The View Talking About Good Hair

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Black women do relax to attain a white standard of beauty. That manageability excuse is a cop-out and we really know what it means. It's fine if you relax, do you, but let's be real about it.

I don't think you can speak for me.....I have no desire to be WHITE.:nono:
 
Lets not forget that Barbara is older and comes from an era that was much more open about racial feelings. (meaning people were more honest about their prejudices). Didnt she grow up in like the 40's or 50's? So we're still talkin about the days when certain skin tones and hair textures did BLATANTLY open doors. It might seem extrememly selfish and eurocentric but guess what...this is AMERICA. No need to front like she didnt have a legitimate assumption. The only difference is that nowadays most white people see so many relaxed heads that they believe this IS our natural texture lol...and we have embraced the prejudice within our own race now.

Somebody ought ask Bawbawa why she attempts to appear so shiksa.:perplexed
 
I don't think you can speak for me.....I have no desire to be WHITE.:nono:


For most of us at this point it has nothing to do with "wanting to be white". It is however a part of assimilating into dominant (white) culture. The generation who 1st began relaxing did indeed straighten there hair to fit the white standard of beauty.
 
I am texlaxed now and I did so not to be white but becuase I do not have 3 hours everyday to devote to detangling my hair. It is still nappy which I like but now it only takes me 30 minutes to comb thru it. Plus I don't like pain.
 
Black women do relax to attain a white standard of beauty. That manageability excuse is a cop-out and we really know what it means. It's fine if you relax, do you, but let's be real about it.

Really....how so? I personally received my first relaxer when I was 13 years old because my mother and I both thought it would help with manageablility. She has Type 2a/2b hair and didn't know how to comb my hair so I had been combing it MYSELF since I was 7 years old (that is including washing, conditioning and styling) and I had BSL - MBL hair. Did it help with manageability, yes it did. Did I wear it straight, no I did not. My mother MADE me rollerset EVERY night. Perhaps you were referring to yourself or some of the women that you know. But, that statement does NOT refer to ALL black women. Sorry, I am very pro black and was raised that way by my parents. So the statement offended me.
 
I don't think you can speak for me.....I have no desire to be WHITE.:nono:

I don't question that. But by perming your hair you are relaying the message that you would prefer to emulate their look rather than your own.
 
Isn't Barbara Walters like emancipation of slavery and Jim Crow era old ?
Her perspective and view is very old school Americana. I do not mind her.
 
Is every show talking about hair?

Oprah
Tyra
the View...
Larry King next?

...well also through Youtube, I see him on Bill Maher.
 
Really....how so? I personally received my first relaxer when I was 13 years old because my mother and I both thought it would help with manageablility. She has Type 2a/2b hair and didn't know how to comb my hair so I had been combing it MYSELF since I was 7 years old (that is including washing, conditioning and styling) and I had BSL - MBL hair. Did it help with manageability, yes it did. Did I wear it straight, no I did not. My mother MADE me rollerset EVERY night. Perhaps you were referring to yourself or some of the women that you know. But, that statement does NOT refer to ALL black women. Sorry, I am very pro black and was raised that way by my parents. So the statement offended me.

I expected my opinion to offend since this is a great sore spot among black people, but it is what it is :yep:. My opinion still stands that black women perm to emulate the white standard of beauty. Too many of us do it, too many of us hold negative views of our natural hair...honestly where do you think this comes from? Honestly, think about it. I know it is difficult as there is a knee-jerk reaction surrounding the issue but try to look at it w/out the emotional piece. The manageability argument is a cop -out,. Manageability has nothing to do with it, black women who perm just prefer straighter hair bc of the negative messages associated with natural hair- that is fine and that is your prerogative if you want to relax, but let's call a spade a spade.
 
Who says black hair isn't manageable?

That's the problem! Be honest. You want your hair to look as manageable to others' eyes. Give me a break. You are trying to fit the European standard of beauty (which, in itself, is a myth as it borrows from women of color). Otherwise, you'd go natural.
 
I don't buy it. If Black women straightened their hair to make it managable then why not just stop at a texturizer that only loosens the curl enough to cut down detangling time? Why relax all of the texture out? They want straight hair. FACT! Yes it's your hair to do whatever you want to do with it but don't give me a snow job. If you want straight hair then you want straight hair admit to it. Black women are not fooling anyone, the world knows we have issues with our hair.
 
I expected my opinion to offend since this is a great sore spot among black people, but it is what it is :yep:. My opinion still stands that black women perm to emulate the white standard of beauty. Too many of us do it, too many of us hold negative views of our natural hair...honestly where do you think this comes from? Honestly, think about it. I know it is difficult as there is a knee-jerk reaction surrounding the issue but try to look at it w/out the emotional piece. The manageability argument is a cop -out,. Manageability has nothing to do with it, black women who perm just prefer straighter hair bc of the negative messages associated with natural hair- that is fine and that is your prerogative if you want to relax, but let's call a spade a spade.


I actually started to relax my hair to fit in with the black girls. So, yeah.... you are not hitting as many sore spots as you think with this over- generalization.
 
I expected my opinion to offend since this is a great sore spot among black people, but it is what it is :yep:. My opinion still stands that black women perm to emulate the white standard of beauty. Too many of us do it, too many of us hold negative views of our natural hair...honestly where do you think this comes from? Honestly, think about it. I know it is difficult as there is a knee-jerk reaction surrounding the issue but try to look at it w/out the emotional piece. The manageability argument is a cop -out,. Manageability has nothing to do with it, black women who perm just prefer straighter hair bc of the negative messages associated with natural hair- that is fine and that is your prerogative if you want to relax, but let's call a spade a spade.
I totally agree..it's damn near the origin of this issue.
 
I actually started to relax my hair to fit in with the black girls. So, yeah.... you are not hitting as many sore spots as you think with this over- generalization.
No offense, but you were relaxing to fit in with black girls who were conditioned to think straight hair is more beautiful than their own. I don't think it's a generalization, because it can be proven.
 
I don't know whether to applaud Whoopi for her comments or go :huh: I hate she said black women get relaxers to make the hair more manageable. That comment in itself promotes a destructive mentality many of us are attempting to overcome. .
I guess you'd have to pick the lesser of the two evils between her comments and Bawbwa.
 
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Most Black women get relaxers cuz that's all they know! Our parents gave us relaxers at young ages, or they themselves have had relaxers for a long time, so we think if it's good enough for moma, it's good enough for me. And that's not a bad thing.

Looking like a white girl is the furthest thing from our mind cuz even w/ a relaxer u STILL don't get the white girl look! I've always felt that the relaxed look was specific to Black women if anyone based on the fact that even with a relaxer my hair NEVER looked like a white girl. From the back, I could spot a Black girl, even if relaxed, with no problem! They're completely different textures of hair. The STYLE may be similar, but not the overall appearance.

Plus, it's about manageability. Since I was born into relaxers, I THOUGHT and was told it was the easiest to manage...they lied!! Then I got locs when I heard locs were easier...somebody ELSE lied!! Then I combed them out and I have to say my natural hair IS the easiest of them all to manage......styling, however, is another story. :/
 
by the way, a quote from the movie, in Chris Rock's voice, says bw relax their hair to look white.

baba wawa 'nem pulled the trigger, but Chris gave her the ammo.
 
I knew with this Chris Rock movie Black women would go under the microscope yet again.


I like how Oprah twisted it up and mentioned white women as well. She had one of her white employees prove to the viewers that most white women do not have their natural hair color, and have forgotten what their natural hair color was.

I permed my hair 2 years ago because I fell in love with my corworker's waist length hair! I love how coily hair looks, however because I was not properly educated on how to wear my hair straight and coily, I went for the cream crack. Senior year of high school I went to Visible Changes in the mall to get my hair straightened. I lived in Texas at the time and 2 hours later my hair was a poofy from the roots to the center of my hair shaft and dry and hard at the ends. I figured I couldn't rock my hair straight without having a perm. Now I am in LHCF getting all googly eyed over everyone's hair. I did not perm my hair to appear more caucasian. That is not a good way to look at the reason behind women perming their hair.
 
I actually started to relax my hair to fit in with the black girls. So, yeah.... you are not hitting as many sore spots as you think with this over- generalization.

I really am sorry if it is too much truth to handle :lachen:

But seriously. You dont think there is something wrong with the bolded? Why were all the black girls relaxing their hair?

So if ur concern is simply about fitting in, i assume you would happily stop straightening your hair and go natural if a majority of the black women in your social circle/at your job/in your family stopped straightening their hair and went natural?
 
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