Chris Rock takes on black hair

[ccharles000]

by: Pam Spaulding

Longtime readers of the my blog know that I've taken on the subject of the politics of black hair (or to be precise, kinky hair) several times, commenting on the travails of black women who are culturally addicted to "creamy crack" -- the horrid, toxic relaxers used to chemically straighten hair. It's all in order to avoid any natural naps showing at the root, and the billion-dollar industry that caters to this beauty choice based on loathing the natural texture of one's hair that has roots back to the days of slavery and the definition of what is "good hair."

Lots of people were interested in these posts, others pooh-poohed the notion that the politics of hair had any significance in "post-racial America" or reflected any socio-pathologies that needed to be addressed. In the black community, it's almost taboo to discuss the issue, and, quite frankly, I am greatful that the brilliant Chris Rock has written and stars in the documentary "Good Hair" directed by Jeff Stilson (co-writers are Jeff Stilson, Lance Crouther and Chuck Sklar). If there's any way to break down the walls of silence to discuss this topic with candor, Rock can do it.

An exposé of comic proportions that only Chris Rock could pull off, "Good Hair" visits beauty salons and hairstyling battles, scientific laboratories and Indian temples to explore the way hairstyles impact the activities, pocketbooks, sexual relationships, and self-esteem of the black community. Director Jeff Stilson follows Chris Rock on this raucous adventure prompted by Rock's daughter approaching him and asking, "Daddy, how come I don't have good hair?" Haircare professionals, beautyshop and barbershop patrons, as well as celebrities including Ice-T, Nia Long, Paul Mooney, Raven Symone, Dr. Maya Angelou, Salt n Pepa, Eve and Reverend Al Sharpton all candidly offer their stories and observations to Rock while he struggles with the task of figuring out how to respond to his daughter's question.

http://www.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/2009/08/11/chris_rock/index.html

here is the Trailer

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1m-4qxz08So&eurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pamshouseblend.com%2Fdiary%2F12445%2Fchris-rock-takes-on-black-hair-pathology-in-the-documentary-good-hair&feature=player_embedded

[madeline_con]

1. Well, pooh pooh on the pooh-poohers.

Sounds great! Thanks for the info.

[ccharles000]

5. your welcome

[Recursion]

2. Straight-haired white women spend tons of money curling their hair

I think this is more misogynist than racist: no woman, of any race, is allowed to feel comfortable with her looks by our consumerist media.

[ccharles000]

3. good point

[Uzybone]

4. no, the pressure for black women (and men at one point) to straighten thier hair

is primarily race based.

[ProgressiveProfessor]

27. Its that the most accepted standard for beauty is the northern European

its pretty much everywhere in the US

[Gormy Cuss]

6. No, it's both

and for that reason it's a greater pressure on African-American women.

[Liberal_in_LA]

7. +1

[bliss_eternal]

11. +1

:hi:

[ContinentalOp]

8. Both and neither.

Eventually we may be able to move beyond the racist and sexist standards of beauty aspect, but even so people will still want to curl or straighten or dye their hair. There's nothing intrinsically wrong with the idea. I'm a white man and I've tried to straighten my hair before.

[chimpymustgo]

9. When whites spend hours and bucks baking in the sun and in tanning beds, it's not self-loathing.

When whites spends hundreds of dollars and hours curling/coloring/straightening their hair, it's not self-loathing.

Maybe black women aren't really hating themselves as much as the predominant culture might like to think...

Most people want to change the way they look in some way.

[slampoet]

14. I see tanning as Self Lothing. The people with the orangest tans are also usually the bigots.

[Matariki]

30. I think the subtext of tanning is 'display of wealth'

the appearance of leisure time to sit around in the sun. when most poor people labored in the sun all day the 'beauty standard' was the exact opposite.

[Matariki]

31. self delete

internet problems.

[Matariki]

32. self delete

severe internet problems. sorry ;-)

[bliss_eternal]

20. well, sometimes.....maybe....?

just an individual instance--but i knew a woman who really had issues w/white skin. i'm serious. she *loved* skin of color. :shrug: she'd complain about "pasty, white skin." i didn't know what to make of her issue at all. i don't know if it was a fetish or what. truly interesting and unusual.

i appreciated her honesty. just wasn't sure what to make of it. :shrug:

[imdjh]

25. Black hair has gone so far beyond straightening that it's no longer reality based.

So to claim that there is a consistent theme of self-loathing in there seems out of touch.

The days of straightening and an effort to make black hair look naturally soft straight and flouncy are passed. These girls with the asymetrical screw, African wool Viking braids, and all the other outraegous stuff are not trying to look white by any reasonable definition- they are trying to look fabulous in a very self assured way, a way that black women define as fabulous with no support whatsoever from the white world.

[bliss_eternal]

17. and many spend tons on straightening...

...flat irons, blow dryers, chemical straightening products, thermal straightening treatments and recently brazillian keratin straightening. none of these treatments come cheap. :(

it's only been w/in the last five to ten years that curly hair is gaining some acceptance, (from the powers that be). as such, the beauty industry is taking notice and more products are available for curly hair than ever before.

but it took some curly haired hair stylists stepping up and saying,"enough." they developed techniques and products specifically for the curly haired clientele, interested in wearing their hair naturally. women and men started to flock to their salons (making them big $$$$$)!!! of course, the industry took notice. ;)

some of the industry leaders are ouidad, lorraine massey of devachan, chaz dean (wen), jonathan torch in canada.
the industry is huge and growing (thankfully).

how if we can just get those idiotic makeover shows to stop "straightening the hair" of every curly haired makeover subject.
:banghead:

[ProgressiveProfessor]

28. I actually remember when natural curly hair was "in" for men and women

and then very curly permed styles...all races too. Then again, I can remember when the Beatles first came to the US.

Seriously, late 60 early seventies natural hair and curly hair were common on younger people in many areas. Think Jimi Hendrix

My wife and I are of mixed race. One of our daughters had straight black hair, the other very curly, but not quite nappy brown hair. They grew up with without a lot of the social pressures in their Jr high years, and to this day have pretty much resisted the heavy pressure on hair that many US women, regardless of race, seem to feel. The exception was this one disastrous perm before senior year. We still laugh about it.

[AwakeAtLast]

22. I'm a curly haired white woman who straightens her hair.

but I get what you're saying.

On humid days I don't touch the straightening iron. Lost cause. ;)

[Jennicut]

36. My hair is way curly and pretty much unstraightenable

Summer sucks for us, doesn't it?

[amandabeech]

29. Straight, flat, limp, baby-fine hair that refuses to cooperate

is no fun, either, especially when it does not flatter my face.

There are a lot of hairdressers out there who've put braces on their kids by putting perms on my hair.

I can't imagine, though, what it would be like if my limp tresses would be a real cultural issue. I'd just want to cut it off if that were the case.

[annabanana]

10. I like your new sig pic. . .

It's much more flattering.

[FrenchieCat]

12. Is there going to be an "expose" on Bleached Blondes and

permanents, tanning booths and creams, lips enhancers and boob jobs and such as well? Cause if so, I'd like to see it.

I think that Black folks' hair need to be left alone, personally. I don't think it is anyone's business, and certainly it ain't White Folks' business.

I know Chris Rock and his wife (she is my best friend's niece. My Best friend who owned a hair salon with her sister for years). I have also met his two very young daughters (extra cute little mini Chris Rocks, the both of them)....but his own wife wears a weave, and so I'm inclined to believe that the daughters may have gotten confused about the message being sent to them by his wife's own issues in reference to her own hair. Perhaps she should have been the one to answer the question.....and could have said, you guys have hair just like me and your dad....and it is beautiful hair...because "good" is what you make of it.

[chimpymustgo]

16. Frenchie, I'm with you here. Thanks for throwing in the lip enhancers.

Interesting, too that Rock's wife wears a really fake looking weave (sorry to be hating - but saw her on CNN's "Black in America" and couldn't help but think she's got money to do better). That weave would certainly confuse the kids. I wonder if Rock deals with that in his movie.

This is a pretty good time for women - and men - to be liberated to explore all different kinds of styles. Whatever works for you!

[bliss_eternal]

18. it's sweet that rock did this for his daughter...

...but yeah--if his wife is wearing a weave, that has an effect on their daughter. her mother is her standard of beauty. she is going to look at her mom, and wonder why her hair doesn't look like her mother's. :shrug: that's how i thought as a little girl.

[FrenchieCat]

26. Yep.....

[Number23]

34. Thank you! Lord, why does EVERYTHNG black people do just FASCINATE everybody?

Why is Chris Rock or anybody doing a damn movie on this?? Can we not have any secrets anymore??? Chris needs to go make some HBO specials and call it a day.

After seeing this clip though, there is one truth. Indian people really do have the most beautiful hair in the entire world. Thick, black, glossy, healthy. It's the best hair money can buy, apparently! :)

[slampoet]

13. I just want to see them interview Don King.

First question.... "WTF!!???"

[Warpy]

15. At least they don't get "conks" any more

Those were done with lye and often left the victim with burned scalps.

I love the short cropped, natural style on both men and women and have been frankly envious of it more than once. My own hair is fine, limp, and straight as a poker. It won't do anything fashionable, so I just keep it short.

The braiding is absolutely gorgeous on most people who have it, although I understand the longer the hair is, the more labor intensive it is to get it done, requiring 8 hour days in the chair. Add some beads and it's pure elegance, though.

I hope Rock isn't too brutal with his lampooning of the torturing of African hair into a European form. I've seen a few women who look great with straightened and bleached hair, too, and it needs to be a personal choice.

Still, I wish proudly keeping one's hair natural would come back.

[bliss_eternal]

19. omg...conks!

:spray:
i remember reading (and hearing) horror stories of those.

[madmom]

21. When I was in school in the 60's early 70's you HAD to have straight hair. Naturally I

have very curly frizzy not quite nappy hair. I am white, well Italian. I did everything under the sun to straighten my hair. It took a looong time before I could convince myself that curly hair is ok. I de-frizz but still leave it curly and I ok with that, now.

[bliss_eternal]

38. that had to be a challenge...

...to grow up in the 60's. looking back at the ads and media from that period, it seems long, straight hair was all the rage. (i.e. twiggy, cher, etc.) that could not have been easy for a curly head's self-esteem.

:hug:

[AspenRose]

23. I can't wait...sounds good

[texasleo]

24. Tanning does not mean people want to be black.

Nobody ever goes into a tanning salon and says, "Give me the Whoopi Goldberg!"

[slampoet]

33. But they do say make me look like J-lo or Naomi Campbell.

People emulate beauty queens not comedians.

[XOKCowboy]

35. Leave it to Chris Rock to use comedy to point out to us idiot white people what it's like to be...

black in America. Love Chris Rock for making me think and laugh at the same time.

On the same note, I had the chance to work in Japan, Korea, China and Hong Kong. Of all I found myself thinking that the Hong Kong women were "prettier" than the women in other Asian countries I'd visited. Then it hit me that I perceived Hong Kong women as prettier because they had more Caucasian features due to the Brits and Europeans intermarrying with the locals. Subtle racism on my part. I hate it when that happens.

[grantcart]

37. looks like another winner from the master