Growing up, I very often heard the phrase “good” hair and “bad” hair. In the Dominican community that I grew up in, hair is very important. It was essential to a women’s beauty. I myself grew taking a lot of pride in my hair, but one thing I could never rap my mind around was the “good” hair “bad” hair concept. What some people considered good others considered bad and at times I just felt that everyone had their preferences. People do what they can and what ever comes easier to them. I for one began to straighten my hair because it was easier for my mother to handle. My hair is thick and I have a lot of it so I can see where it can get tiring.
In an essay by bell hooks called Straightening Our Hair, she discusses how many black people do it to conform to white people’s definition of beauty. I feel that although some might see that way, I think that today it’s not as much as conforming but what it easier for people and what’s the style. Bell hook’s reasoning for people straightening their hair seems very radical. I can see where she is coming from. I also believe that when blacks and other minorities began to straighten their hair it was for conformity, because at that time it was important to get the stamp of approval from whites; it was important to pass. Celebrities today that straighten their hair or get weaves is because their physical appearance is what they make a living out of. They wear the latest clothes, shoes, jewelry, make-up, accessories, and yes, hair. Looking at today I see the whole straight hair issue as just a style and not a matter of conformity.
