I appreciate that my hair is ‘funky’, ‘fierce’ and ‘fiyah’… but dag, why can’t it be ‘elegant’ sometimes??
Okay so I’ve noticed that a lot of times people will see natural hair and be like, “Oh that’s so fierce.” Or “Oh that’s so funky.” (I don’t even know exactly what “that’s so funky” means.) But I rarely hear people look at it and say, “Oh, that’s a really elegant head of hair” or “Oh, that style is really graceful.”
I wonder sometimes if using slightly outlandish terms to describe natural hair serves to establish its ‘otherness” or lack of normalcy. As though natural hair can only be one thing. And I don’t know if its the fact that natural hair sticks up and out, or that it gets really big, but people can’t seem to bring themselves to look at it in other ways.
I know that I’ve seen many a head of natural hair that looks soft, demure even delicate.
What about you? How do people describe your hair?
My hair is my crown. It grows like a corona. It may be different, but it is how God made it. I am so proud to wear it.
Regardless of what others say, it is not “weird” or “funky.” It is mine- kinks, coils and curls- all mine.
My hair is beautiful and that’s how I feel about her other women and child that I see with natural tresses, no need to give them the “Ms. Tyra Banks fierceeeeeeeeeeee!” finger shake or three snaps in a circle or anything.
If I see a fellow natural haired sister I tell her that she and her hair absolutely beautiful.
I feel like terminology such as “funky” and “hip” should be strictly reserved for fads, and natural hair and beauty is here to stay.
Bless.
I describe my hair as beautifully versatile. Meaning it can be anything I want it to be. I can style it in a funky and loud way, soft, and elegant, or both. When you have hair that is “mold-able” it can be anything you want, which is something I’m starting to experiment with. There are people in the world that use a bunch of hairspray, when I probably just need a bobby-pin.
Elegance suggests a soft beauty associated with a certain sophistication and, in my opinion, coldness. Most of the women I see on this site are very bold and warm, which is the OPPOSITE of elegant. Even in reading the interviews of people featured on this site, everyone’s funny, opinionated, excitable. Most are bloggers so that’s the demographic that you’re working with.
I’ve met elegant natural-haired women before so the two traits are not mutually exclusive. However, the personalities on this site are a different kind of beauty. Elegance is beauty sitting on a pedestal behind a glass case. These women make you laugh with their quips and witty terms like “creamy crack” and my favourite “my baby daddy…castor oil.” haha They’re wonderful and amaazing but they’re not elegant. Instead of a glass case, they have a table with food and invite you to sit down. There’s nothing wrong with that. In fact, I much prefer it.
Elegance has very little to nothing to do with a hairstyle per se. It’s in the demeanor and expression of a woman. Elegance is subtle. Read the responses about “accessories for naturals.” You’ll see the main complaint was that naturals wanted something BOLD! Because most of the women on this site are bold.
If you want elegance in the natural community, you will definitely find it. Just probably not amongst the BGLH readers you have at the moment. Try the opera or ballet.
A high regard of elegance is more of a European aristocratic thing, anyway. I think the word is stoic? Everyone else is expressive, loud and warm. And I love it.
I currently rock a TWA after a big chop last Sunday. I’ve had people call it “cute” and “adorable” and for some reason everyone want to touch it.
I think i’ve seen elegant natural hair. I think it has to do with how the person wearing it, is rocking it. I think that is true of permed/straight hair too. It’s like if you see someone in an updo with jeans and a T-shirt, it doesn’t look so elegant. However if you see that same person with the hairstyle in a nice dress, it looks elegant. The hair is an accessory than will be complemented or supplemented by the outfit or person.
I agree with the ‘outlandish terms’ bit because natural hair IS seen as ‘other’. I’ve come across posts on various blogs where ladies get their hair pressed for formal events. It’s the way we’ve been conditioned and socialized and it is what it is. However, I have seen elegant natural do’s and I believe they’re regarded as such – whether, locs, freestyle or twists – whether upswept or loosely coiled, once you carry it as such, everyone else will have no choice but to agree;)
@ AdriB, I love your whole post and definitely agree with a lot of it.
i HAVE gotten “elegant and classy” with my hair. it wasn’t even in an updo-it was in a big twistout fro. however, my whole demeanor was classy, detached chic (to hide the fact that I didn’t know anybody at that party, lol) and I was dressed in an Audrey Hepburn inspired little black dress. all of that probably contributed to it.
when i see naturals, i DO see funky styles and such, because a lot of naturals seem to rock that as their personal style: big earrings, bright colors, scarves, interesting piercings, even tattoos. which is awesome as well.
@Raquel: “detached chic (to hide the fact that I didn’t know anybody at that party)”
Totally STEALING THAT! hahahaha!!!
I see natural hair often described as beautiful, gorgeous, and chic on many websites and blogs so I’m not sure if agree with the post. I don’t know if those terms classify as elegant. Personally, right after I went natural there was an element of power that came with it. I LIKED not blending in and I think that is where descriptions of fierce, funky etc. come in. I have a TWA and the only way for me to wear any ultrshort haircut is to ROCK it. As my hair grows and my hairstyle changes, I could see my personal style and the ways I express myself through my hair changing with it. Maybe elegant is on the horizon…
Hair compliments: most of what I’ve heard from black women is the that looks good on you but wouldn’t work on me, Men generally say nothing, I’ve had some white women say it was pretty or that they liked my hair
I personally think of and refer to my hair as a pretty fro or a Frederick Douglas (fro with a side part)
I agree – some people think it is “cute”, “professional” – but mostly FIERCE, or Rockstar….and everyone wants to touch it. Black, white, brother our 2nd cousin, my dog if I am sitting on the floor – they gotta touch it. If they do not mind Coconut oil all over their fanger prints.. go on then. For me – I think of ones hair more on how they carry themselves.
I describe it as… wait for it: Mine. I have trained people over the year to normalize my hair. I wear my hair to work completely natural and I always have. I can wear it in twists, braids, comb-twists, air-dried, blown out, doesn’t matter. In three years at work, I have had one comment that wasn’t positive, and it wasn’t altogether negative. That’s it.
My style is casual, fierce, chic, elegant, casual, depending on the context. But my hair just is. It is a part of me. It is what it is. End of story.
I’ve never described anyone’s hair (straight, natural or other) as elegant. It’s not a word used to describe hair. You could say a person looks elegant and maybe mention how well the hairstyle does/does not complement their overall fashion, but it’s just not a word you would use to describe the hair itself.
Forgive me, but sometimes I think naturals spend too much time looking for validation from other people.
@NappturallyHappy: Agreed. And also put too much time into misconstruing life in order to have a reason to be offended and feel oppressed. Check out Asian teenagers. I find their hair to be FIERCE and it’s straight. But they’ve got style and ATTITUDE!!! Nothing wrong with that.
While I am in complete agreement with @NappturallyHappy, @AdriB, I’m not too sure about your assessment. For some, oppression can be (but is no means only) a feedback loop of people actually making one feel inferior, and internalizing the feeling of inferiority, but I don’t think the culture of victimhood is as conscious as finding a reason to feel oppressed.
I do see a difference between people who have worn their hair natural most of their lives and some people who have transitioned to natural hair. For instance, I never hear anyone talking about hair “journeys” if this is they have always found natural hair acceptable for themselves, even if there were periods in which they wore it differently. There are many people with natural hair who don’t need validation from others. They know they got it goin’ on.
Extra late to comment…BUT, I’ve had all of the above descriptions used on my hair: cute, funky, fierce, elegant, wild, big, etc. It all depended on the style.
I’ve done some straight up elegant styles recently and my white co-workers told me my hair was “nice” and “elegant” – I was so geeked about it lol!
Elegant styles (e.g. updos, chignons, etc.) with natural hair look elegant. Curls that are everywhere and big don’t. It’s that simple. And my hair is natural.
My hair looks playful, big, flirty, etc. but it does not look elegant until I put it in an elegant style.
The same principle when my hair was relaxed. If I just wore it long and hanging, it did not look elegant. It took an elegant style to elicit an “elegant” compliment from someone.
Sometimes, natural hair is really over-examined – by people who aren’t necessarily intellectually qualified to over-examine it.