"You look South African"

[Phaer]

Ladies, can you imagine the anguish Ms. Baartman went through? I swear, if someone was treating me like a circus freak, I would have slapped them silly and have gotten shot or wipped as soon as I stepped in the ship.
virtuenow

As far as Sarah, there are only drawings of her since her short presence on Earth was in the late 18th/early 19th century. But I'll pm you. The only drawings of her are kind of sexually revealing and I don't want to violate rules in any way.[/QUOTE]

 

[MissAlinaRose]

Ladies, can you imagine the anguish Ms. Baartman went through? I swear, if someone was treating me like a circus freak, I would have slapped them silly and have gotten shot or wipped as soon as I stepped in the ship.

@Phaer
Every time I hear those stories it just breaks my heart. It's like, I feel sadness, then anger, then when I realize there is nothing you can do about the past, I try to be the best me by educating others about it.

 

[MrsHdrLe]

And that's why I LOVE this site. You women are so talented and educated in so many ways that go beyond just growing hair, I truly learn something new each time I log in. I find it helpful to just keep a second page open so I can look up information that is being discussed. I swear you gals are making my smarter. Thanks!

 

[BlackHairDiva]

I dont think hair as anything to do with it. I think he was going mostly by facial traits. YEs, alot of us are able who is from where and even get down to what specific ethnic/tribe the person is from just based on the facial traits. The only way the hair can cause confusion is if its texturized or relaxed (with a lot of bounce and swing) or wavy Type 3 ish... you might hear are you Caribbean/ bi-racial.

When I look at you picture with hair straight it upper left corner... I look at the facial traits and I can tell you can pass for congolese ( bangala) , you can pass for togolese ( 1 know 2 togolese girl who look exactly like you, skintone but with shorter hair.) here is the tricky part... you hair is thick and long... because of that people might throw the are you Caribbean?

There are a lot of black americans who have facial traits similar to some africans for example tia and tamara mowry they look ethiopian.

Usher, can pass south african.

I'm thinking of others will get back to you.....

Based on his last reaction...sounds like he just moved to texas and hasn't meet anyone of his background yet. He got all excited thinking finally i meet someone like me and then got kind of disappointed.

More often than not when I walk by people, I speak out of courtesy. Well one particular day I walked by this guy and without thinking I smiled and said, "Hi, how are you?"

He stopped and just looked at me with a friendly grin. Then, he spoke back to me in a heavy accent.

He asked, "Excuse me, but, where are you from?"

I replied, "Right here in Texas."

Then he said, "Really? You look South African....Do you speak French?" (Clearly we were talking in English but I digress).

I answered, "No sir, English and Spanish."

He said, "Oh" like he was disappointed.

As I walked away and told him to have a good day, he stopped me again and said, "You too, and I really like your hair." I thanked him and bid him adieu. (My boyfriend is thoroughly convinced he was trying to "mack") lol.

My hair looked something like my siggy pic but a little longer (They are not extensions):


Now first of all, I didn't know what in particular would make him assume I was South African. I'm not even sure what type of distinct look South Africans have (enlighten me please if you know), but I can only assume it is probably as diverse as it is here in the states and many areas around the globe. Maybe he was not used to seeing black women with natural hair in this area of Texas. I don't know. But anyhoo, I Googled South African women for fun and got this:

*beautiful*



Do people assume you are of a specific origin because of your hair and/or features? Like, Does your hair, especially natural hair, accentuate your features in any way? Please Share!

(i.e. I have a friend who is mistaken for Eritrean all the time because of her hair, skin, and bone structure. However, she didn't even know what "Eritrean" meant at first ...Thanks Google)

 

[ezina]

This is a really cool thread! I'm Nigerian but I get African-American (which I am now by my naturalization) and Jamaican. Neither of these two surprise me because so many Jamaicans and AAs are of Nigerian descent. I sometimes get confused telling the three apart, especially Jamaican from Nigerian!

 

[discodumpling]

For whatever reason people look at me and know exactly what I am... a

West Indian woman. I don't have an accent but I guess my big eyes, lips and nappy hair kind of give it away.

South Africa is sucha huge country with so many ethnic/tribal groups ie Xhosa & Zulu,Indian, Dutch there is no one particular look! They're just as mixed up over there as we are over here!

Oh and google Venus Hottentot for pics and info on Sara Baartman.

all the ladies on my fave SA soapie Generations have nicely shaped arses...some of 'em are quite incredible.

 

[MissAlinaRose]

BlackHairDiva
Thank you so much for your insight!! I am going to google the groups you have named to learn more.

 

[MissAlinaRose]

ezina Thank you for your contributions! I'm around Nigerians so often that I am becoming convinced that my ancestral ties are from there lol

South Africa is sucha huge country with so many ethnic/tribal groups ie Xhosa & Zulu,Indian, Dutch there is no one particular look! They're just as mixed up over there as we are over here!

discodumpling I agree ; that's what my initial thought was from the jump.

I'm not even sure what type of distinct look South Africans have (enlighten me please if you know), but I can only assume it is probably as diverse as it is here in the states and many areas around the globe.

 

[cocosweet]

I'm adding Haitian to my list. There have been a few instances where I've been out walking the neighborhood and some man will start speaking Creole (or is it Kreyol) to me and I end up looking like since I can't respond. The most recent occurrence was about an hour ago.

 

[NaturalBeauty<3]

A Nigerian asked me where I was from.
I told her Georgia. . .she was like. . . no really?
I told her a more specific part of Georgia. Lol. She was then flustered and said, "oh, I just assumed you were from a part of Africa . . .maybe Egypt. You carry yourself like you are."
I took it as a compliment. Many seem. . . Regal-esque to me. Full of confidence. I liked it.