My Associate says that black women with hair that is mid back or waist length have...

[chica_canella]

I actually agree with what the friend said to the OP. White women don't go to the great lengths, trials and tribulations to grow hair long like we do. Obviously there is something to the texture of their hair that makes it retain length more easily compared to our own. The fact that our hair is more kinky, nappy, textured (whatever) and drier means that it's harder to keep our ends on point and there is a constant battle for our hair type to retain length. Naturally straighter hair just does not have the same struggles. That is why there are so many little white girls with long hair down their back and white teens who have long hair cause they don't have to work for it, that's just the way it is. So if someone who is "mixed" simply doesn't not have the same type of hair that someone who isn't. And yes, I know there are exceptions and lots of black folks with long hair but I'm taliking about the rule, not the exceptions. That why I think it's so funny when we have these "I was so shocked when she/he said black people don't have long hair" cause for the most part, we don't.

I think people should be shocked when someone says concretely, "That black people don't do this" or "White people don't do that." That's the problem with stereotypes. Nothing is never black or white. There's always an exception to the rule and the more people remember that, the less we will have people attributing long hair or other things to another race.

Some people will not believe something just because mentally they don't want to believe it. Your right, there aren't many black women walking around with long hair for the simple fact that they have believed these stereotypes but the problem is to say, "Black people don't have long hair," because in itself that actually like denying the existence of many black women who do.

To say, "Most black women don't have long hair," would be more accurate.

I think the main issue was that people attributed the long hair to whiteness and would probably do so even if a full blooded African had long hair.

 

[Candiss]

I think people should be shocked when someone says concretely, "That black people don't do this" or "White people don't do that." That's the problem with stereotypes. Nothing is never black or white. There's always an exception to the rule and the more people remember that, the less we will have people attributing long hair or other things to another race.

Some people will not believe something just because mentally they don't want to believe it. Your right, there aren't many black women walking around with long hair for the simple fact that they have believed these stereotypes but the problem is to say, "Black people don't have long hair," because in itself that actually like denying the existence of many black women who do.

To say, "Most black women don't have long hair," would be more accurate.

I think the main issue was that people attributed the long hair to whiteness and would probably do so even if a full blooded African had long hair.

Actually, I amend the first sentence of my last post. I think you are right. She shouldn't have said Black women x,y,z because that does give the impression ALL black women with long hair are mixed. But I think that so many black women don't know how to retain length that it makes sense, to me, that many of them would think that you got to have some "white or indian" in you to have hair that long. I really feel that is a situation to education someone and not just dismiss them as ignorant. Because in the end they are only making conclusions based on what they have seen, however wrong they may be.

 

[determined_to_grow]

Re: My Associate says that black women with hair that is mid back or waist length hav

Very true a recent student conducted at Penn state revealed that AA are more "white" than we think in terms of genetic makeup (although we do not display the obvious features..

But back to the original thread topic: people are so ignorant!!!

Actually, you'd be pretty hard pressed to find a black person outside of Africa WITHOUT some kind of white blood in them. That's just a fact. Not sure how it relates to hair length though.

 

[chica_canella]

Actually, I amend the first sentence of my last post. I think you are right. She shouldn't have said Black women x,y,z because that does give the impression ALL black women with long hair are mixed. But I think that so many black women don't know how to retain length that it makes sense, to me, that many of them would think that you got to have some "white or indian" in you to have hair that long. I really feel that is a situation to education someone and not just dismiss them as ignorant. Because in the end they are only making conclusions based on what they have seen, however wrong they may be.

Yeah, I wish I could take the time with people like this but it seems like such a daunting task. I think for most people, seeing is believing unless they have been so brain washed that they refuse to believe it is your hair or that you are all black.

And has MSM made anyone's scalp itch?

 

[sareca]

Actually, you'd be pretty hard pressed to find a black person outside of Africa WITHOUT some kind of white blood in them. That's just a fact. Not sure how it relates to hair length though.

I was thinking the same thing...

 

[Qetesh]

Re: My Associate says that black women with hair that is mid back or waist length hav

Oh, I agree that most white people have hair that more indestructible than most black peope.

What annoys me is that if a black person grows long hair, it's because of any non-black ancestry they may or may not have, rather than the effort they've probably put in to look after their hair well for years.

I do not agree with this completely white people’s hair IMO are not more indestructible than our hair, black hair does best where we are from humid “jungle” like weather this provides our hair with the moisture it needs. Where as white people who were from cold “cave” like weather also we are not used to their diets ext which IMO also has an effect on our hair growth.
Our hair is not built in the same format as theirs because we are not from the same place geographically this does not mean it is any stronger or weaker overall.

 

[Sweet_Ambrosia]

That's truly ignorant, but not too surprising. Some black folks have that same misconception when it comes hair. If your hair is long, lets say bsl or longer you must be "mixed" with something. Truth be told, most of us are "mixed" with something, but a person can be mixed with a-z, if they're not properly taking care of their hair, chances are it wont grow to its full potentinal!

 

[Jas123]

Actually, you'd be pretty hard pressed to find a black person outside of Africa WITHOUT some kind of white blood in them. That's just a fact. Not sure how it relates to hair length though.

VERY, VERY TRUE..and include Native American in the mix too.

 

[Softresses]

Hair doesn't get any weakness from whatever race the person comes from. The structure and shape determine how strong each individual strand is. I hate that people have been taught the wrong thing about our hair for so long that they just take it as fact.

MANY black people I know think the same thing, that you have to be mixed to have long hair, or that black people's hair just won't grow long. I wish everyone had to take A&P classes!

(sorry for the rant)

Softresses

 

[Denim And Leather]

I actually agree with what the friend said to the OP. White women don't go to the great lengths, trials and tribulations to grow hair long like we do. Obviously there is something to the texture of their hair that makes it retain length more easily compared to our own. The fact that our hair is more kinky, nappy, textured (whatever) and drier means that it's harder to keep our ends on point and there is a constant battle for our hair type to retain length. Naturally straighter hair just does not have the same struggles. That is why there are so many little white girls with long hair down their back and white teens who have long hair cause they don't have to work for it, that's just the way it is. So if someone who is "mixed" simply doesn't not have the same type of hair that someone who isn't. And yes, I know there are exceptions and lots of black folks with long hair but I'm taliking about the rule, not the exceptions. That why I think it's so funny when we have these "I was so shocked when she/he said black people don't have long hair" cause for the most part, we don't.

Yes, definitely, our texture does make it harder for us to retain length because moisture doesn't get into curly hair as well as it does with straight hair, thus creating dryness and breakage.

Also, it's the lack of knowledge that a lot of blacks have regarding proper care for our hair, are the reasons why we don't see that many black women with mid-back or waist length hair and longer, IMO.

I'm a good example: Before I came to this board, I had never heard of black women washing their hair more than once a week, let along every day like some of the ladies here do! Nor was I aware of what deep conditioning was and why it's so important. I could go on about all the things I didn't know pertaining to proper hair care for us.

 

[*ElleB]

You know I think Amina that you are right on the money since, "white is long and black is short" to many people.

It seems as if white people or maybe just people try to attribute every idealistic aesthetic to them if it is seen in a black person.

Example: Vanessa Williams has blue eyes- "Oh she half white" despite her parents identifying as black.

Beyonce is considered beautiful- "Oh that is cause her mother is Creole."

W.E.B. DuBois was terribly smart- "It;s his white blood."


Yet you never hear these comments when:

A white person has 3c hair- "?"

Angelina Jolie has full lips - "?"

Jennifer Lopez has a big butt- "?"

Some whites tan very darkly - "?"

It's like their mind goes blank. We all know that the Anglo-Saxon blood from 1000's of years ago would not produce a curly head 3c white person or that the average white person doesn't tan darkly or that a full-blooded white person (don't even think that is possible now-a-days) would not have plump lips or a big butt.

OKAY! Thank u!!

 

[DragonPearl]

Re: My Associate says that black women with hair that is mid back or waist length hav

Actually, I amend the first sentence of my last post. I think you are right. She shouldn't have said Black women x,y,z because that does give the impression ALL black women with long hair are mixed. But I think that so many black women don't know how to retain length that it makes sense, to me, that many of them would think that you got to have some "white or indian" in you to have hair that long. I really feel that is a situation to education someone and not just dismiss them as ignorant. Because in the end they are only making conclusions based on what they have seen, however wrong they may be.

I agree, especially with the bold.

 

[remnant]

Re: My Associate says that black women with hair that is mid back or waist length hav

I do not agree with this completely white people’s hair IMO are not more indestructible than our hair, black hair does best where we are from humid “jungle” like weather this provides our hair with the moisture it needs. Where as white people who were from cold “cave” like weather also we are not used to their diets ext which IMO also has an effect on our hair growth.
Our hair is not built in the same format as theirs because we are not from the same place geographically this does not mean it is any stronger or weaker overall.

I agree with all you said I'm african from a country in central africa and grew up there till my seventeen I had not long hair but I had friends and nieces(mycousin daugthers) with long hair the longest lenght of one was waistlenght and I have others with 3b hair(few) they were just like me african with no white blood in so I can attest you that black african women can have long hair without being mixed, there's some areas when women are known to have big thick long hair in my country(south, north)!
My country is like everywhere there are women with short hair and women with long hair( natural or permed)!

 

[leleepop]

I really think the problem with our hair as oposed to other nationalities is all the myths we have been subjected to. Most white,indian,hispanic woman do not have the need or desire to permanantly str8en their hair so thats one reason y their hair is more durable. AA hair in it natural state is just as durable and strong as theirs esp with added moisture.....even AA girls with 3a hair (just like some whites) hairs breaks off from overlapping and overprocessing relaxers. It just something alot of us AA woman do....it has kinda become the norm for our culture in general.....also the myth that our hair needs to be trimmed every 6 to 8 weeks has stunt alot of our growth.

 

[frankie]

WEAVE!!!!!

I was wrong...d@mn, they gotta be white though??? Hey whatever, I don't think there will be too many assumptions when I reach midback. They may not think I'm white, but I might get a few weave sceptics...lol...that's the FIRST thought that would come to MY mind.

 

[leleepop]

I was thinking about this also. If you think about when a black man marries a white woman.....has a baby girl....she doesnt know what to do with her hair and shes using pink lotion or whateva.....most of the time the last thing on her mind is to reach for a rlaxer. The baby's hair is unruly and maybe bushy but its healthy,thick,and long. Us (or the majority fo us) on the other hand will reach for a relaxer and wont think twice about it and thats when the cycle begins. I think thats y so many of us dont have hair in the first place, and everybody thinks we cant grow some hair. Then its past down generation to generation. I think its more of a problem in our community than theirs....as far as the solution.....once we start beleiving different they dont have a choice but to realize we too have the hair that can strive.

 

[dynamic1]

That's why I'm not even telling anyone my goals and I am 5 inches to bra-strap. I told this one girl and she said, "Well, I saw this black lady on t.v. who said it took her 25 years to grow her hair waist length."erplexed

Wow, that would be a heck of an anagen phase (growth phase). Let's see, 6 inches per year for 25 years = A Guinness world record.
Some women who would slap their mothers for an anagen phase that lasted 25 years. If she believes that, I have the fountain of youth out in my back yard and I am willing to offer her some of the water.

Seriously, people underestimate the power of proper hair care.

 

[beadedgirl]

WTH.....u mean to tell me that after all these years with struggling to grow my hair past my shoulders i was just a plain 'ole black woman.But after joining this site and now at bra strap length,possible mid back by next summer.Oh now i guess my whiteness is finally coming out or something!!!!!!!


P.S.... and mind u i've never had long hair even as a young child...


Oh my goodness the ridiculous comments that people make.

 

[motherx2esq]

That's what I'm saying; where does it stop? Yeah, the average black person, according to a PBS special is 1/5 European and 5% black yet this is what we choose to identify as. I swear, even if you would have told my associate you were black, black, blackity black she would still think you had "white blood" somewhere down the line. I think that kind of diminshes and devalues the fact that you actually took care of your hair.

My paternal grandfather is half Irish and the other half American Indian. My paternal grandmother black, black, blackity black with a beautiful head of hair! Every time some use to complient my maternal great grandmother on how thick, long (mid back) and pretty my hair WAS she'd always say. Well her grandfather is white and Indian! WTH??? It was the perm grandma! lol

 

[motherx2esq]

WTH.....u mean to tell me that after all these years with struggling to grow my hair past my shoulders i was just a plain 'ole black woman.But after joining this site and now at bra strap length,possible mid back by next summer.Oh now i guess my whiteness is finally coming out or something!!!!!!!


P.S.... and mind u i've never had long hair even as a young child...


Oh my goodness the ridiculous comments that people make.

That was too cute and funny!

 

[jd_bdfly]

Precisely, Sprungonhairboards. Slave master genes are rampant.

 

[Crissi]

I digress with this train of thought...

I don't think race or texture has anything to do with it. No disrespect to anyone, but a black man with the "kinkiest most delicate, fragile, dry hair" will decide to get braids, and will grow it no problem. I think us women just need to do what they do, leave the dead protein alone...

 

[spoogeywoogey]

Re: My Associate says that black women with hair that is mid back or waist length hav

Exactly! Now you got it! But it's a little more complicated. See sometimes it takes a while for our true whiteness to shine through in all it's glory because it's been oppressed by all those destructive "black" tendancies and hair care rituals. If we would have just embraced our whiteness from the beginning, we would have always had long luxurious hair.

That's the funniest thing I've read regarding our hair in a long time!! I should have had long hair from a long time ago with my one white ancestor and one Indian ancestor!! Actually it should be double long
It's the same reason a woman in the natural hair salon I used to patronise said that her next babyfather "haffi be a chiney man." And lots have that belief, as if to say that one person will change everything for the future: smarter, more beautiful children.
I think people make those comments because we straighten our hair. If your hair were natural then they wouldn't come with that. Trust me, no one comes to me with those comments. I have kinky hair that no one wants. It's not the type that is shiny nor curls immediately on contact with water. They just know that my hair is big=long ( I wear it in puffs most of the time) and accepts it for what it is. For the most part people have two beliefs:
1. Kinky hair can't grow long
2. Kinky hair is only seen in black people so the more kinky your hair, the more black you are.
Therefore, the more they see people with kinkier hair types growing it out and long, the less they'll question any black woman with long straightened/relaxed hair.

 

[Bunny77]

WTH.....u mean to tell me that after all these years with struggling to grow my hair past my shoulders i was just a plain 'ole black woman.But after joining this site and now at bra strap length,possible mid back by next summer.Oh now i guess my whiteness is finally coming out or something!!!!!!!


P.S.... and mind u i've never had long hair even as a young child...


Oh my goodness the ridiculous comments that people make.

I love it!!!

Let's see... I'm no more "mixed" than the average black person -- you know, I got that white great-great-grandfather somewhere in my tree -- but when my hair wouldn't grow past shoulder length, nobody was questioning my blackness.

Now I'm natural and folks see a curl pattern AND my hair is thick and healthy and suddenly they want to know if I'm mixed!!! I mean, sure, if I was, I'd say it loud and proud, but it's sooooo funny how no one ever asked me this question when I wasn't taking care of my hair, but now that I am, it's gotta be because I'm 50% white or Indian or something!!!

 

[Dannygirl]

i always new my hair would grow... just didnt know how! honesty if you thinka bout it.. most woman probably from africa and stuff probablt HAD LONG hair because they were famous for braiding a locking, kornrowing and even shaving it bald but i think ever since we wanted to start frying,dyeing and laying to the side we all sitting here like why isnt it growin?... but hey thats just my thoery on it...
​

 

[EMJazzy]

Re: My Associate says that black women with hair that is mid back or waist length hav

Exactly! Now you got it! But it's a little more complicated. See sometimes it takes a while for our true whiteness to shine through in all it's glory because it's been oppressed by all those destructive "black" tendancies and hair care rituals. If we would have just embraced our whiteness from the beginning, we would have always had long luxurious hair.

OMG that is hilarious