The topic about black women putting synthetic hair extensions is a hair raising issue – pun intended. The stereotypes that black women with weaves are subjected to are unbeweaveable!….I hope you got that or you want me to comb again? Jokes aside the decision of whether to weave or not to weave is a very cultural, ethic and race charged issue….and I am faced with such decision.
When I was in high school and first year of varsity I became obsessed with hair.Hair was synonymous with beauty.My favourite pastime was brushing my hair and trying different hairstyles and referencing my favourite Hollywood stars. The Naomi Campbell middle parting was my fave.
I must say having long gorgeous hair got me so many compliments and that boosted my confidence. I heard the “you are so pretty” line so many times it was nauseating sometimes.I appreciated the genuine compliments but ,I did not feel the prettiness!
I reached a point where I needed to delve into my inner beauty. While on the journey of inner self discovery it made sense for me to completely forget how I look like on the exterior, AKA India Arie’s I am not my hair. The main reason I decided to cut my hair and go "au naturale" is because I wanted to prove a point to myself, I was in a quest to figure out who this Vuyokazi “VK” really woman is? Unlike the bible parable of Samson who was dis empowered when his “mistress” Delilah cut his hair, I evolved into this fierce, confident woman…I felt emancipated!
Cutting my hair was the bestest decision I have ever made because I did it for me! I learnt to appreciate other things about myself and now I KNOW FOR SURE THAT I AM BEAUTIFUL! inside and out.
When I was in high school and first year of varsity I became obsessed with hair.Hair was synonymous with beauty.My favourite pastime was brushing my hair and trying different hairstyles and referencing my favourite Hollywood stars. The Naomi Campbell middle parting was my fave.
I must say having long gorgeous hair got me so many compliments and that boosted my confidence. I heard the “you are so pretty” line so many times it was nauseating sometimes.I appreciated the genuine compliments but ,I did not feel the prettiness!
I reached a point where I needed to delve into my inner beauty. While on the journey of inner self discovery it made sense for me to completely forget how I look like on the exterior, AKA India Arie’s I am not my hair. The main reason I decided to cut my hair and go "au naturale" is because I wanted to prove a point to myself, I was in a quest to figure out who this Vuyokazi “VK” really woman is? Unlike the bible parable of Samson who was dis empowered when his “mistress” Delilah cut his hair, I evolved into this fierce, confident woman…I felt emancipated!
Cutting my hair was the bestest decision I have ever made because I did it for me! I learnt to appreciate other things about myself and now I KNOW FOR SURE THAT I AM BEAUTIFUL! inside and out.
"Just VK"on beauty:
I now know that I have more to offer the world than my outside beauty, I can be a great friend, I am funny, I love giving , I love reading and interacting with other people etc... I realised that “outside beauty does not bestow any brainess or goodiness”. Beauty is not something I try to achieve by putting hair extensions and make up, its who I am every day- without even trying.
Bruce Springsteen from the book Bitch wrote “Beauty is not after all worth anything more that beauty”. That means that on its own beauty is useless. I know beautiful people who are hostile, mean and who can not critically think or even think.
I am aware of the fact I do not live in my private island and the society I am in considers beauty as powerful and my experience might be different from other woman. Beauty can excite love and it can also incite hate and haters I have. I had and still have haters from Grahamstown to Kazakhstan. But I have learnt an important lesson: the “hateration” has nothing to do with me- see a psychologist.
Now that I know who Vuyokazi “VK” is and that I have so much more to offer than my beauty. I do not think it would cause harm to my soul to have a weave.After having short hair for almost two years of my young adult life I feel that the time is ripe for me to experiment with ‘em weaves.
I want long luxurious locks, shiny, black with bouncy curls- the glam look with a bit of “VK” (edge) and I am going to flaunt it like its going out of style. I have a friend she loves her hair so much, she calls it her superpower –she even has a sound effect for when she flips her weaves.
Bruce Springsteen from the book Bitch wrote “Beauty is not after all worth anything more that beauty”. That means that on its own beauty is useless. I know beautiful people who are hostile, mean and who can not critically think or even think.
I am aware of the fact I do not live in my private island and the society I am in considers beauty as powerful and my experience might be different from other woman. Beauty can excite love and it can also incite hate and haters I have. I had and still have haters from Grahamstown to Kazakhstan. But I have learnt an important lesson: the “hateration” has nothing to do with me- see a psychologist.
Now that I know who Vuyokazi “VK” is and that I have so much more to offer than my beauty. I do not think it would cause harm to my soul to have a weave.After having short hair for almost two years of my young adult life I feel that the time is ripe for me to experiment with ‘em weaves.
I want long luxurious locks, shiny, black with bouncy curls- the glam look with a bit of “VK” (edge) and I am going to flaunt it like its going out of style. I have a friend she loves her hair so much, she calls it her superpower –she even has a sound effect for when she flips her weaves.
I am not sure which brands are good quality, ladies help me out here- no highly flammable plastic, please
If people ask me whether its mine, I will say yes and then proudly show them the proof of purchase- receipt.
And if you call me weaverine its ok, I know that I am being JUST VK!
check out the trailor of the movie good hair : http://www.goodhairmovie.net/site/
8 comments:
Ya ne, the whole weave debate is pretty deep. This is a great piece thou. Wth reagrds to the brand, i trust afro-tex...
Wow this is so profound and powerful,it makes me think about what my hair would say to me if it was given a voice. We put our hair through so much toture and scalps throgh so much pain all in the name of having longer hair.
Nice one VK
Phiwe
I am glad you enjoyed it and that it got you thinking. I am hoping the women who read the blog will think about other things that they associate with beauty such as make up, clothes, implants, lashes , nails etc...I am sure that not everyone relates to my hair story. I also want them to learn to invest in their inner beauty so that when they beautify themselves they dont become too dependent on them.
Hey babe!
Gr8 piece. Thuraly enjoyed reading it. Such wisdom can only come Frm ur own life experience. Thank you for sharing it wil us. Whn u choose to be creative with ur looks on a solid grownd it brings YOU joy and that is all that every matters. YOUR OWN happyness. Mcwah!
In the upcoming blogs I will cover an array of topics depending on what inspires me. When you subscribe to the blog you will get automatic updates telling you that I have a new post. I am looking forward to reading your comments and I hope you enjoy reading the blog, you might disagree with the things I say- that is ok, my objective is to get you thinking .I must say the quality and style of writing not " Destiny or O magazine" editorial standard....i am sure with practice I will get there.
Lovely piece VK!! I also cut my hair in my first, mine was for different reasons but its was also for a fresh start and boy did it feel good knowing that you and your beauty are not defined by hair!! When someone/people talk badly about you, you find that its never about you, merely a reflection of their reality..as human beings, we tend to put down other people to make ourselves feel better. people should pluck out weeds in their own gardens before they notice other people's weeds..
Great piece! Makes you think about beauty! The defenition of beauty! Does one really exist? I always thought weaves were a way of oppresing black people and how beauty is viewed by the average black girl! To be pretty you have to be as close as possible to being white, in terms of hair, skin complection, etc.. And so "black features", in the eyes of the beweaver, could never be beautiful.
Then I got a weave, t osee what they hype was about... ironically, I like having this weave. So where does that leave me?
Sooo many questions, not enough blog-comment space!!
Nonqaba
Ooh lady this makes a good read fo sho.I have my own demons that i still need to conquer when it comes to beauty and reading your blog is really helping out seeming that i need to go on an introspection journey to find out who Cebo really is...very soon!!!
Thanx again Black-barbie...mwaaawies!!!
Post a Comment