Thursday, December 16, 2010

Weave and Black Women with Blonde Hair: Your View

I saw this video over at The Kitchen Salon and just had to share it with the Loc Rocker fam. I've never watched a complete episode of The View. Only excerpts from controversial episodes. But I've always been an enormous fan of Whoopi Goldberg. I mean, HUGE!! This is a conscious sista that thinks before she speaks and always has something thought provoking to say.

That said, check out of the following video.





Whoopi brings up good questions. While Sherri Shepard wears weave (Obviously. It looks so freakin' fake and horrendous. Sorry, but it does.), Whoopi questions why so many Black women have to wear straight and super long weave. Shoopi says, "Why isn't it an afro weave?" That's a damn good question.

And then Joy Behar (thanks Google) answers that question with "Well, because when your hair is straighter, you can do more with it."

*crickets*

Really?


And did you catch when Whoopi says "Black women with blonde hair freak me out."? Oh gosh....as much as I love Mary J. Blige, a little part of me dies when I see her and that blonde hair. I'm just sayin'... And I know some Nicki Minaj stan is going to hate me for it but THIS...



....makes my eyes melt and stomach explode. Yeah, I know she considers herself to be a character and attempts to shock the masses with her get-ups. I know it's supposed to be "fun" but this is just awful to me. I wonder if my 12-year old sister thinks this is how she should look. Oh, and did I mention that my 18-year old mentee told me that MOST of the girls in her high school dressed up as Nicki Minaj for Halloween? What the fuuuu...

A lot of jokes were made on that segment of The View but at the end of the day, I don't think anyone understood what Whoopi was trying to convey. The White girls tried to relate by saying, "OMG, my hair is thick too." And Sherri Shepard seemed mega clue-less to me.

What do you think? Why do you think Black women don't rock more "natural" weaves (lol @ that oxymoron)? And do you have an issue with blonde hair or not so much?



15 comments:

Anonymous said...

Actually Sherri wears wigs.

Anonymous said...

The answer is terribly simple, I think. Black women believe that our natural hair is ugly, unattractive and unprofessional. I certainly did, until I my mid-thirties. Now, in my mid 40s, I'm chemical free and have never felt more beautiful. My inner nappy-lil-girl is finally at peace.

Unknown said...

I can understand the dilemma with the afro weave but I think that is the reason girls rock the weaves in the first place because they are unable to get their hair that straight even with "chemical based assistance" lol sad but that's all I can think of... now with color I think that personal preference my locs are blonde and for the longest I was "goldie locs" and I must say it was flattering on me,lol but color is to me is more if a device of self expression and Nikki Minaj.... no comment on that monstrosity as a whole smh I'm not a fan.... lol

Unknown said...

it personally saddens me when i walk into any black function and if i see 100 sisters i can count on one hand the number of sister who wear their hair the way it grew. i understand personal choice but at some point it has to be asked: are they making a decision born of thier own thought, or is it conditioning?

sherri & nikki are lost and thats that. as for whoopi, it's funny how that can distress her so, when remember how cool she was when her then boyfriend ted danson put on blackface. i guess she has "selective conciousness".

if sisters chase a european ideal can they even begin to make an issue when their men do the same and get a white woman? if young boys are conditioned to think european is the standard then as men that is what they very well may pursue.

it also puzzles me when i hear how 'hard' it is to go natural. its simply a matter of a haircut, patience and resolve. what seems a more daunting task is having your scalp fried, glues, stitched, suffocated and systematically destroyed. one process takes weeks months, the other is a life-long trial...go figure

off the soap box now. have a wonderful day.

.

Loced Lioness said...

With so many covers of magazines and ads on tv that have models and actresses wearing long flowing hair, it may make some women feel that in order to be accepted that's how they have to look.I hear it all the time " Ooh your hair is so pretty! I could never go natural, I can't let my hair get nappy." And I'm left thinking you can't let your hair be "nappy" but you can endure chemicals applied to your scalp,itchy stinky glue,and some one else's hair on your head? Smdh... As for the blonde hair it doesn't bother me but what does is how now that more women are trying to go natural, all of a sudden it's big news like it's the new "it" trend. Natural hair to me is not a trend, it's a lifestyle.Jmo

Expanding Beauty said...

I think the sad but true answer is that most black women think their hair is ugly and has to be fixed. I say do what you want to your hair but the reason I have an issue with weaves and relaxers is because the motivation for choosing this look is rarely just a style choice like preferring pants to skirts but stems from a deep seated belief that what sprouts from your head is wrong coupled with the fear that if you choose to wear your hair in its natural you're making a statement, it's aggressive, "they" meaning caucasians will get the wrong idea about you and on, on, on. Once as a whole we can appreciate, accept and love what we possess naturally then what you do to your hair truly becomes a choice whereas now most women feel those weaves and perms are a necessity to belong.

Unknown said...

I think and I just know for sure alot of black woman are ashamed of there natural hair. They claim it's nappy, hard to work with. These woman want to fit into society and say hey I look just like you now see my weave nice long and straight please accept me. These woman are weak in my opinion. Woman that rock their natural hair and they careless what others think about it are strong!

Notice when Sherri Shepard took off her wig she said it was her natural hair. That was a straight up perm. Polease!!

I can go on and on about this subject I better stop now. Lol! :D

Natasha Vincent, Crazy about personal care! said...

:lol: @a.jay referring to Whoppi's "selective consciousness" I couldn't agree more. I see her as an iconic path-maker who often goes astray. Can't say how many times I've given her side eye but she still gets my props.

As to Whoopi's issue here? I would be cool if more weaves were "kinky" It's not like it's not available. Have you ever walked into the beauty store and seen "The Wall?" An entire wall dedicated to different types, lengths, colors and textures of hair.

So why aren't the tight curls being chosen more?

That's a question I can't answer.

See, I have nothing against weaves, extensions, wigs, perms, texturizers (what am I missing)? It's not up to me to automatically assume that you aren't comfortable with yourself as a POC woman and feel beat down enough to respond to the fight by straightening...your...hair.

Mainly because I'd like to think - what with so many strong examples in our collective history - that we'd think of individual socio-political responses that are bigger than that. Rosa-Parks-front-of-the-bus big and not Beyonce-Knowles-gimme-more-wind-machine big.

The divide that we seem to have created for ourselves over hair saddens me at times. A recent conversation on natural hair length on another blog had folks calling each other "short hair nazis" C'mon now.

Hair play isn't the bastion of POC women either: we are willing to spend more for it though. Orthodox Jewish women - there's a lot of them where I live - wear wigs and weaves like hats. They invest big dollars in entire collections because they aren't to show their natural hair in public. And Joy, who has super curly natural hair, has her own bias about what can('t) be done with it because she's coming from her experience. Don't put that on me, Joy.

That's how I carry myself in general: Don't put your bias on me and I won't lay mine down on you. Goes for hair, too.

Tarra Lu said...

OMG this clip was frustrating. Sherri pulls off her wig and says "that's my natural hair". Yea ok. So according to Sherri (that's her name right?) there's natural perm hair and natural afro hair???

Newness of Life said...

It irritates me to see black womean not even able to openly discuss why they don't show their own hair as it grows out the scalp. Sherri hates her natural hair so much that she thinks her relaxed, chemically treated hair is her "natural hair". She didn't even want to admitt that she's losing hair. Joy saw the bald spots and Sherri quickly denied that it was balding, blaming it on the fact that her hair is braided.

All I can say to this clip is WHATEVAS. I'm rolling my eyes really hard over here. And Whoopi is a damn lie acting like she has no idea why black women don't rock natural hair and afros as much as they do straight, blond weaves. Didn't she use to have a monologue about how as a little girl she wore a shirt on her head to pretend it was long straight hair. Da hayle?

Again, can we please have some black women discussing thsi openly and honestly? Why continue to tip toe around it if there is no shame in your game?

Unknown said...

why is it that the first thing people say is black women hate their hair or are ashamed. not all women think that way! I love natural hair but at the same time I relax my hair. I don't think natural hair is ugly (unless you don't take care of it...yeah i said it)

has it ever occurred to think that maybe some girls are lazy and by relaxing their hair it's a simpler method.

in terms of wigs, i have friends who wear them because they have super short hair and myabe want to rock a lock wig. or if they can't get their hair to curl, they rock one of those beyonce big curl wigs.

Newness of Life said...

Eileen D., I sincirely believe that MOST women who continue to use caustic chemicals in their hair to permenantly change it's appearance have a real issue with their real hair. I think that women who continue to deny that chemicals, extensions and whatnot are the culprit for their severe hair loss are really at odds with their real hair. If they would rather put their scalp (which is right over their brain) in harms way for the sake of having hair that does not look like their own... I would venture to say they don't particularly like their own hair.

B said...

E---> No no, darling. If you look at my About section you will see that I have no problem with Black women rocking what they decide is comfortable and suitable for them. To assume that someone is ashamed of their race because of how they wear their hair is crazy and I have never made that claim. In fact, I go against it when I hear natural radicals say it.

But since this blog is about natural hair, most of what we discuss will be about natural hair. I posted this video to share and get the thoughts of other ladies. Not to bash weaves, wigs and blonde hair. While I wouldn't wear any of the three myself, I think everyone is entitled to do what they want .

Any hair hair of any texture and style can be ugly if you don't take care of it.

CorporateNapps said...

There is something very crucial to remember for those of us who currently rock natural hair. Unless you are one of few black women who went their whole life without a relaxer, a majority of us once wore relaxers. The difference is, we have reached a point where we decided to stop relaxing, whether it was 1 year ago or 20 years ago.

Those who are currently relaxed, I don't see them as people with low self-esteem or that there is a deeper issue of lacking self-love. I think that some women just haven't thought of the idea of going natural or if they have, they are going through that debate period of trying to figure out if they should.

Just imagine all the information at our fingertips to show us how to work with our natural hair the right way. If a lady is relaxed and gets hit with all of that information while researching, some of it conflicting, it would be a little scary to venture into something you know nothing about. And of course that means abandoning the only thing you know, relaxers.....which actually makes relaxers the easy road for them. Then add the fact that you have no one around you who is natural to show you the beauty in person.

I say all of that to say, if you have ever had a relaxer, remember your mindset at the time and just know that others may transition their minds just as you did. It takes them seeing all of these beautiful natural heads and what makes us unique. And there are some who are hardcore like us. Many of us would almost give a kidney to a stranger before being forced to relax our hair. Well there are those who will chop of an arm to make sure that never a kink arises on thier head.

Kimberly said...

Sherry is silly. Love Whooopie!!! while transitioning from relaxers i did wear kinky twists and afro pony tails. it was a safe way to test out what i would look like in locs before i made the leap. and yes I LOVE MY LOCs !!!--- cant believe i didnt loc years ago. One day i looked in the mirror and i felt completely stupid wearing straight weaves suddenly. dont know what it was. i dunno wigs and weaves just look super weird now. and lace fronts are just evil. I really want to stop and pray with any woman i see wearing a lacefront. especially the ones where you can see the glue... Claud-hammercy.