread and it's hard to communicate clearly sometimes. And threads take on lives of their own. Thats cool, and to be expected.

I just want yall to know. I wasn't trying to offend ANYONE. I'm just trying to find out how to make my hairstyle look neat in the back. *kanye shrug*

 

[glamazon386]

If the term or phrase or joke offends you - again, that was not my intent. Certain terms that have been used in this thread offend me, but I understand that people have different history with certain words.

If I thought people would take my use of the term "taco meat" as an offense, I would never have used it or put it in the thread title. I didn't know that it was negative to people.

My entire head is nappy, and I love it. I never said my hair was gross or that I wish I was 3b or whatever. My nape, like my eyebrows grows out of control. It grows down my neck. Once people (3b or 4Z) posted their pics I could see why people didn't know what I was talking about.

Mzwedi (sp?) posted her pics and her hair is not type 3. Her nape is lovely and even and is not what I'm dealing with.

I have "vampire teeth" - something I said to describe the pattern. And now people take offense to that too? Seriously?

But then - this is a thread and it's hard to communicate clearly sometimes. And threads take on lives of their own. Thats cool, and to be expected.

I just want yall to know. I wasn't trying to offend ANYONE. I'm just trying to find out how to make my hairstyle look neat in the back. *kanye shrug*

That's how my mom's nape is. It wasn't an issue of being nappy (shes a thick relaxed 4a/b) she hated having all this obvious black hair looking like it was growing down both sides of her neck with an updo so she shaved it off. She wears her hair down all the time now so it doesn't matter.

 

[bludaydreamr]

No; I did for a while, when I was relaxed. I am ummm a hairy individual, so my stylist always wanted to clean me up, and would shave me all down and around and I never liked how it would grow back. I couldn't care less about what someone else thinks, but my sister's nape drives me crazy. I think she just need to do a better job moisturizing.

 

[ceebee3]

OP, I didn't think you were trying to offend anyone. I just don't like the term.

I can understand however that it's not always meant to be offensive. I use the word nappy to describe my hair and I know a lot of people have a problem with that word. So I can see both sides.

 

[mocha.li]

I see a lot of women lining up the back of their hair and it isn't just black females. I myself have never but to each their own.

 

[Love Always]

My sister lines up the back of her hair and it looks stupid and so un-natural erplexed.

 

[10WordzOrLess]

I don't..and I have less than 3 inches of hair and what I like to call "WOLF NECK". It's' my hair, and yes sometimes I feel a little self-conscious about it, and want to cut it off, but what DDT said makes sense...It'll be shorter than the rest. I'm gonna keep them for now.