If you pay attention to the images portrayed in magazines and mainstream movies, most will have you believe that all men are stuck on the idea of their women having long hair. Whether it’s Beyoncé or Tamika up the block, achieving that look usually means getting a weave, tracks, wig, or whatever other follicle trickery beauticians use to fake the funk. That’s not to say that a black woman can’t have naturally long hair without assistance, but more times than not that sister with the ponytail is actually rocking a phony tail.
I for one am a man that appreciates natural hair. Be it locks, an Afro, curly tresses or even a low-cut Caesar, I admire a woman that is comfortable in her own skin and hair. There’s just a certain sexiness and confidence I get from a woman that decides to defy the norm by rockin’ the hair God gave her. Again, that’s no knock against sisters that prefer a perm and extensions, but natural hair is more my speed. But maybe I’m alone in that distinction.
Mainstream media beats us over the head with images of longhaired women being the ideal form of beauty. From childhood ideas of beauty that defy our own African heritage are what we’re exposed to. Our daughters grow up playing with Barbie dolls that have silky smooth hair and watching cartoons that highlight the same features. Somewhere along the way our sons learn early on to pay more attention to the girls with “good hair.” A few parents make a concerted effort to teach their kids diversity, but for the most part we all wind up repeating the same cycle.
Young girls grow into women that can’t wait to get their hair did and balk at the idea of getting caught in the rain for fear of reverting back to their “nappy” roots. Young boys grow into men that chase short skirts and long hair for sport. As a result, black hair care is a multi-billion dollar industry, where perms, weaves and wigs are the norm. Even women that sport short cuts, like Rihanna and Halle Berry, are guilty of layering their tresses with tracks and extensions, while most guys are clueless.
Essence.com Beauty Editor Tia Williams recently hit the streets of Harlem, NY to see is men could tell which celebrities had long African-American hair or weaves. Needless to say, the ladies had the brothers fooled. Truthfully, the average man probably can’t tell the real from the fake with hair (or anything else for that matter) unless a woman is wearing an extremely bad weave.
All we care about is whether or not a woman can treat us as good as she looks. Now that’s real
Source : Anslem “NWSO” Samuel
oh ad3n wasesa wadwene? from blaming game to this..hahhahaha.
well since im here i will comment anyways…real hair, fake hair, it don’t matter like the source said “All we care about is whether or not a woman can treat us as good as she looks. Now that’s real” that’s all that matter at the end of the day..i wear fake hair nd relax my hair, that don me I wanna be white or I don appreciate my blackness..even white women wear extentions, wigs, clip on, flip on, glue on etc now nd i don think ppl believe dey trying to be black..is not a black-thing anymore..the world has change nd cultures are gradually colliding…now I am just speaking for myself bcuz i noe some sistahs do it for wuteva reasons but that’s their own cup of tea..to me it’s all A STATE OF MIND..and for kids, it depends on their up-bringing. if their parents instill in them wit good morals and self worlth, dey will grow up appreciating every little bit of their blackness..again is A STATE OF MIND.
But one more thing i will like to say is that I dislike twisted black women wit their twisted mentality who think is ok to perm their hair or put other products in to soften it, but its not ok to wear wigs or extensions..one word, RIDICULUS..they talk of liberation but yet dey can’t stand thier hair looking all da way nappy..if u wanna liberate urself stay away from any product that will soften ur naps and even straightening irons..wen ur hair is all nappy and natural and away from or sort of products, now that’s liberation..THANKS
lol…twisted black women…hahahha….i think weave, braids, perm are
very artistic…too bad if nobody understand the artistic part of hair..ive
permed my hair, shaved it, braid it, gon natural, u name it…nothing for
the guys..lol…we treat eacother good then we roll…lol
@May, Yo I meet those same kinda people too.
I will admit though they seem annoying.
I remember one time i saw this family of dreadlocked women at Kotoka Intl, I was scared for them women
yey,, unkempt dreads is the worst eyesore and a RED card on the African continent…Ya’ll know its true.
If it is infact true that the author, Opanin, and fraternity like natural then thats cool!
My worst, absolute worst fear is to get 80years old and be bald…NEVA.
In the nursing home I work at the black women with long natural hair get the best hair care while those with short tresses or un-retouched perms are the hardest hit in kempt hair. Just observation.
@nanayaa, Could not agree with u more
@nanayaa, u r so right. dont put chemical n ur hair either. guys dont mind chemicals but dey mind something temporary like weaves? ridiculous indeed. i dont give a rat ss wat guys want i do me. when did we start telling dem abt their many flaws. nkwasia boys
@syn, hahahahahahahahaha..ooh charley..u guys will kill me ooooo
@syn, hilarious and true
Ah well. Am ok with that. it shouldn’t look so obvious.
real hair rocks. imagine running your hands thru your womans hair n encountering bumps, that takes away the romance. but run it thru n have it go smoothly all the way down is so sensual n romantic.i love real hair. extensions are gud tho but my bet is on real hair.
@Opanin, very true opanin, no disrespect but u know most black women doesn’t naturally have the smooth hair texture u talking of so my question is, u like ya women to chemically streghten her hair ryt? cuz that’s da only way u will achieve dat smooth hair u talking abt..wen u run ur hands thru a nappy hair, trust, there’s nothing smooth abt it unless u apply chemicals to soften it or wit other products..or i maybe wrong da women u’ve been wit got a smooth nap..anyways wut do u mean by real hair kuraa, before i stretch this conversation?
@nanayaa,don’t get me wrong Nana, i have no problem wif weaves ok. all i’m saying is, it’s kinda unromantic when u run your hands thru it n it goes over the braids or the “joints”, u get wht i mean.plus,some women do not take ker of their wigs,extensions etc, they don’t wash dem, dey don’t dress dem well, dey look unkept n stuff like dat. ,real hair for me is hair devoid of joints,glue etc. ma girl wears wigs n extensions n i have no prob wif it.
@Opanin, got u opanin..cool
No wonder why she’s smacking people around and throwing things…. you can count the number of follicles of her head.
I am a Ghanaian and it’s funny because when people see me, they assumes that I’m of a different race. My hair is naturally long and healthy, people touch it and asks if it’s your real hair. Here, the African Americans or Jamaicans are usually the ones with short hair. Making people wonder about my race. Bottom line is, us African ladies sometimes have long hair so the image is a little offending.