"Good Hair" documentary by Chris Rock
Jun. 22nd, 2012 09:29 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
stormkeeper_lovedorisI've been watching the documentary "Good Hair" by Chris Rock, about African American hair. It's a topic of interest to me since we might be adopting a Black baby. I'll never forget the time when I was a kid and I was talking with a Black girl, and she told me about all the stuff that she had to do to her hair. I asked her why on earth she did all that, and she was like, "If you don't, then you have an Afro!" Prior to that, I had not realized all the time, money, and pain that goes into African American women's hair.
The documentary covers a wide range of subjects. The ones that stood out the most for me:
- A white scientist talks about the chemicals that are in relaxers. He says they are dangerous and he wouldn't go near them.
- I learned that hair weaves are popular. They can cost from $1,000-$3,500 and can require weekly salon visits to maintain them.
- The hair from hair weaves comes from...India! Many temples in India shave people's hair as a religious ritual. They then sell it to vendors, who clean it and ship it to the US for big profits.
- There was a hilarious segment where Chris, inspired by the Indian hair merchants, tries to sell Black hair pieces to vendors. They look at him like he's crazy. One vendor says that the Indian hair weaves are better and "more natural".
- There is an annual expo of African-American hair products, in Atlanta. On the huge convention floor, only two rows of the venodrs are Black-owned businesses. The vast majority of businesses that make Black hair products are owned by whites or Asians. (Near me, there is a beauty supply store that sells wigs and other hair products for Black women. Everyone who works there is Asian.)
- Chris interviews young female students, and all except one use relaxers or have weaves. They say they can't imagine getting a job in a corporate environment with natural hair.
- By the way, I work with a lot of Black women, in a corporate environment. A few have braids or cornrows. I guess everyone else is doing weaves and relaxers. (Once I saw a woman with natural hair. Next time I saw her, the hair looked relaxed. A wig maybe? I wasn't going to ask.)
- One guy said, "If your hair is relaxed, then white people are relaxed. If you're nappy, then white people are unhappy." Why should one group have to burn themselves and/or go broke to look a way that appeases another group??
- Chris interviews many Black writers, actors, etc. Unfortunately Ice-T is in there and his attitudes towards women are odious as always. He's balanced by some more sane voices like KRS-One. (Not sure I spelled that right). Chris does focus a bit too much on how expensive paying for "your" woman's weave can be, and not enough on the damn pressure that some men put on women. On the other hand, he does talk to a few men who say they prefer a woman with a natural.
I am learning a ton. If the baby is a girl, I wish I knew what to do. I think for now, it will be - no chemical relaxers, definitely not while she is a child. Maybe we take her somewhere and get nice braids or cornrows? I do expect that when she's a teen, she'll want relaxers or a weave. I guess we cross that bridge when we come to it. The weave at least seems safer (though expensive).
The documentary covers a wide range of subjects. The ones that stood out the most for me:
- A white scientist talks about the chemicals that are in relaxers. He says they are dangerous and he wouldn't go near them.
- I learned that hair weaves are popular. They can cost from $1,000-$3,500 and can require weekly salon visits to maintain them.
- The hair from hair weaves comes from...India! Many temples in India shave people's hair as a religious ritual. They then sell it to vendors, who clean it and ship it to the US for big profits.
- There was a hilarious segment where Chris, inspired by the Indian hair merchants, tries to sell Black hair pieces to vendors. They look at him like he's crazy. One vendor says that the Indian hair weaves are better and "more natural".
- There is an annual expo of African-American hair products, in Atlanta. On the huge convention floor, only two rows of the venodrs are Black-owned businesses. The vast majority of businesses that make Black hair products are owned by whites or Asians. (Near me, there is a beauty supply store that sells wigs and other hair products for Black women. Everyone who works there is Asian.)
- Chris interviews young female students, and all except one use relaxers or have weaves. They say they can't imagine getting a job in a corporate environment with natural hair.
- By the way, I work with a lot of Black women, in a corporate environment. A few have braids or cornrows. I guess everyone else is doing weaves and relaxers. (Once I saw a woman with natural hair. Next time I saw her, the hair looked relaxed. A wig maybe? I wasn't going to ask.)
- One guy said, "If your hair is relaxed, then white people are relaxed. If you're nappy, then white people are unhappy." Why should one group have to burn themselves and/or go broke to look a way that appeases another group??
- Chris interviews many Black writers, actors, etc. Unfortunately Ice-T is in there and his attitudes towards women are odious as always. He's balanced by some more sane voices like KRS-One. (Not sure I spelled that right). Chris does focus a bit too much on how expensive paying for "your" woman's weave can be, and not enough on the damn pressure that some men put on women. On the other hand, he does talk to a few men who say they prefer a woman with a natural.
I am learning a ton. If the baby is a girl, I wish I knew what to do. I think for now, it will be - no chemical relaxers, definitely not while she is a child. Maybe we take her somewhere and get nice braids or cornrows? I do expect that when she's a teen, she'll want relaxers or a weave. I guess we cross that bridge when we come to it. The weave at least seems safer (though expensive).
