'Just Hair'

Bet they talked about hair!

 “Belle, why are you so obsessed with hair? It's just hair you know!”- Anon via Email

Dearest Anon

As someone who thinks about hair as much as it is said that men think about sex, I am aware that not all people share my enthusiasm or should I say obsession with hair.

However thought I don't think we need to be as fanatical as I am, black women’s hair is still something that needs to be constantly discussed, not superficially but as an important social dialogue, as part of the discussion of race and gender.

Before and after becoming a blogger, whenever I encounter a group of black women hair would always pop up at some part of the conversation, whether it be negatively or positively it is always on the tip of our tongue, a conman denominator. All black woman can share some kind of common ground over hair.

As much as it can be seen as taboo to say, it's not just hair, there is a whole lot of history tied up in our kinks and coils and under those wigs and weaves, a history that is definitely more than hair but is still so tightly intertwined.

When our natural hair is still seen as something different and other, when some women still feel that anything that flows is better than what grows out your head. Then our hair still needs to be discussed and can never be 'just hair' until these things are no longer an issue.

If this so-called Natural Hair Movement has proven anything it is that dialogue between black woman about hair can bring about changes.

So I will continue to discuss our hair and it's importance.

Belle