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| Singing, "I want to make the world aware: I love my hair!" |
muppet singing about how much she loves her hair--her kinky hair. :-) (Shout-out to Brenna, Paul and Dubose for sharing!) During the video (clicking the image to the right will take you to the YouTube video too), she's ecstatic about all the things she can do with her hair: wear it in twists, let it fly freely or rock a 'fro, among other things.
This video has inspired so many women (and some men too) with pride in a muppet who doesn't "need a trip to the beauty shop 'cause [she likes what she's] got on top." It made me wonder who the real audience is for this song. Sesame Street historically has been geared toward pre-schoolers, but I can't count how many comments I've read in which grown women reflect on their girlhood days, wishing they had seen a such appreciation and embracing of natural hair on TV.
If you were coming up in the '90s and earlier, you just didn't see or hear ideas like this in the mainstream. Nappy hair was destined to be pressed, Jheri-curled, or relaxed past a certain age. I think I just hit it: braids and twists and afro puffs are markers of girlhood--at least they have been. If I'm right, though, this precious video (the brain-child of a head writer for Sesame Street) is a symptom of changing times. Increasingly, it's becoming acceptable for females of all ages to "love all the things their hair can do." I hope it keeps up in high school, in relationships, in the business world, on job interviews, in academia, and in the mirror.
I find it very believable that you still watch Sesame Street. That's not a diss or anything, just one of the first observations I received when I read this. Nappy hair can be good/attractive as long as it's manageable. I don't need a woman looking like Macy Gray with hair just flowing everywhere in every direction
ReplyDeleteTimes have definitely changed. You know in the 80's and 90's professionals were not rocking afros, braids, locs, etc. They are today, and it's pretty cool to see! Sesame Street is the bomb for this muppet!
ReplyDeleteActually, Daniel, I haven't seen Sesame Street in years, but I saw the video like the rest of the world. Lol. I have a question though: if a woman's nappy hair grows in every direction, why can't she wear it that way? How do you define "manageable"? OK, that's two questions...
ReplyDeleteIf we're just hanging around the house, I don't really care how she wears her hair. However, in a professional setting, I need it to look manageable, by which I mean if she could just throw a scrunchy on and tie her hair back, it would look fine.
ReplyDeleteI don't like the direction this is going and I have the feeling you're somewhat annoyed with me. So, I'm just going to bow out of this.
LOL. Daniel, I'm not annoyed! If my guess is right, more people than not would agree with you, and it's understandable. I think we've, in a way, been conditioned to think of "professional hair" in a certain way: it has to be "neat," "manageable," "well groomed," etc.
ReplyDeleteMy only thing is that the conceptions of those terms typically don't make room for the natural texture of someone's nappy hair. When people say the hair has to be "neat," they're usually saying that it has to "lay down" or "lay back." Well, nappy hair can be made to do that. I just wonder if that should be the case.
I would argue that those terms are relative, but I know that would open up a can of worms on hair color and mohawks. I suppose a line has to be drawn somewhere, but it would be great if that line didn't invalidate nappy hair, which it often does. That is all. :-)
Her hair doesn't have to be laid down. An afro that is well put together is fine with me. If her afro is larger in different segments and its looks unclean, then I don't view it as favorably
ReplyDeleteI hear you! Dirty isn't cute. Lol. Still, who views anybody's unclean hair favorably, regardless of the texture or style?
ReplyDelete