Hey there ladies and gents! I was perusing Racialicious again and came across this article about why so many Black women avoid personal/intimate contact when it comes to their heads. I could totally relate to a lot of what the author had to say and I agree. Often times, isn' the bottom line insecurity? "Deeper than the “my hair will get messed up” mantra, I think the root of the problem lies in insecurity. And why not? Us women of color have always been taught that, in its natural state, our hair is not beautiful. So we hide behind weaves and wigs and relaxers, quite literally putting up a barriers between our scalps and the hands of others."
I can remember avoiding hugging people sometimes when I had a relaxer because I was afraid my hair wouldn't smell fresh considering I hadn't washed it in a week or so. I was always trying to fix my scalp issues, unfortunately adding heavy greases which of course did nothing for the problem. I feared spending the night with some White girlfriends because I would leave grease on their pillows. I actually had one friend ask me to bring my own pillow the next time because I had gotten grease on it! I was mortified.
Now that I'm natural, there are still times when I feel traces of that same type of insecurity. I am, after all, only human.
Read the article, and the comments below it, and tell me what you think. How was your self esteem before being natural and how is it now? What do you still struggle with and what have you overcome?
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