My hair is curly not nappy

[Salliquay]

okay I don't mean to sound rude but why do black people call their natural hair nappy. For the life of me I just can't understand why we buy into these terms. I am transtioning from relaxed hair to my "NATURAl" hair and I refuse to believe my hair is nappy, my hair is curly maybe moreso curly than others but my hair is beautiful not nappy. By the way that Nappurality site or whatever it is offends me. Just my two cents.

 

[ImPradaModel]

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okay I don't mean to sound rude but why do black people call their natural hair nappy. For the life of me I just can't understand why we buy into these terms. I am transtioning from relaxed hair to my "NATURAl" hair and I refuse to believe my hair is nappy, my hair is curly maybe moreso curly than others but my hair is beautiful not nappy. By the way that Nappurality site or whatever it is offends me. Just my two cents.

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/images/graemlins/confused.gif why?

 

[model_chick717]

Welcome sallyquay---are you new? /images/graemlins/wave.gif

Anyway, I see the point that you're making. I think the word nappy started out as a negative term used towards black people and just like some do with another word (n*gga) turned around and use it in a way that they feel is empowering. That's just my take on it....

 

[jainygirl]

Well, my hair is nappy and i dont see that as being offensive. You have to ask yourself why you find the word "nappy" offensive. I know everytime i hear MOST people use it is to be derogatory. Do you yourself use the word nappy to be derogatory? That might be what makes you shy away from hearing other people use it when they describe hair. I dont see nappy as being something negative. It's the state of my hair. Either kinky,coily or nappy.

Now we're gonna have some people who say that hearing "kinky" is offensive as well but to each his own. The bottom line is that for ME both of these terms describe my own hair and that's why i prefer to use them. Find something that matches more of what your own hair looks like that you feel comfortable saying/hearing but the bottom line is that hair is what it is.

 

[ChocoKitty]

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okay I don't mean to sound rude but why do black people call their natural hair nappy. For the life of me I just can't understand why we buy into these terms. I am transtioning from relaxed hair to my "NATURAl" hair and I refuse to believe my hair is nappy, my hair is curly maybe moreso curly than others but my hair is beautiful not nappy. By the way that Nappurality site or whatever it is offends me. Just my two cents.

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I understand what your saying. But I think it people way of turning what some people consider a negative term into a positive. Sorta like when people use other "bad" words as terms of endearment. Hope I make sense.../images/graemlins/spinning.gif

 

[14got]

Well, my hair's nappy. When I wake up in the morning those cute little curls are a matted mess. Con wash and gel, that's what makes my hair curly.

 

[RushGirl]

[ QUOTE ]
okay I don't mean to sound rude but why do black people call their natural hair nappy. For the life of me I just can't understand why we buy into these terms. I am transtioning from relaxed hair to my "NATURAl" hair and I refuse to believe my hair is nappy, my hair is curly maybe moreso curly than others but my hair is beautiful not nappy. By the way that Nappurality site or whatever it is offends me. Just my two cents.

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Well, to me.. some people do have nappy hair..that's just what they have.. and there are those who have curly hair.. to me, they are two separate things.. that's the way I see it..

 

[AFashionSlave]

You can define your hair however you want to. If your hair is curly then call it curly. Call it coily. Call it ringleted. Whatever blows your skirt up sis. Use whatever word you want to describe your own hair.

Most of the hair on my head is "nappy". I love the word "nappy" and I'm going to continue to call it "nappy" I have no problem with the word - I embrace it.

Since that nappturality site offends you so much then maybe you should go over there and send a pm to Deecoily and tell her EXACTLY how you feel. Nobody forces you to visit Nappturality. Maybe you shouldn’t go over there anymore. I don’t visit the websites that offend me.

 

[Falon]

nap2 ( P ) Pronunciation Key (np)
n.
A soft or fuzzy surface on fabric or leather.

tr.v. napped, nap·ping, naps
To form or raise a soft or fuzzy surface on (fabric or leather)


nap·py1 ( P ) Pronunciation Key (np)
adj. nap·pi·er, nap·pi·est
Having a nap; fuzzy.
Kinky; frizzy.


Nappy is simply an adjective of nap and I think it is pretty accurate of some hair types...my hair is nappy in it's natural state.

I don't think it's a bad word at all but it's funny how words can be turned into something ugly if you use it in a insulting way enough times.

 

[jainygirl]

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okay I don't mean to sound rude but why do black people call their natural hair nappy. For the life of me I just can't understand why we buy into these terms. I am transtioning from relaxed hair to my "NATURAl" hair and I refuse to believe my hair is nappy, my hair is curly maybe moreso curly than others but my hair is beautiful not nappy. By the way that Nappurality site or whatever it is offends me. Just my two cents.

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Well, to me.. some people do have nappy hair..that's just what they have.. and there are those who have curly hair.. to me, they are two separate things.. that's the way I see it..

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Thank you Rushgirl perfect explanation.

I thought it was just understood that if you have curly hair then your hair IS curly. No need to get upset about anyone assuming otherwise.

 

[SherryLove]

nappy is nothing but a term for excessively curly hair....and that's what my hair is... i am happy and nappy.....i choose to ignore the negative label that has been attached to it..

 

[Tracy]

Stick around for a bit Salliquay....

I see what you're saying, but I think the explanations you got are dead on. If your hair IS really curly, then it shouldn't matter so much what other people choose to call it. I do think "nappy" gets a bad rap, and we would all do well to embrace the idea, rather than reject it. I think the site you mentioned has it's own agenda, and if it works for the people there, then they are entitled to their opinions. I just wouldn't frequent the site too much if you disagree with their approach, but I do think, on a very basic level, they have a point about how black people feel about their hair.

 

[jainygirl]

[ QUOTE ]
You can define your hair however you want to. If your hair is curly then call it curly. Call it coily. Call it ringleted. Whatever blows your skirt up sis. Use whatever word you want to describe your own hair.

Most of the hair on my head is "nappy". I love the word "nappy" and I'm going to continue to call it "nappy" I have no problem with the word - I embrace it.

Since that nappturality site offends you so much then maybe you should go over there and send a pm to Deecoily and tell her EXACTLY how you feel. Nobody forces you to visit Nappturality. Maybe you shouldn’t go over there anymore. I don’t visit the websites that offend me.

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ITA--- the site is for people who are embracing what is theirs to embrace. They arent gonna change the site's mission because someone who is curly doesnt like it. I think the site is for those loving their napps, so why do you even visit?? You may wanna stick to sites that suit you more.

 

[Neen]

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nappy is nothing but a term for excessively curly hair....and that's what my hair is... i am happy and nappy.....i choose to ignore the negative label that has been attached to it..

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okay, that makes sense. Because I hear the term but wasn't sure what it really meant. I even heard white people use it when their hair is tangled. I also have curly/coily hair but it gets fuzzy too. Is it the fuzzines that makes it nappy? I know folks with type 3 hair and people don't call their hair nappy, they call it curly, or God forbid, "good hair". Even though their hair would also have a fuzzines if it wasn't combed or was intentionally pick out. Seems like it's all relative. I prefer to call my hair coily/curly but that's just because when people would say it in the past to me, it was more a put down. But the website, nappturality, uses the term in a positive way and I actually find it empowering. just my $.02.

 

[silvergirl]

not everyones hair is the same.. i wouldnt consider my natural hair nappy cause my curls arent tight enough.. but there are ppl with really really really.. tight curls that you may not have,, ur free to define ur hair as u wish , just as other are free to define there hair as nappy.. i dont really think the term is offensive (anymore) it just a description that means someones hair is very tighly coiled

 

[Ayeshia]

Im not offended by its.yes Im curly but Im nappy at the same time. The only way I think its degrading is when people refer to it as such ..."when are you going to comb that nappy sh*it"...and so forth. Perhaps you shouldnt visit nappturality if it offends you so.

 

[ubavka123]

[ QUOTE ]
okay I don't mean to sound rude but why do black people call their natural hair nappy. For the life of me I just can't understand why we buy into these terms. I am transtioning from relaxed hair to my "NATURAl" hair and I refuse to believe my hair is nappy, my hair is curly maybe moreso curly than others but my hair is beautiful not nappy. By the way that Nappurality site or whatever it is offends me. Just my two cents.

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"...my hair is beautiful not nappy"
With all due respect, this seems to be an issue you are dealing with, because you have put beautiful and nappy at opposing ends. Once you begin to see nappy and beautiful under the same umbrella, it will matter not to you how others use the word, only what the word means to you. Your hair is beautiful, in whatever state because it is your hair. No one state is more beautiful than the other. If you accept that, you will accept your hair, whatever you decide to call it. As it has been written, "A rose by any other name would smell just as sweet." And as it was said above, it is what it is. Listen to what you feel inside and ignore the connotations of labels. And good luck on your transition. I am sure you are not the first to go through this issue. It is understandable, but it is also all in the way YOU see it.

 

[ms_kenesha]

I kinda see what you're saying, but I think that it's all mental. You assume negative when you hears nappy so you doesn't want to identify your hair as such. Which begs the question as to why you ever went to a site called NAPpturality instead of NaturallyCURLY.com.

 

[ubavka123]

Also, I see nothing wrong with embracing the word nappy to empower oneself in this case. It is funny, I was in the store a few weeks ago behind a woman with the most beautiful afro puff and I told her that she had beautiful hair. She looked at me like I was crazy and even told me she was thinking of going back to a relaxer. I think hearing the word beautiful in reference to her natural hair was a shock (although her hair was gorgeous!) for her. I don't know why, but maybe she did not equate nappy with beautiful. I do!!!! That being said, I am not going natural any day soon, but natural hair, relaxed hair, texturized hair, short hair, long hair is all beautiful--especially when it is healthy and taken care of! /images/graemlins/smile.gif There is no right way to do it! There is just your way...Ok, let me step down from my box...

 

[KinksnCurlz]

[ QUOTE ]
Also, I see nothing wrong with embracing the word nappy to empower oneself in this case. It is funny, I was in the store a few weeks ago behind a woman with the most beautiful afro puff and I told her that she had beautiful hair. She looked at me like I was crazy and even told me she was thinking of going back to a relaxer. I think hearing the word beautiful in reference to her natural hair was a shock (although her hair was gorgeous!) for her. I don't know why, but maybe she did not equate nappy with beautiful. I do!!!! That being said, I am not going natural any day soon, but natural hair, relaxed hair, texturized hair, short hair, long hair is all beautiful--especially when it is healthy and taken care of! /images/graemlins/smile.gif There is no right way to do it! There is just your way...Ok, let me step down from my box...

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AMEN! /images/graemlins/notworthy.gif

 

[Tonya]

"Nappy" is beautiful too. IMO napps are just tight curls. But if you knwo your hair is curly don;t worry about how others perceive it.

 

[Netta1]

I have napps/coils/curls/waves I got it all and I'm mighty proud of it. Nothing like a head full of nappy roots. I don't see the word nappy as a bad thing however I used to before I went natural. And as Far nappturality is concerned like afashionslave said thats an issue you should take up with Dee, because even if we knew what your particular gripe was we probably couldn't slove it here.


Also you can call your head whatever you want to call it. Just like some people consider their hair 4a and its not. Whatever makes you happy right?

 

[soslychic]

Nothing to add. Just complete agreement with the responses /images/graemlins/bdance.gif

 

[Poohbear]

When my mom relaxed my hair after 3 months of waiting, she told me how ridiculously nappy my hair was! /images/graemlins/smirk.gif I told her it's natural, not nappy...it's how our hair grows in without a relaxer! One time I let my best friend touch my new growth and she said it felt like I had worms crawling in my hair! /images/graemlins/crazy.gif When I had newgrowth, friends or family would tell me, you need to do something with that sh*t! /images/graemlins/blush.gif

I think it is something black people have been socialized and grown up to think that our natural hair is nappy. But when people say your hair is "nappy", they are implying that it is a "bad" thing when it actually isnt. We cant help how our hair grows in. Just because it's not as straight as other races doesnt mean its ugly. I don't think Nappturality is using "napp" in their title to mean bad...I think they were just coming up with a creative name. /images/graemlins/wink.gif

 

[RushGirl]

Okay..well, now..after reading people's responses..I didn't know that nappy meant extremely curly..tight curls..I always thought that nappy meant not curly at all.. more like a frizzy thing.. know what I mean?? That's why, to me, nappy and curly were two different things..

 

[babyblue]

[ QUOTE ]
"...my hair is beautiful not nappy"
With all due respect, this seems to be an issue you are dealing with, because you have put beautiful and nappy at opposing ends. Once you begin to see nappy and beautiful under the same umbrella, it will matter not to you how others use the word, only what the word means to you. Your hair is beautiful, in whatever state because it is your hair. No one state is more beautiful than the other.

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pretty much sums up my feelings.

To the original poster: The word "nappy" for some women has pretty much evolved from its early days a derogatory term describing black hair into a word that many women (including myself) have come to embrace. Some of us are even proud of it.

As long you/we continue to use the word "nappy" with negative connotations instead of looking at it as just one of the unique characteristic of black hair then you will never associate "nappy" with beautiful, healthy, attractive hair.

 

[Poohbear]

[ QUOTE ]
Okay..well, now..after reading people's responses..I didn't know that nappy meant extremely curly..tight curls..I always thought that nappy meant not curly at all.. more like a frizzy thing.. know what I mean?? That's why, to me, nappy and curly were two different things..

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I thought this too...Even if my hair is all the way relaxed, if it is frizzy or bushy, someone (mainly a black person) is quick to say "YOURE HAIR IS NAPPY!" /images/graemlins/ohwell.gif

 

[SVT]

[ QUOTE ]
okay I don't mean to sound rude but why do black people call their natural hair nappy. For the life of me I just can't understand why we buy into these terms. I am transtioning from relaxed hair to my "NATURAl" hair and I refuse to believe my hair is nappy, my hair is curly maybe moreso curly than others but my hair is beautiful not nappy.

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I sometimes describe my hair as "nappy" and there's no negativity behind it when I say it. So, if you read a post of mine using the word nappy as a descriptor, know that's where I'm coming from.

Plenty of other people use the word "nappy" in non-negative ways so get used to hearing and seeing "nappy" synonomous with beautiful, coily, full, thick, healthy, soft, sheeny, etc.


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By the way that Nappurality site or whatever it is offends me. Just my two cents.

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Good grief!

If nappturality offends you, post your discontent over there. I'm sure you'll get a speedy response.

 

[RushGirl]

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Okay..well, now..after reading people's responses..I didn't know that nappy meant extremely curly..tight curls..I always thought that nappy meant not curly at all.. more like a frizzy thing.. know what I mean?? That's why, to me, nappy and curly were two different things..

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I thought this too...Even if my hair is all the way relaxed, if it is frizzy or bushy, someone (mainly a black person) is quick to say "YOURE HAIR IS NAPPY!" /images/graemlins/ohwell.gif

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Exactly..that's the way I've always heard it mean.. When I relaxed my hair..when I had even a little new growth my mother would tell me that I needed to relax my hair because it was nappy..but, from what I see, my hair isn't nappy at all.. because it's curly.. Now that I'm transitioning.. she came over just last week and told me that I needed to relax my hair because it was nappy.. mind you..I had a baseball cap on all day long and didn't do anything to my hair but put some surge on it and put it in a small bun before putting on a baseball cap.. I don't ever really "do" my hair unless I'm going somewhere.. I put her in her place and told her that I didn't have nappy hair.. she associates "nappy" negatively.. I felt like telling her a few other things..lol My mother is quite the SNOB! so it felt good telling her that my hair wasn't "nappy" in the way she thinks it is! I told her that I was going to cut my relaxed ends off after I had enough growth..and then she said.."and then what?".. do you believe that? WTF does that mean.. "and then what?".. and then nothing.. boy, she pisses me off.. /images/graemlins/censored.gif /images/graemlins/whip.gif /images/graemlins/swearing.gif /images/graemlins/angry2.gif uh, sorry to go off like that..she makes me so mad.. I hate snobby people... anyway.... lol

 

[Valerie]

[ QUOTE ]
okay I don't mean to sound rude but why do black people call their natural hair nappy. For the life of me I just can't understand why we buy into these terms. I am transtioning from relaxed hair to my "NATURAl" hair and I refuse to believe my hair is nappy, my hair is curly maybe moreso curly than others but my hair is beautiful not nappy. By the way that Nappurality site or whatever it is offends me. Just my two cents.

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I understand perfectly what you are saying, I don't like the word 'nappy' myself. I use supercoily, tighty curly, kinky. So I don't tend to use the word 'nappy' to describe my hair, but it is excusively curly and very coily. It was a word, my mother told me not to use and even though it is used as a positive word, I still don't use it to describe my own hair.