Relax my afro

Relax my afro
Black women need to embrace who they are, with every fiber of their being.

I mean duh, beauty is the epitome of your monthly visit, even if it is at the cost of a minimum of R120 depending on the location and how beautiful you really want to be.

I was at the hair salon the other day, ironic on the grounds that my “hair” I’d had on for the past two months had now hit expiry and it was now time to go “black” to my natural state. Seated next to me in an almost anticipatory manner, was a young girl. Drawn on her face was the same expression that was forced on me the day before photo day in preparatory school. My own mother pre photo shoot, in order to comply with the circulation notice as well as her oppressed notions of beauty, hinted that beauty, in its fullest would be achieved with a quick press, iron and even burn more often than not.

Recently there has been a row over this social construct that has been dictating to the black woman worldwide for centuries. Chris Rock recently did a documentary inspired by his daughters after their mother relaxed their hair for which he could not understand the purpose. Lebo Mashile says that we ought to embrace our diversity, I think that means not deter from our natural state (and yes she too has an afro).

Perhaps the term “Goodbye my nation” used in the olden days was an appropriate one; because the more we chemically treat our hair is the further we get from our roots.