This week’s reading left a bad taste in my mouth, especially the feminist sections. The first sentence was a clear sign that I would not be favoring too many things in this section. India Arie's song "I Am Not My Hair" was not so much of a stance on female issues at Ott and Mack so clearly stated on page 177, but rather a statement based on stereotypes that are propagated within the African American communities. Just look at the lyrics:
Little girl with the press and curl
Age eight I got a Jheri curl
Thirteen I got a relaxer
I was a source of so much laughter
At fifteen when it all broke off
Eighteen and went all natural
February two thousand and two
I went and did
What I had to do
Because it was time to change my life
To become the women that I am inside
Ninety-seven dreadlock all gone
I looked in the mirror
For the first time and saw that HEY....
[Chorus]
I am not my hair
I am not this skin
I am not your expectations no no
I am not my hair
I ma not this skin
I am a soul that lives within
[Talking:]
What'd she do to her hair? I don't know it look crazy
I like it. I might do that.
Umm I wouldn't go that far. I know .. ha ha ha ha
[Verse 2]
Good hair means curls and waves
Bad hair means you look like a slave
At the turn of the century
Its time for us to redefine who we be
You can shave it off
Like a South African beauty
Or get in on lock
Like Bob Marley
You can rock it straight
Like Oprah Winfrey
If its not what's on your head
Its what's underneath and say HEY....
[Chorus]
[Bridge]
(Whoa, whoa, whoa)
Does the way I wear my hair make me a better person?
(Whoa, whoa, whoa)
Does the way I wear my hair make me a better friend? Oooh
(Whoa, whoa, whoa)
Does the way I wear my hair determine my integrity?
(Whoa, whoa, whoa)
I am expressing my creativity..
(Whoa, whoa, whoa)
[Verse 3]
Breast Cancer and Chemotherapy
Took away her crown and glory
She promised God if she was to survive
She would enjoy everyday of her life ooh
On national television
Her diamond eyes are sparkling
Bald headed like a full moon shining
Singing out to the whole wide world like HEY...
[Chorus 2x]
[Ad lib]
If I wanna shave it close
Or if I wanna rock locks
That don't take a bit away
From the soul that I got
Dat da da dat da [4x]
If I wanna where it braided
All down my back
I don't see what wrong with that
Dat da da dat da [4x]
[Talking:]
Is that India.Arie?
Ooh look she cut her hair!
I like that, its kinda PHAT
I don't know if I could do it.
But it looks sharp, it looks nice on her
She got a nice shaped head
She got an apple head
I know right?
It's perfect.
Although there is a correlation to feminist arguments, India Arie catered her artistic viewpoint to how African American women (and men for that matter) are judged by each other and the dominant society based on what is considered "good hair". This argument extends to the same issue of dark skin versus light skin or mixed ethnicity. This phenomena still occurs. Thanks to social media, there have been tag lines on Twitter where people post #TEAMDARKSKIN or something to that affect or #TEAMLIGHTSKIN and continue to have social media "cultural" wars in order to find out who is more attractive based on number of followers and hits. Another example can be taken from personal experience. Today Kristie, Megan and I were walking back to the hotel, when we passed three individuals, two fair skinned and one African American (and yes this piece of information very important). Kristie was on my left and Megan was on my right. While we passed the men, The African American man commented, "The one in the middle has good hair." Why is it that the only one who commented was African American and picked the "ethnic" girl out of the group in order to comment on "good hair" when all three of us washed our hair the same day and have healthy hair? It's because within the African American culture "good hair" is hair that looks like the dominant hegemony, the "white girl" hair so to speak. This is what India Arie i speaking out again in her song. She doesn't want to be stereotyped, which Ott and Mack later go on to define, not necessarily her views as a woman in society as a whole. The song was much deeper and they missed the mark. I'm sorry but I love this song and I feel like for this chapter they could've at least listened to the song and known that this was wrong, or this is just another example of how everything pertaining to "the other" is usually written by white men with money who don't necessarily have any experience with what they write about.
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