Tikia K. Hamilton: Dear Chris Rock, Let Black Women "Do" Our Own Hair
Thursday, November 19, 2009 at 9:00AM 
By Tikia K. Hamilton
Admittedly, a friend had prepared me in advance for some of the inadequacies to be found in Chris Rock's film Good Hair, and I am probably a bit behind the rest of the world (and I do mean rest of the world, see problems with film below) in viewing it. Still, it left me with a few thoughts ... The very first problem with the movie is that it is told through the eyes of a person who can never truly experience what it means to be a black woman living amidst a world of images that reinforce the notion that, while black can sometimes be trendy, it can never truly represent the highest attainment of beauty. While Rock might be able to sympathize with his daughters and perhaps even a wife addicted to "creamy crack," he is in some ways like the whites and Asians (and Indians) whom he criticizes for their “blacksploitation” in profiting from black women’s hair obsessions. Of course, that he is a comedian makes the film at times comical, but, in truth, the conflicting messages that he promotes about black women's obsessive compulsive behavior sure ain't funny.
More after the jump.
Perhaps Rock thought he was doing something by interviewing the likes of Nia Long, Salt N Pepa, Ms. Video Vixen herself, and even Maya Angelou (who currently sports what she says is her very first perm), and pimpomatic Ice-T (goodness!). For a moment, I thought there was a glimmer of hope when Pepa tells of how she actually burned her hair to the scalp (and then tried to hide it by coloring in the bald spot with brown makeup and the asymmetrical hairstyle that wound up becoming popular as a result, she says). But then, when she goes on to state how she must have the “very finest human hair” for her one-piece (i.e. wig vs. weave), I knew that the film could go nowhere but down from that point. With perhaps one or two exceptions, all of the other women seem to affirm Pep’s perceptions of what makes good hair, or should we say, a good weave…I must say that I was even surprised by Maya Angelou’s final words of wisdom for the film—“a woman’s hair is her crown and glory.” Not her mind, not her unwavering confidence, not even the proud hat that the church lady dons on Sunday, but her hair. (Ironically, Maya Angelou offers the forward to Michael Cunningham’s Crowns: Portraits of Black Women in Church Hats, Doubleday, 2000.) hmmm…
The most compelling part of the film (for me) comes when Rock visits India to find the true source of all of this “good hair.” But for the white companies that have usurped all but four (we’re told) black hair product manufacturing companies; but for some Korean and Chinese shops who tell us, unlike the shiny, luxurious Indian hair, it would be nigh impossible for them to vend nappy, “unhygienic” hair to their customers; and but for the black hair designer, himself sporting a perm, and who pimps weave to black women on the regular, we truly see the problem with the hair “care” market from start to finish. It’s like California grapes all over again, except this time, it’s a black market where women can literally lose their hair if they but blink in the theatre or in their own beds. Rock’s message: BLACK WOMEN YOU ARE CONTRIBUTING TO THE EXPLOITATION of impoverished Indians who believe their sacrifice of hair (whether stolen or voluntarily offered as a religious gesture) exalts them to a higher plain of spirituality. BLACK WOMEN, WHY YOU LITTLE DEVILS!
Now, I didn’t readily see the connection between Rock’s focus on the annual Bronner Brothers hair show, which, from where I stand, is pure performance. But I did see the somber look on one girl’s face when she was told by her fellow beauty school cohort that they would never hire her because her afro made her look “not put together,” or for Rock’s purposes, “not relaxed,” perhaps scary even (like Angela Davis, maybe…) Speaking of proud black women proudly sporting unpermed hair (for, the term "natural" makes nonpermed hair seem so exotic, “unnactural” even…isn’t it all just hair, anyway? Dead at that?)—where the hell they? Or don’t they make it to the cover of magazines, films, or past the first interview? Oh, there was one in the film: She was a darker-skinned black woman with a closely cropped croif. She stood right behind Rock and other black men in the barber shop as they mutually agreed that a woman gotta come correct with her hair or she ain’t getting’ it. (Ok, maybe I’m paraphrasing, but the point is, what must that woman have felt as her brothers basically or literally vanquished her beauty to the background? Absent perms, maybe the same way Rock’s young daughters feel in school? I’m just sayin!)
So, let me get this straight (no pun intended). Not only are Black women to blame for Indian exploitation (as if that’s not enough), but we’re damned if we pursue ends that we think and most evidence seems to prove will make us more appealing to black men and society at large, and we’re damned if we don’t. Well, hell, it seems we can’t win…but what else is new?
If, as a black man, Chris Rock wanted to make a movie about “good hair,” maybe he should have simply focused on the men in the barber shop, while interrogating and scrutinizing comments like that of D.L. Hughley, a fellow comic, such as when he once said that he had to be able to run a comb through his woman’s head…none of that nappy stuff. (Or maybe he could have asked some of them about those wave caps.) Ok, so we get it that, just as any and every black woman will go broke trying to afford a thousand dollar weave, a black man can also broke in trying to keep his lady looking good. But, he could also save a helluva lot of money if, in mixed and unmixed company, he contained his drool over the likes of Beyonce, Tyra, Nia who, to hear many tell it, are the “trufe” when it comes to flawless beauty.
What’s more, if he really wanted to instruct his daughters on lessons in blackness, he should have first studied a bit of history (can we say Madame CJ Walker?); next he should have further interrogated Mr. Diggs (the exceptionally talented, botoxed white man who was a favorite to win in the BB hairshow, even as he had nearly nude black women prancing around him), or Revlon, or Clairol for the “wages of their whiteness” when it comes to exploiting the black dollar and an unattainable standard they created for most any woman. If that’s asking too much, it’s ok. Chris has his career in buffoonery, I mean comedy safely protected by the white world… So why not let black women do our own hair (stories) and leave the social criticisms to the professionals? For contrary to belief there are among us educated folk who do this—and do this well—for a living.
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Reader Comments (50)
Cue the "applause". Thank you for saying what I have been thinking....
I really felt thrown under the bus after I saw that "documentary." I've worn a relaxer most of my life (since about age 12) except for two non-consecutive "natural" years. There is such a depth and complexity to every choice a black woman makes regarding her hair. On the outside, it looks like "just a hairdo." And anyone who doesn't understand how and why it isn't "just a hairdo" has no business trying to tell the story.
And can we talk about him going to stores with that dirty-looking, unkempt hair and trying to peddle that? That's a slap in the face to all blacks, not just women. It was the height of self-hating buffoonery. I guess that's what I get for expecting too much from a Chris Rock movie.
"I did see the somber look on one girl’s face when she was told by her fellow beauty school cohort that they would never hire her because her afro made her look “not put together,” "
That was a very disappointing scene in the film for me too..although I didn't get the impression that they were beauty school students...or that they were speaking specifically of working in a salon. I thought they were just HS students speaking of the one girl's natural hair style being a deterrent for any type of employment. It was very disappointing because here was a definitive teaching moment that was glazed over and squandered. From there Rock could have interviewed any number of professional and successful women who wear natural hair styles. Rock dropped the ball in many areas throughout the film, leaving us with the comedy but not much else.
I so agree with you. I wonder all the time how many black men would really go for a black woman with her hair in its natural state. So much for black love!
Great post.
I was wondering why many critics didn’t say anything about that segment of the movie featuring Indian women sitting on the floor and low stools sorting through hair. It was like a sweatshop. And even though I don’t wear weave (I don’t have a relaxer either) the image made me extremely uncomfortable. Does this mean we have arrived?
I think about all those people giving hair out of religious devotion and having it sold to the highest bidder and it saddens me. When you tithe, wouldn’t it piss you off with you found out that the pastor and the deacon board were investing that money in something you don’t agree with. It’s just not right.
Finally, those high school girls with their limited perception of what success looks really like broke my heart.
So are you saying that the only a select few people are allowed to offer an opinion on a given topic? I mean, Chris Rock made a movie about hair where he went and told a story (actually a couple of stories) and got the opinions of some others. Why are some treating him as if he's done the Black race a disservice? Am I, as a Black man, not allowed to ask questions about a woman's hair? I know thats what I've been told my many of my female friends and to a large extent I feel the opinion of confusion that Chris Rock expressed in the movie. Does my opinion not matter? Or is my opinion one of those things that I'm only allowed to ask this select set of people?
Like it or not, some people feel differently about this topic. If I were to find out that Rock went and diluted the opinions in his movie, that may upset me. But if he presented honest opinions of how Black women feel about hair, then I'd probably be more turned off by the fact that many of the opinions expressed in the movie represent the thoughts of many of the members of our society, than the fact that those known but hidden thoughts were actually expressed.
Thought,
I'm surprised that there's black men who are clueless as to why black women wear their hair straightened. Erm, like weren't they raised around black women and be familiar with how they take care of their hair? Like Daniel said, it's not like black men don't contribute to the problem with their preferences of what black women's hair should look like. I'm amazed at the idiocy of some black men like D.L. Hugley who expect black women to have natural straight hair when most of us as a race HAVE KINKY HAIR! Duh! That would be like Italian men expecting their women to be blond when they know full well as a nation they're brunette!
liz,
There's no universal reason for this. So if I were to question the individuals for their motives, we get a whole host of reasons. It would be wrong to just openly tell a woman that the reason she has a perm is because of X, Y, or Z. I understand that people has preferences. People have things that they like and dislike. Thats part of being human. Its a shame that so much of our concept of likes and dislikes (in particular with regard to beauty) are based on predefined concepts that too often did not take into account our characteristics. But thats the world we live in. How do we change that? I don't know, but I don't think that the way to change the standards of beauty is to say that somebody is "wrong" for being attracted to say a woman with a perm or a light skinned woman, or a skinny woman, or whatever other standard of beauty that we so often try to measure up to.
Include this movie on my "Not to Watch" list.
Thought asked if men were allowed to ask questions or have opinion about this topic. I would have to be, hell to the NO. For too, black women have put their health on the line for the brothers who like the thickness. Now a majority of us are overweight, sick and there are no men to marry. The same goes with our hair, most of us press, curl, relax for everyone but ourselves. Enough!!!!
I for one don't give a rat's ass about the opinion of men. I would never ask for it and wish to God you didn't share.
Here's the thing, I may not like the movie but I can't fault Chris Rock for having and airing his perspective/opinion/position/point of view/or whatever you choose to call it.
Because I really value artistic freedom/freedom of expression, what I would like to see is more movies which offer other perspectives on this and other issues relevant to people of African ancestry.
Thought,
I hope I'm understanding you correctly. It would be wrong if black men preferred light-skinned, straight-haired women as a close approximate to whiteness. But I hope what you mean is there's nothing wrong if one finds themselves attracted to someone who HAPPENS to be light-skinned because she's pretty PERIOD and that her hair --permed or natural--looks nice PERIOD. Yes? Is that what you mean?
I enjoyed the movie. I thought it was a great mirror through which to look at ourselves (black women). Chris Rock is not an intellectual, he is a comedian- and I thought he did a good job given his skill set. If you want to see an in-depth documentary on black hair; learn about movie making, and make one. And while you're at it, good luck on getting nationwide distribution and getting the attention of bloggers (like yourself) or reigniting the hair conversation in the black community.
Nah liz, I think the whole system is effed up to begin with. If a black man preferred a straight hair (or any other beauty characteristic of women) woman, then that's his decision, for whatever reason he chooses to make it. People who begin to speculate on why he preferred that woman (aka because she looks White or because he just happened to fall in love with her or whatever other reason), and further who say that the problem with the system is these men (or people) who continue the skewed definition of beauty are just as wrong in my opinion because now they begin to act as if a subjective topic as beauty can be so clearly categorized as right or wrong.
I think the problem is moreso in the fact that we were born into this system where beauty was defined this way. Then we learned these definitions of beauty. There are many more who won't challenge the system and attempt to redefine beauty in a more pro-Black, James Brown type way. But like the quote on Black Star says, "I'm a victim brother. I'm a victim of 400 years of conditioning. The man has programmed my conditioning. Even my conditioning has been conditioned!" So I don't blame the people who don't challenge the system any more than I blame students who are taught math incorrectly because the teachers themselves didn't know math or because the book says that 2 + 2 = 5.
None of the author of the blog's problems with the film are things Chris Rock engineered for the movie. They are societal problems he found in the course of trying to get the answer to a question. There was no issue taken with Chris Rock's final assertion, "That what's in her head is more important than what's on it." Therefore the author has fundamental problems with society, not "Good Hair". My understanding of the film's intention was that it would answer questions and tell people perhaps some things they didn't know about black hair today. Rock is a comedian, not a revolutionary. if you'd like a revolution, I'd suggest you get started ASAP!
Please check out my BLACK HAIR documentary at http://www.blackhairdvd.com
I never thought one documentary would cause such a mess in the Black community. I have heard women who are actually upset because now some of their "white" friends ask them about their hair or assume that their hair is like that talked about in the documentary. It's just pitiful. White women do many things to their hair and I don't think they care if you know. We all have a choice. Whatever you want to do to your hair is your business. If you are doing it because you want to , fine; but if you are doing it to fool someone, then that's the only reason I can see that one would be upset that it was aired. It is a shame that we don't have more of the money coming into the Black community from all of what is earned with the hair business. We are ever the consumers. We do stress ourselves over the weirdest things.
Enough! It's just hair. Why does it have to be a statement or explained.
I work with white, asian and latino women and they are straightening, coloring and wearing weaves. I've decided it's difficult to wear a weave with blonde hair. I can't tell you how many white women with blonde hair whose tracks are visible to everyone and they don't care. And you know maybe we as black women shouldn't care either. It's hair, it's fashion, it's a style. Why do we have to have a conversation?
Although, I wish he did focus more on the black women who hate the "good hair" term (like me - you got hair, then good) who embrace their hair for everything that it is and is not, who are educating themselves and others on how to care for it properly. I agree with Maya that a woman's hair is her crowning glory, like the eyes are the windows to soul.
FYI - I'm tex-laxed but have never worn a weave.
"Speaking of proud black women proudly sporting unpermed hair (for, the term "natural" makes nonpermed hair seem so exotic, “unnactural” even…isn’t it all just hair, anyway? Dead at that?)—" I find this statement fundamentally distrubing and confusing. Why should we be encouraged to define ourselves by what we are not? "Natural" is not about "exoticism" for most people. It is anything but. It's like calling ourselves "non-white." We are, indeed, "black" or "African-American" And when we do not straighten our hair, with either hot combs or chemicals, and when we don't mix somebody else's hair with our own, we are indeed being "natural."
well, i guess some people ARE their hair.
I never understood that song "I am not my hair". You are not your hair, but you write a whole damn song about it.
I found it painful.
two parts that made me beyond sad..
watching BABIES, and since they were under the age of 7, I consider them Babies, GETTING PERMS.
I felt like screaming
STOP THE VIOLENCE.
STOP THE HATRED.
how the hell do you put a perm on a child that young?
the other section that just made me mad was the one with the group of young women, from a very good high school in CA, and the group of them unloading on the one young Sista rocking her natural. That it didn’t matter what was on her resume, or how she came dressed to the interview, that THEY wouldn’t take her seriously BECAUSE OF HER HAIR.
WHAT THE F— KIND OF SELF-HATRED IS THAT S–T.
That Rock let it stand there unchallenged just made me mad as hell at him.
I’ve been natural for 5 years – nothing political, it was about an exercise routine.
but, there was a whole lotta self-hatred and justification of self-hatred going on in that documentary.
plus, the thought of all those Black women making everybody rich, but Black folks pissed me off too.
Wow, so no can have an opinion except what, professional writers? In all the writing about Chris's movie I have yet to see a comment about the genesis of this pressure to have straight hair and what it says about racial identity. Someone needs to dig out an old copy of Franz Fanon's "Black Skins, White Masks". We are participants in our own degradation as some of us hold to some standard of beauty that was never meant for us non Eu rope ans!
I found the movie to be funny in some parts and painfully true in others. I have a condition where I am bald in some areas. Prior to that, I wore my hair natural-- afros, twists, braids, you name it. Now I wear a weave in order to cover up those bald spots. I have an auto-immune condition, but I choose to wear someone else's hair because I truly don;t have any of my own. That's not self-hatred, that is a temporary solution to a legitimate medical problem. What gets me is that WW don't get criticized for tanning themselves-- which damages their skin beyond repair, botox injections with ingredients that may be found to cause illness somewhere down the road, and a host of other things they do to themselves all in the name of looking good. But they are not labeled as "self-hating" by their own people. Black people are their own worst critics and try to be judge and jury over everyone else who doesn't fit the perception of what "Keeping It Real" means. Chris Rock is an entertainer-- he isn't Dr. Henry Louis Gates or Dr. Michael Eric Dyson, so he is just putting a humorous spin on a very touchy subject.b Ultimately., we all have to do what is right for us and other people can either hate it or love it.
I wish people would come out and say the truth:
We use white people and the white ideal as a measuring stick for everything.