Emily E learning about South African hair culture

I finally let my natural hair out in Cape Town. It was bound to happen, and honestly, I was excited for the reactions I garnered during the week I’d let it out. As I’ve said before I love the natural state of my hair, but that was put into question.

           

Like I’ve said in an old posting, the typical style of those classified Colored and Black are braids or chemically straightened hair. Obviously my hair would stand out for being in it’s fro, especially at my internship and UCT. At my internship, the teenage girls thought it was so hip and were amazed at its length. One of them said because it was so long that it was time to chemically straighten my hair. I was stunned and told her kindly I would never go back to relaxers. However, the adult females’ reactions were slightly different. They did not say much and when they did it was strange. For instance, one of them asked if I purposely meant to have my hair in a curly fro. When I said yes, she laughed nervously as if to double check that I wasn’t having a bad hair day or something like that. After that happened, I felt very self-conscious. I quickly made a hair tie, ran to bathroom and put up my hair. For the first time in a while I felt ashamed of my hair texture, but I quickly recovered. Throughout the week, this one boy kept persisting I should relax my hair or iron it at the very least. To be honest, I was annoyed because I tried telling him I had no desire to. I never struggled so much to defend how I took care of my hair. Twice I had to explain what the natural hair movement meant in the U.S., and I don’t think the girls I told understand its significance.

We, as ethnic girls, have been systemically set up to try to match the beauty of white females. It’s damaging and stressful on our well-beings because we know it’s impossible. I’m not saying I’m against women who do relax their hair. Many know how take to care of their natural texture, but they personally choose to do so because they prefer the style. However, I’m against the fact that it’s been pushed on us so much that it is no longer a personal choice. It’s to make us “blend in”, and so we are uncomfortable with our racial/ethnical characteristics.  I’m almost happy that I did this experiment of sorts because it taught me a lot about South Africa’s hair culture. While this was going on I wondered when South African women of color will join this hair movement. I believe it will happen, but there is no telling when.