@
EnExitStageLeft
I ...took a very long time to embrace my hair. There was a time I hated my hair and preferred it relaxed and when my scalp didn't allow me to relax because of my skin condition I chose to wear braids. Back to back. No breaks.
If a day or two went by in between installs it was too long for me. Naturally my hair got shorter and shorter without me even noticing because length did not concern me. I was convinced it wasn't going to grow anyway, and that it would always look a hot mess anyway, and that I looked like a boy at worst (when I had no hair) and a child at best (when I had some hair).
I am going to be honest I am still learning to love my hair. I have seen what it can do with care and have come to appreciate it. I also realized that given what it had been through, it had weathered the storm far more gracefully than it should have. Case in point a friend of mine saw my fried heat damaged pressed to death hair in a photo while I was sitting with her - while I was in braids
, and said "you don't need to wear braids your hair is beautiful and thick I don't see why you wear braids". Mind you this friend stayed in braids the same way I did and she had soft naturally honey blonde hair, but I digress...
So, you can imagine my surprise when after I had taken the time to care for and grow out my hair, and you have seen my texture, a woman who had recently texturized after spending her life natural tells me " you have a good grade of hair".
erplexed
...I was able to grow my hair out because I have "a good grade of hair"?
Um, do you like see my hair?
I feel like this just goes to show how the words good and bad are used to reinforce inferiority complexes. It is not about curl pattern or even ease of care, it is about "you have better hair. you are better, prettier, younger, whiter..." all those categories they use to subjugate women and especially women of color.