Tag Archives: natural
December 5, 2011 

Have Hair Issues? MTV’s True Life Is Looking For You!

This news has been making its way around the web (not without its share of controversy – sigh), so I thought I should bring it here for your perusal!

MTV’s True Life is casting folks with hair woes, and is also looking to feature people who are ready to wear their hair in its natural state. Here is the synopsis:

“Is your hair your obsession? Do you have unwanted hair, or not the “right” hair? Are you someone with a hormone imbalance that leads to hair loss, or facial hair growth? Culturally are you told your hair should be one way, but you want it another? Have you been spending ridiculous amounts of money on weaves and extensions and are ready to go natural? Do you feel natural hair would let you embrace your true self, and you want to go for the “big chop?” 

How does your hair affect your social life? Does your hair make you feel unattractive and affect how you interact with members of the opposite sex? Are you undergoing a procedure to alter your hair or do you go to great lengths to manage it? Are you digging yourself into a financial hole just to manage your hair? 

If you appear to be between the ages of 15 -28 and have hair that’s making you unhappy, email us at casting@lintonmedia.com and tell us about your story. Please include your name, location, phone number and recent photos of yourself.”

~ MTV True Life Casting Site

The title of the show is “True Life: I Hate My Hair” – while I don’t think most people transition because they outright HATE their hair, I know that I was particularly unhappy with the state of my relaxed hair when I decided to go natural. If this was offered back about 4 years ago, I would have been All. Over. It!

I’ve been seeing another casting description floating around various natural hair care sites:

“Is your hair your obsession? How are you struggling with your hair? Do you feel natural hair would let you embrace your true self, and you want to go for the “big chop?” Why now? What has held you back up to this moment? We would like to follow someone who is ready to do the “big chop” and follow them on their journey as they transition into their natural hair.”

Not sure where this description originated, but this is the one that seems to be rubbing some women the wrong way, and it is not the one I found on MTV’s site…

Hmm…transitioning and natural hair terms like “big chop” being featured on mainstream TV? Interesting! Without sharing any of the negative points I’ve read regarding this casting call, do you foresee any problems with this show? Or are you firing up your email to throw your hat (or head) in the ring? 

October 17, 2011 

The Over-Justification of Natural vs. Not…

(source)

I was out at an event a few days ago, when I ran into a friend of a friend. Though I know she had recently started wearing her hair naturally, here she was, rocking straight hair that looked great!

“Girl – your hair is getting long! You’re really taking care of it!” I said.

When I complimented her on her ‘do, she got really shy and sheepish. She kind of ducked her head down, pulled what I now know was a weave into a nervous ponytail, and started off on a long explanation that I didn’t really ask for.

“Oh, you know, I just needed a break – I do wash n’ gos all the time and it’s getting too cold! I’m still natural underneath though! I still count! I just needed to do something different for a while…and it’s like a, what do you call it…protective style – yeah, it’s a protective style so that I can just protect my curls, you know…”

Awwwwwwwkward. I didn’t ask for alladat. But it did make me take notice of something that happens when I’m around other Black women: the over-justification of one’s chosen hairstyle, especially if they feel “judged” for not wearing their hair naturally.

All too often, I find that when I’m out and about and the topic of hair comes up, a woman with a weave or a relaxer will come across almost apologetically when justifying her hair choice. It almost feels like they think l I’m ‘looking down on them’ for not embracing their natural hair like I have. After this happened multiple times in one week, I had to sit down and take some mental inventory. Was my facial expression set a certain way? Did I not sound sincere when I complimented her hair? Did I do anything to make her feel like she had to explain herself to me?  I couldn’t come up with anything. When I realized that this happened with friends as well as strangers, I figured it likely wasn’t anything I had done directly, but was related to the relatively new perception of me being a natural-haired woman.

It’s similar to how men approach women. With my straight hair, it was “psssssst…”, and with my natural curls, I became a “Black queen” and an “empress”. I feel that women do the same thing, in a way. It’s all good for us to have relaxers and weaves, but once a woman switches it up to wear her hair naturally, there is a different perception. I’ve had women say they wish they could wear their hair naturally. That they would if their hair was “good enough”. That they don’t look good with short hair, so they could never do a big chop. All in all, the sentiment is that natural hair is something out of their reach. Perhaps that perceived unattainability leads some women to feel the need to justify their choices? I don’t know. Whatever it is, it seems to put me in the light of the dreaded “Natural Nazi”, an overzealous natural hair defender, who pities and attacks the ignorance of poor sistas who are slaves to the creamy crack. But I’m not!

I’ve been on the other side as well. Last year I went to the Toronto Natural Hair Show, and had my hair flat ironed at the time. I recall milling about the vendors booths with my homegirl Rowena (of the blog Nubiansoulslocks), who wears locs. More than once, I was assumed to have a relaxer or a weave, and noticed that the tone I was addressed with was different from the tone used to speak to Rowena. I remember almost wanting to preface any conversation with “So, I’m NATURAL, just have my hair flat ironed…” but I stopped myself. To me, it just wasn’t worth it, but as I reminisce now, I can understand where some of the need for explanation comes from. Whether the vendors knew it or not, the vibe they gave to Rowena was “yes, sista-girl!” and with me, it was more “poor thing…she’ll get enlightened soon.”

Sigh. Judgement, insecurity, and misconceptions – so unnecessary, yet so common to the human experience.Women, OWN YOU. All of it. Never apologize for who you are. We’re all learning, growing, and getting better, but always own where you are in this moment.

Do any of you out there know what I’m talking about? Have you ever been on either side of the matter? Why do you think we feel this need to justify ourselves to friends (who should know and love us anyways) and strangers (whose opinions shouldn’t matter)?