The Bug

Imagine you’ve just bought that new pair of colour-blocked platform heels you’ve been eyeing for a while. You’ve mentally matched it to a yellow, knee-length dress in your closet. You bump into a friend outside the shop and your newest purchase comes up in the conversation. As you show it off, she squints, cocks her head to one side, and says, “Oh you’ve also been bitten by the multicolored shoe bug?” [Insert reaction here].

I’ve had to smile and suppress my responses to this type of question a lot recently – in relation to my hairstyle. “You’ve also been bitten by the natural-hair bug?” They ask with an almost annoyed undertone. I’ve not been bitten by any afro-sporting insect. No! I simply took a pair of scissors to my permed hair.

I’ve had fewer conversations about any one part of my body than I have in the past 2 weeks about my hair. “Why?” “What made you do it?” “Since when?” “Oh, but it’s nice”. I don’t recall ever being asked about a ‘permed-hair bug’ when I first started keeping my hair straight and permed. Nor was I asked about a ‘braided-hair bug’ whenever I wore the interwoven extensions. Has anyone heard of a ‘Brazilian-weave bug’ (even though that was really going around)? Why are people so nervous about more Ghanaian women keeping their hair natural, kinky, and coily? Have you wondered? What does it say about the way we think and our attitudes to things ‘African’?

Going natural is fun, and you only need three things: courage, a pair of scissors and a standing discount at a wig shop (just in case). It’s simply a choice of hairstyle. The length or state of my hair does not necessarily reflect my views on Pan-Africanism, Feminism or Afrocentrism. It’s less about a movement and more about a new look (I speak for myself and, maybe, some of you too?). However, I still say that, ‘the revolution will not be texturised.’

Have you had any similar hair experience (natural/permed)? Do share them with us.

Tweneboah

Hairy Politics

I didn’t realize at first that there were defined factions. It wasn’t until I attempted crossing the unseen line that  I met the factions; the ‘pro-straight’  and the ‘pro-coils’. They don’t actually call themselves that. Those are my labels for them, they don’t have clear labels because they are unintentional activists of their beliefs, mostly.

Saying “I’m going natural” elicits all sorts of reactions. Some people look alarmed like I said “bomb” in a packed airport. Others smile knowingly and welcome me to the team, unless they are males, then they just smile and say how much they approve. Last month, the hairdresser at my usual salon combed my overgrown hair with a little less patience than usual, she had no love for my partly permed tresses. She thought I should be relaxing it not looking to cut it and “go natural”. “It’s hard to keep natural hair oh”, she warned. I stared at her relaxed hair lounging on her scalp and wondered how she would know.

A close friend from the pro-straight side said I’m “going native”. That made me laugh. Another good friend from the pro-coils section sent me a meme of afro combs that said, “The revolution will not be texturized”. That really made me laugh.

A woman’s hair is hers and she should decide how she wants to keep it. Whether relaxed or natural, it should be her prerogative. Whatever your hair’s state, enjoy it, nurture it and live, the politics will try to sway you but be firm. For me, presently, as I straddle the unseen line, the revolution will really not be texturized.