Amber writes...
I work in a very professional environment with people who don't exactly look like me. I don't have anything against people of other persuasions. I just don't like how they look at my hair sometimes. Not to say that it shakes my kinky-curly confidence, but I do find myself wondering what they’re thinking. I was never able to it figure out until today. For the first time today, I wore my hair back in the bun shown below and one Caucasian lady who barely speaks to me said, "Your hair is so pretty like that!" Now, I'm thinking it's just a simple bun, right? I'm prepared to get offended like, "Oh, so what does it look like when it’s NOT slicked down?" *Insert neck-roll here*... Now, I didn't SAY all that, but in my mind I was letting her HAVE it. But I opted to be professional, smile slightly, say “thank you” and walk away. Later, a group of five Caucasian ladies were sitting in the hallway watching me walk toward them. One said, “I have to say something... I LOVE YOUR BUN!” All of a sudden, they all started showering me with compliments and saying how today I should have worn my hair out like I usually do (in a voluminous twist-out) for our badge pictures. They said that I have GREAT hair and talked about how much they loved it. HA! Go figure. Here I was thinking that they wouldn't want to accept my "blackness" and all the while they were really admiring it. THAT SEALED IT! No longer will I conform to the common image of “beauty” and “professionalism.” Natural hair, changing the face of Corporate America!
http://public.fotki.com/Thegirltolove/jan-2010/img-0552.html
I had a similar experience when I first went natural. All of my white co-workers and friends were actually more positively vocal. I often heard (and still hear) how they love my curls and how pretty I look with my natural (and they use the term natural) hair.
ReplyDeleteI almost think they are more fascinated with our natural hair, and the fact that they see it less, heightens that fascination.
In my personal experience, most resistance to natural hair comes from others of african descent. Other ethnicities for who such an hair type is rare, seem to always find it unique and beautiful.
ReplyDeleteAwwww that is wonderful! I love stories like this. and yes natural hair is changing the corporate america!!!
ReplyDeleteI've had the same experience. I work on Wall Street and I've had nothing but positive comments about my hair texture and the styles I choose to wear all from white co-workers. I often get looks but, I now assume they actually envy my hair rather than despise it.
ReplyDeleteWhen people ask me about natural hair in a corporate environment, I half-jokingly respond "This might be an issue if my higher-ups were older black people". You have to remember that there would be no "black America" if white people didn't adore the way we looked. The sad thing is, they successfully taught us to dislike it. You are more likely to hear negative comments about natural hair from black people (especially older ones) than whites.
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