New Standards 831Share
Wednesday, July 9, 2008 at 8:47pm
I AM my hair
My hair is me
We are one, and we aspire to be free
Not locked and dreading
Not shocked or shedding
No weaves no threading
Just aspirin’ to be free
Naked as my body as the water hits it’s skin
This hair on my head reps the beauty that’s within
Not purchased from a store
not sweepin’ against the floor
Still I refuse to ignore
Who I really am
Cuz I’m not a straight-haired diva
Nor am I a believer
In colors, rinses, and dyes
Synthetic hair supporting enveloped lies
Sculptin’ a false image
Afraid to defy
What society wants every woman to be
Like them girls on the b.e.t
And the one’s that agree that
Longer is better
And better is beauty
And beauty is straight
And straight is cute
And straight is coool
And coool is in
From the root to her chin
Straight strands like strings of violins
Arrested by bobby pins
Let that shit be free
I said Let that shit be free!
Cuz your hair might be the closest you’ll ever get to freedom
So there’s your reason
To be natural
It’s a hard pill to swallow when you admire a reflection in the mirror that
Isn’t factual
It’s a hard pill to swallow when you believe something is yours because you paid for it
Paid 15 years for a house
But the government can still take it (it ain’t yours)
Weave to match the color of your real hair
But you still fakin’ (it ain’t yours)
Braids from your head to your toes
But your head’s achin’
Think that roller-set looks cute
But you’re mistakin’
Because what’s beautiful is when you can dance in the rain
And not worry about the money you paid for that touch-up
Goin’ down the drain
And beauty is when you can go swimmin’ when the blazin’ sun hits your skin
No caps, no nothing, just jump right on in
And beauty is when you can roll right out of bed
Spread some water and grease in your head
And move on with your day
And if you hear “ay bay bay,”
Then there’s more reason to feel great
That someone appreciates
The real you
The real you
The real hairdo
No glues,
And no 3 to 4 hours gone to waste
Just to replace
The image that you were born with
Thriving on all sorts of myths
And this shit makes me sick
It makes me sick when girls spend
So much money on hair, just to be back in the salon the next weekend
Stuck in the little girl mentality
Still playin’ pretend
Tryin’ to keep up with repetitious trends
When will this end?
Ladies,
Ladies,
Ladies, When will you begin to love your hair for what it is and what it isn’t
Black men,
Black men,
Black men, when will you allow your Nubian queens to be everything they are
Natural, Kinky, and so serene
It’s time that the standards of beauty be defined by the natural black woman
By everything she is and by everything that makes her stunning
PEACE+WISDOM
-ARTMASON
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I really appreciate this poem, it is beautifully written and I would love to hear it preformed live one day. The part that I find exceptionally moving it the things which most people take for granted like being able to go out in the rain or go for a swim without considering the money or time that it will cost them later. The way someone can style their hair can seem like such an insubstantial thing when considering the oppressions faced by members of a certain races, but at the same time it's a fantastic example of the ignorance of privileges most people have accepted as inherent. Some people argue that while it may seem our culture is moving toward colorblindness and making progress to a less oppressive society it may only because many have lost sight of the number of privileges they have that others are still fighting for, such as the privilege to be free of the oppression caused by socially constructed beauty standards and wear your hair how you want to. It is important to look more critically at the little things as well in order to make a greater progress toward not only equality in terms race, but gender as well.
ReplyDeleteAmazing.
ReplyDeletevery moving poem
ReplyDeleteI have always loved poetry and especially poetry in which people speak their mind about their own life and their own struggles. I found this very moving and I think it is a great piece.
ReplyDelete"Because what’s beautiful is when you can dance in the rain
And not worry about the money you paid for that touch-up
Goin’ down the drain
And beauty is when you can go swimmin’ when the blazin’ sun hits your skin
No caps, no nothing, just jump right on in"
I especially loved these few lines and they truly speak to many women facing beauty standards in todays society. Women need to realize that beauty is not what you do to yourself, it's seeing yourself as beautiful for who you are.
This poem is great! The discussion we had about the difficulties with hair earlier in the semester was really eye-opening for me. I come from a town with no diversity, and so it had honestly never occurred to me that hair could be such a challenge or such a big issue for some girls. It was an aspect of culture totally new. I really like how this poem preaches loved for one’s natural look.
ReplyDelete