While taking a spin through my list of Journey Peeps, I happened upon Afrobella’s entry concerning Trya Banks’ Good Hair episode which aired May 12th.  Since I rarely keep up with the latest and greatest in Boob Tube land, I was unaware of the show until today, and when I was made aware of it I thanked all my lucky charms that I did not witness it first hand.  Just the few minutes of clip I caught on AB‘s site was enough to make me want to write Tyra and her producers and ream them for airing such ignorance in the guise of a legitimate issue. What potentially could have been a blockbuster show, beginning with a young woman’s desire to transition to natural after suffering years of damage because of perms and going on into the “meat” of why hair matters so much in the African-American community, went much the same way as the PBS “interview” about Michelle Obama’s impact on black hair issues.  Down in flames, and a lot of commenters on Afrobella‘s site and the Tyra show’s site agree.

First off, Tyra with “for show”  corn rows when her normal style is bone straight lace fronts or hyper teased curly weaves?  Giving consideration to the fact that she was “playing the part” in concert with the topic of the show (as we Archer’s are known to do… although she didn’t pull it off convincingly enough for me) I was able to let that slide, because Tayheedah’s issue was the real topic at hand.  But then Shay got to talking about her “white girl flow” and Ahkia began rattling off a laundry list of adopted stereotypes as to why straight hair is synonymous with good hair, and I began to hear my pulse in my ears.  As if that wasn’t enough, there was only ONE natural sister on the initial panel, and she was so anti-chemical hair altering that you’d have thought the makers of Dark ‘n Lovely had car jacked her on the way to a Black Panther Party.  And hear tell it, the ratio of “naptural” was woefully lacking  in the realm of show guests, with the one sistah I did see (Kelley) sporting locs and possibly as far removed from knowing her hair texture personally as the first two women on the panel.  Again, I am thankful I did not see the show in its entirety, but even the 8.05 minutes that I was witness to was 8.04 minutes too much.

As I look at my calendar yet again to reassure myself this is indeed 2009, the question of why the good hair vs. bad hair topic is still a hot button issue echoed through my gray matter.  And it’s no longer just the Perm & Weave Brigade with their silky tresses who are professing to be on the side of the good while us natural sistahs are on the side of bad.  Nope, the Nappy Nazis  seem to have done a second “n-word” flip and crucifying those who dare pick up the “creamy crack” habit, and are now proclaiming natural good and chemically altered bad. Seems the spin on this one is spinning out of control and it’s really a shame.  Isn’t the fact that anyone has hair when they have it a good thing?  That’s what my Grandude used to always say.  The way I see it, whether hair is kinky and curly, straight and snarly or feather light and fly away, if it grows, is healthy and properly maintained then it’s all good.  Hell, even bald is beautiful if you ask me, but that’s another topic for another day.  So, with all hair being good on it’s own merit, why are we still having this debate with ourselves and the world at large?  And even beyond that, why, even when on such nationally syndicated stations such as NPR and shows as Tyra’s (I think Oprah did a similar show a couple of years ago as well),  why is the surface only skimmed and why are there never any concrete answers that materialize from the discussion?

I personally am sick of it all.  The good hair versus bad hair issue has been going on far too long for us to 1. not take off from the superficial points of it and  dig further to the core of the topic, 2. find reasonable elucidation for carrying this into yet another century, and 3. eradicate it once and for all.  One of my missions while on this journey was to personally understand the history of black hair in America for this very reason.  It has never been my intention to “go natural” for socio-poitical or fashion reasons, but before I could fully understand the process and break away from the stereotypical misconceptions surrounding black hair, I had to properly educate myself.  It was through this process that I was able to break free from the good hair/bad hair stigmas and move into an appreciation for hair period.  To me, how you choose to where your hair is a personal preference, no more linked to racial authentication or self acceptance than the style of clothing we choose to wear. If we are going to partition, let’s do it along the lines of healthy hair vs. unhealthy hair, or healthy self image views vs. unhealthy self image views.  Isn’t that what this really boils down to once we get past the relaxer fumes, tracks, fros and locs.

I would love to see the day when black hair is taken deeper than the tips and on down to the roots.  I will be overjoyed when, since we know where all the hoopla started, we collectively and nationally combine the sides of black hair, and put the division to rest.  Call it a beautiful dream, but I’m sure we can achieve it, once we begin to fully represent what black hair “means” and demand that platforms like The Tyra Banks Show, The Oprah Show and other media mediums do so as well.

Healthy Hair Wishes,