It is a symbol that represents where we are from, stands out and shows the world the power that an African-American woman possesses. Years ago that natural curl was erased from our culture and replaced by the hot comb, the chemical perm, and weaves. Society has brainwashed us into believing that African-American hair is “nappy” and unattractive, hideous, or that it is more appealing to have long straight hair. To make matters even worse, the term “good hair” was created in order to make us believe that we are inferior to those who do not have coarse hair.
During the ’70s, natural hair was embraced by our own people, but has increasingly faded away over time and been replaced by the evergrowing reign of weave. However, today more and more women are making the decision to cut it all off and resist perms. Here on the “Hill”, it seems that it is becoming more popular to rock and work your natural curl. Even at an HBCU it is still considered a culture shock. Some have accepted but the rest of the female population fear what the males would think or say.
To find out what the men on campus think about this subject, males were interviewed for their opinions.
Senior Marcus T. Mitchell said, “It’s clear that natural hair is a statement that a lot of men are intimidated by. Most men believe it shouldn’t feel like a curse to have this hair style, but as a blessing. To some, it is even a turn on to see a woman that has that kind of hair. It’s also a turn off to see that she cannot keep it properly groomed.”
Twenty-five percent of the males interviewed said that they were already in a relationship with a mate that has natural hair. While seventy-five percent proudly said that they would actually date a woman with natural hair, but hate how some women who decide to go natural hide their natural dos underneath braids or weaves.
Junior Trevon Heath said, “Natural hair shows natural beauty and if one can pull it off, then that shows how strong that particular woman is. It may not be right for every woman, but for those young ladies that do have natural hair, they should take care of it.
If you are a young woman seeking guidance about natural hair, there are various blogs and websites that you can visit to educate you on how to maintain your hair. Overall, African-American men and women should know that there is nothing negative about having natural hair. It doesn’t make any woman any less beautiful than what she already is.
“It merely shows confidence”, senior Nathany Terrell said. “It shows where we come from and it is our birth right which is why our men and women should not be ashamed of it, but should respect and applaud whoever is bold enough to rock it.”
The men on campus have proven to be optimistic about natural hair. The question now is, are we as African-American women corageous enough to embrace our true selves, or will we continuously hide behind the comfort of our weaves?