How do you feel about white women being a part of the natural hair community?

[ellebelle88]

Oh if this place turned into Curly Nikki, I'd have another board open and ready to go with a discount price of $5/year and a sex forum. I'd be checking black cards at the door.

Honey, please keep me on your private list of people to inform about your new board because I assure you, the next thing that's going to happen is that more white women will discover black haircare boards and will come on here causing drama asking questions like, "Why are Black women so jealous of me and my Black boyfriend?", or "Why can't people just accept that Iggy Azalea is like the hottest female rapper out right now?" and "Do these jeans give me Black girl booty?" This will no longer be a safe space to talk about issues related to Black women or the Black race, or Black relationships.

 

[lookingforkeona]

I could not care less. If there were threads on here for/by white people with 3a/b hair, I'd skip over them just like I skip over the relaxed hair threads.

 

[ellebelle88]

Another thing--did she seek out CurlyNikki's site and then submitted that interview? Like why did she want so desperately to be featured on a Black haircare site? There are plenty of hair forums for white women. It baffles me how white women feel as if they belong in everything Black women do. Her hair has never been a "struggle" for her. She never lost a job, a date, or was called "unclean" because of her hair. She simply changed her hairstyle. I'm convinced this is all about privilege and showing her hair as "Better." I'm side-eying both her and CurlyNikki for this foolishness.

 

[lookingforkeona]

Also, what about the mixed ladies on here? How are they supposed to feel about all this exclusivity talk?

 

[krissyhair]

Also, what about the mixed ladies on here? How are they supposed to feel about all this exclusivity talk?

Only the black half can be a member -_-

 

[kimpaur]

Some of you kill me. You can't sit here and pretend that white women and black women both experience the same struggles. There's a certain politics surrounding black hair for God's sake. White women could never know that struggle, especially considering that they and their hair are the standard of beauty in this country. I went natural back in HS and my own Mother refused to let me at first, I had to pour my heart out to her to even consider letting me do it. My whole immediate family thought I was crazy at the time, there was no support. The first time I wore it out at school I was teased mercilessly and got sooo many stares. How many white women can truly understand that?
I say all this to say, that the Natural Hair Movement was created for things like these. It created a space and a presence that did not exist at the time but was so very necessary. There is nothing wrong with wanting to keep that a "black" thing or whatever you may want to call it, because the reality is that that is what it is, a black thing.

 

[MzRhonda]

I can't relate to Curly Nikki or her blog so who she showcases doesn't bother me. My response was in reference to the article's final paragraph:

Alas, Curly Nikki is obviously not a Black woman’s space and it’s not my job to tell its creator that it has to be one (nor does that mean that it can’t be a source of affirmation for Black women.) However, I think we all need to consider the need for us to have places that we go to that are exclusive, be they physical, via technology or otherwise. We often confuse integration with equality and acceptance, when we are so often the ones who find ourselves left out in the cold. I assure you that a White woman with silky, curly hair will be just fine if we’d rather keep our hair chatter to ourselves.

I 100% agree with the bolded. I'm actually surprised more people don't feel this way.

An example of the bolded is Education......we wanted to integrate to have equal access and opportunity instead we had integration, for the most part, without equality and acceptance. My opinion.

 

[JaneBond007]

Someone needs define "curly" hair to her because most Black people do have curly hair - just, very tightly curled hair. I remember the beginnings of this movement and all the people running to Lorraine Massey for advice for her methods on how to treat all types of curly hair, buying her book and demonstrating her techniques on YT. Thing is, white people or other ethnicities of curly hair DO get discriminated against, mainly at work, for their natural hairtype. Maybe there should be a harbinger preventing white takeover of the movement that was started in the BC...but then again, Lorraine Massey didn't consult the BC to promote her ideas and her book. I think it just developed around the same time. There is going to be crossover as we all live in the same country. Just look at the "long hair forum" that many LHCF people belong to. It's mostly white. Should they shut out Blacks? Strength is in numbers and there will always be various categories of needs.

 

[southerncitygirl]

Slimpicknz

You ain't neva lied, chile. How are you and your beautiful hurr, cuteness? You got plans for the 4th?


Our ppl are so twisted by white supremacy we jump through hoops and hurdles to appease white folks and tell them all our bidness including stuff meant to be solely "kitchen talk". White folks have their own errthang as do Jews, Hispanics, Asians, etc. When Black Americans want to do this our own people as well as white folks guilt us into thinking we are racist and should be be all Kumbaya even though white continue to put their feet on on necks A white girls struggle will never be mine, even in regards to hair. White gal type 2 & 3 hair doesn't typically look or behave like ours. I don't care about their issues cause they run this world and terrorize everyone they can in the process of getting what they want or even if they don't agree they sit in silence and allow it to happen. There is no white supremacy without white women, period.This situation is unique cause Nikki opted to sell to a white company and I'm not sure if she gave up all creative control and input. I hate when whites diminish our struggle. She shouldn't be allowed on there. She like other whites can read a plethora of books on the cultural/political context of our hair issues like Hair Story. Of course they wouldn't cause it would be a bitter pill to swallow in regards to the post traumatic slave syndrome and inter-generational trauma they have caused.

 

[cocosweet]

JaneBond007,

What happened to the other guy you had in your siggy? This dude is kind of rough on the retnas.

Signed,

CrazySlothLady

 

[JaneBond007]

@JaneBond007,

What happened to the other guy you had in your siggy? This dude is kind of rough on the retnas.

Signed,

CrazySlothLady

I just choked!!! But he's a brain and I like him. The other guy was kinda giving me the creeps after awhile with his Sanpaku eyes and the butter which I playfully coined "the original curl juice" was kinda making me heave. It was looking all rancid in a bigger pic. I'll try and find someone else

 

[GoldenRule]

LHCF was created because we were pretty much kicked off the white womens board. We all used to post on long hair forum and they were really crappy with the black women. Then they suggested we get our own sub-forum, then they didn't want us there either so Beverly created this board for us. Now they want to sing kumbayah? They have zero desire to "understand" our hair other than to assure themselves that theirs is more desirable...lol. nah, they can stay in their lane IMO.

 

[Lia3257]

CurlyNikki doesn't have to say that they aren't included. She can just choose not to include them. I'm sure Naturally Curly wasn't running to her and saying, "please include white women on your website." They knew her site's mission and agenda. CurlyNikki decided to do that.

Also, yes we can want and have something of our own. So what a white woman invented one method that some of us use? We've had to use and adapt the limited knowledge we have on our hair via the only knowledge we have of white people's hair.

I have no idea how submissions like this work on CN. I don't read her blog that much anymore.

I see nothing wrong with an exclusive black natural hair site at all but, it isn't exclusively ours if it is laden with tips, books, products, blogs, websites, methods, etc. by them.

 

[JaneBond007]

That's not ever been my experience over there. Who suggested getting a sub-forum, the owner? I'm shocked because I've never witnessed that behavior there and have seen quite a few posts with people fully identifying their African hair texture and getting all types of helpful responses (water method, conditioners etc.). It could be that I joined this all a bit later?

 

[GoldenRule]

That's not ever been my experience over there. Who suggested getting a sub-forum, the owner? I'm shocked because I've never witnessed that behavior there and have seen quite a few posts with people fully identifying their African hair texture and getting all types of helpful responses (water method, conditioners etc.). It could be that I joined this all a bit later?

This was circa 2001 JaneBond007

Some of the original members would remember but I haven't seen too many. The start date of October, 2002 was due to a major upgrade of sorts. We actually existed PRIOR to that in another space.

 

[cocosweet]

LHCF was created because we were pretty much kicked off the white womens board. We all used to post on long hair forum and they were really crappy with the black women. Then they suggested we get our own sub-forum, then they didn't want us there either so Beverly created this board for us. Now they want to sing kumbayah? They have zero desire to "understand" our hair other than to assure themselves that theirs is more desirable...lol. nah, they can stay in their lane IMO.

I haven't had a hostile experience when I do go over there but I stumbled onto LHC well after 2001.

I'm glad Beverly took the initiative.

Wow.

 

[koolkittychick]

Another thing--did she seek out CurlyNikki's site and then submitted that interview? Like why did she want so desperately to be featured on a Black haircare site? There are plenty of hair forums for white women. It baffles me how white women feel as if they belong in everything Black women do. Her hair has never been a "struggle" for her. She never lost a job, a date, or was called "unclean" because of her hair. She simply changed her hairstyle. I'm convinced this is all about privilege and showing her hair as "Better." I'm side-eying both her and CurlyNikki for this foolishness.

Wooo, I was wondering when this story would find its way onto this forum, since it made the rounds of the various Black blogs already. In answer to your question, according to her Twitter feed, she applied to be featured on Curly Nikki, and apparently Nikki accepted, probably more for the click-bait, since that particular post has at least three times as many responses as her usual posts, and she probably got a decent uptick in traffic to her site, since I saw this on Clutch, The Root, and a few other blogs. Me personally, I wouldn't mind so much if the girl had type 4 hair (I have seen white people who had it, although it's RARE) that she had NO idea how to deal with, but since the girl had standard 3a-b ringlets, I really didn't appreciate her input, nor especially her self-centered Twitter response to the backlash she received once her feature was posted. She didn't even want to hear what the Black women were trying to explain to her about just what it means for us to embrace our natural hair, she seemed pissed that we were trying to distract her from her brand-new engagement. Damn shame.

 

[lookingforkeona]

I just choked!!! But he's a brain and I like him. The other guy was kinda giving me the creeps after awhile with his Sanpaku eyes and the butter which I playfully coined "the original curl juice" was kinda making me heave. It was looking all rancid in a bigger pic. I'll try and find someone else

I like it!

 

[PJaye]

I have absolutely no interested in seeing another sphere of Black life be "Columbused".

 

[Lia3257]

Her response: http://curlsandblossoms.blogspot.com/2014/06/my-curlynikki-feature-natural-hair-and.html?m=1

 

[ellebelle88]

THE WHITE WOMEN ARE A-COMING!! THE WHITE WOMEN ARE A-COMING!!!

 

[ellebelle88]

Future Possible Threads:

• "How can I get my braids to last longer than 2 days?"
• "Do Black men prefer macaroni and cheese or casseroles?
• "Post your favorite recipe that all Black men LOVE!"
• OMG! Why is this Black women's hair board so concerned with race?! Racism is over!"

 

[Crackers Phinn]

LHCF was created because we were pretty much kicked off the white womens board. We all used to post on long hair forum and they were really crappy with the black women. Then they suggested we get our own sub-forum, then they didn't want us there either so Beverly created this board for us. Now they want to sing kumbayah? They have zero desire to "understand" our hair other than to assure themselves that theirs is more desirable...lol. nah, they can stay in their lane IMO.

This is the story I had heard about LHCF when I first joined. And you know what? Ain't nothing wrong with black flight. White people do it all the time when they feel like it's too many of us in their space. The black folks on Curly Nikki should have thrown the deuces as soon as it was made known that the new owners of the site were white because it was obvious what direction it was going in. I'm surprised it took this long to have a white curly of the month.

 

[Foxglove]

Her response: http://curlsandblossoms.blogspot.com/2014/06/my-curlynikki-feature-natural-hair-and.html?m=1

*facepalm*

 

[MileHighDiva]

For clarification, the AA ladies were not welcome on LHC? This board was created in 2002. According to their copyright information, LHC was created in 2003 (2003 - 2013 The Beauty Bottle, LLC and Contributors). That's a year after this board.

Please advise! TIA

 

[DoDo]

LHCF was created because we were pretty much kicked off the white womens board. We all used to post on long hair forum and they were really crappy with the black women. Then they suggested we get our own sub-forum, then they didn't want us there either so Beverly created this board for us. Now they want to sing kumbayah? They have zero desire to "understand" our hair other than to assure themselves that theirs is more desirable...lol. nah, they can stay in their lane IMO.

Oh , see I didn't know that. Although I did know that Dee left Naturallycurly to found Nappturality. That gives me a whole new view on things.

 

[Froreal3]

Some of you kill me. You can't sit here and pretend that white women and black women both experience the same struggles. There's a certain politics surrounding black hair for God's sake. White women could never know that struggle, especially considering that they and their hair are the standard of beauty in this country. I went natural back in HS and my own Mother refused to let me at first, I had to pour my heart out to her to even consider letting me do it. My whole immediate family thought I was crazy at the time, there was no support. The first time I wore it out at school I was teased mercilessly and got sooo many stares. How many white women can truly understand that?
I say all this to say, that the Natural Hair Movement was created for things like these. It created a space and a presence that did not exist at the time but was so very necessary. There is nothing wrong with wanting to keep that a "black" thing or whatever you may want to call it, because the reality is that that is what it is, a black thing.

I totally agree. It also has less to do with hair texture than experiences related to black hair care. Mixed race black women with type 3 or 4 hair or even "full black" women with 3b hair have experienced the same degradation regarding their hair as any other black person. This can't be compared with a white woman who just didn't want to wear her hair out of a bun due to poofiness.

Also, of course there will be outliers who have 3c hair. They can definitely relate to "going natural." However there are so many facets of the experience that are intimately tied with the racial aspects of a person. And cowashing is not nearly the only thing involved in our hair care. Besides the techniques involved do not matter as much as the total experience of acceptance, which again has aspects related to the racial experience.

Sent from my Snow White Frost Galaxy S4 using LHCF

 

[Froreal3]

For clarification, the AA ladies were not welcome on LHC? This board was created in 2002. According to their copyright information, LHC was created in 2003 (2003 - 2013 The Beauty Bottle, LLC and Contributors). That's a year after this board.

Please advise! TIA

I believe there was a huge crash of their board and it had to be created over again. Not sure of the dates.

...though it doesn't matter to me when or why the boards were created. The natural hair movement is fulfilling a need that black women have. We should have safe spaces to discuss issues pertaining to that.

Sent from my Snow White Frost Galaxy S4 using LHCF

 

[Beany]

@ FeministaJones (via le twitter) posted something the other day that I thought hit the nail directly on the head:

"The occupation of Black spaces by White people has been a standard bc of the fear of what happens when we congregate without them."

 

[Fauxshim]

They can have their own natural hair movement and community. They don't need us. Separate but equal.