Curl Coveters:Tales from the Fro

People often mistake my Afro for a petting zoo. They poke, pull, prod, and pat my dense curls in hopes of understanding just what makes my head of hair so darn curly. For 21 years I’ve struggled to make sense of the science behind each one of my tiny curls…and I finally feel as though I’ve broken some new ground.  In the last two years, I’ve had an ongoing epiphany that led me to change the way I was living. Instead of constantly struggling to smooth my curls into flat, slick tresses, I decided to embrace the unknown and LEARN to tame the curly beast inhabiting my scalp.

For most of my life always, I placed my hair in the driver’s seat…allowing it to dictate my look of the day and feeling of the moment.  This drove me to the brink of insanity, since I saw long flowing locks as THE symbol of beauty. Realizing that hair length is a choice, the majority of the time, still wasn’t enough to shift my perspective that long, straight hair was a reflection of beauty.

People view their hair as their crowns of glory, and for women this crown is socially accepted as beautiful it is long, thick and reminiscent of an Herbal Essences ad. Since every aspect of your outer appearance is an expression of your character…your physicality’s a mere extension of your personality; it was truly important for me to find a hairstyle that I felt suited my personality.

In the late 60’s and early 70’s American society became entrenched in hippie lifestyle, bohemian chic attire, and the “black power” movement. Films from this era commonly depicted African Americans associated with this movement sporting large picked out Afro hair styles, wide leg bell bottoms, and brandishing the infamous black power fist. Flaunting a huge Afro during this time was a representation of ethnic pride and strength through diversity.

Now that brief history lesson may seem out of place in this discussion, but it really plays a large part in how my hair is interpreted in society and pop culture. I overheard a friend sharing their feelings about natural hair on black women, which is what prompted this blog topic. She said she loved the look of Afros, and wished that she could have hair that “looked like that.” When I questioned her further about her tendency to covet curls, she said that she felt that it showed strength and confidence in a woman who chooses to wear her hair in an Afro.

This was an interesting and new interpretation of what my hair symbolized for someone else. I had never thought about wearing my curly fro while exuding an air of confidence, but that’s because I spent all of my brainpower wishing it looked different!  Which is the exact opposite of confidence! Funny. To think about all of the time I spent in front mirrors hoping to just look “ok” when others thought I was walking with my head held high.

To bring this story full circle: symbols are slaves to interpretation.  The only way to give a symbol any meaning or power is become the interpreter. I thought my hair was the foundation of my “womanly beauty” thus allowing my hair to interpret my level of confidence. What I didn’t realize was that the world around me was choosing to view my hair as a mere extension of the confidence and beauty I already possessed.