My hair is curly not nappy

[Carlie]

[ QUOTE ]
I read everyone's post, and I think it's okay if some people want to describe their hair as nappy. That's okay with me. I respect their opinions. On the flip side, it's okay with me also that you (and others) don't use the word to describe your hair.


[/ QUOTE ]
/images/graemlins/up.gif

 

[Sharpened]

I disagree a bit

[ QUOTE ]
The word nappy was made up by slave owners to describe african hair. The word nappy didn't become an official word in the dictionary until the 20th century. Words don't just exist. They are made up!

[/ QUOTE ]

After doing a little research on the word, it is actually a very old. Now it may have been used by whites to describe our hair, but so have the words very curly, wooly, bushy and kinky. Nappy is the term we Americans chose for ourselves in this this language and yes it does have its negative connotation. To compare nappy to other racially-charged words is ridiculous since this old word is simply a description of our unique texture.

Nappturality seems to me an expression of being out there with the natural 'dos, unlike the Mammy who had to cover hers. If someone tells me my hair is nappy, my answer will be, "And...so...you have a point?"

 

[good2uuuu]

[ QUOTE ]
What is also kinda sad is that we are teaching little black girls to love their hair even though it's nappy. How is that going to stand up against oh the pretty little white girl at my school say's I have nappy hair I know I am suppose to love my difficult hair but enough of those words can really kill a child's spirit.

[/ QUOTE ]


Why is it sad to teach our little black girls to love thier God given hair texture regardless of it being nappy? So what if Suzie Q has flowing blonde hair. Is it sad to teach our little black children to love thier complexion even though it is various shades of brown? I think that teaching our kids to love themselves and appreciate themselves from the top of thier heads to the bottom of thier feet is going to give them the self esteem to put Suzie Q on ignore. Sure the words will hurt, but we gotta intstill that worthyness and self value in our kids. Constant reassureance and a positive atmosphere go a long way. Plus my daughters lovely napps are far more versitile than Suzie Q's hair will ever be.

 

[Nonie]

I think we'd be wise to teach our little girls the meaning of the word nappy as a synonym of the word kinky ie tightly curled...and squash all notion of it being a bad word. Then when anyone tells them their hair is nappy, it'll be as neutral as being told their sex is female or their race is black. And then, baffled by the uselessness of the information just shared -- as it was pretty obvious to all -- they could matter-of-factly echo Nymphe's question, "And...so...you have a point?"

 

[Netta1]

All that being said MY hair is STILL GOOD AND NAPPY! And WE CELEBRATE NAPS at NAPPTURALITY. Instead of jugding a site by its name you should take a deeper look inside of the site you might get the point of it all, then again you might not. Not every site is for everybody.

 

[ubavka123]

[ QUOTE ]


What is also kinda sad is that we are teaching little black girls to love their hair even though it's nappy. How is that going to stand up against oh the pretty little white girl at my school say's I have nappy hair I know I am suppose to love my difficult hair but enough of those words can really kill a child's spirit.


[/ QUOTE ]

Salliquay! I am glad that you showed up! As I said, you are welcome here! /images/graemlins/smile.gif I just want to respond to this as a mother. I love my daughter and every day I tell her that she is beautiful, that her hair is beautiful and that her family loves her. Nothing will kill a child's spirit if that child believes in her own worth. All of this starts in the home. If the positive messages are not in the home, of course children will be more vulnerable to responding to labeling. This is true of anything, not just the word nappy! All name calling hurts! What if the little white girl says your child is stupid, or fat, or too dark, or has bad clothes? What then? We need to build children's self-esteem in the home and not be bothered by what others outside the home say. If you are getting the same negative message outside and inside the home, of course it will be reinforced. But positive self-esteem is built in the home--the home is the buffer between the child and the sometimes cruel outside world. Using nappy as an example, if the word is embraced in the home and children are taught that their hair is beautiful, they'll be a lot less likely to have their spirits broken by the use of that word or ANY other word in a negative context. And they won't worry so much how they stand up against others, but will stand proudly on their own!

 

[blkbeauty]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]


What is also kinda sad is that we are teaching little black girls to love their hair even though it's nappy. How is that going to stand up against oh the pretty little white girl at my school say's I have nappy hair I know I am suppose to love my difficult hair but enough of those words can really kill a child's spirit.


[/ QUOTE ]

Salliquay! I am glad that you showed up! As I said, you are welcome here! /images/graemlins/smile.gif I just want to respond to this as a mother. I love my daughter and every day I tell her that she is beautiful, that her hair is beautiful and that her family loves her. Nothing will kill a child's spirit if that child believes in her own worth. All of this starts in the home. If the positive messages are not in the home, of course children will be more vulnerable to responding to labeling. This is true of anything, not just the word nappy! All name calling hurts! What if the little white girl says your child is stupid, or fat, or too dark, or has bad clothes? What then? We need to build children's self-esteem in the home and not be bothered by what others outside the home say. If you are getting the same negative message outside and inside the home, of course it will be reinforced. But positive self-esteem is built in the home--the home is the buffer between the child and the sometimes cruel outside world. Using nappy as an example, if the word is embraced in the home and children are taught that their hair is beautiful, they'll be a lot less likely to have their spirits broken by the use of that word or ANY other word in a negative context. And they won't worry so much how they stand up against others, but will stand proudly on their own!

[/ QUOTE ]

Very well said /images/graemlins/up.gif

 

[Valerie]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ 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.

[/ QUOTE ]

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.

[/ QUOTE ]

ITA, Val do you remeber how our afro-carribean hair was described as "picky" because of the tight coils, that overlaps itself, i can also remember this being said to me and other children with straighter hair were laughing and chanting "picky heads" a negative connotation which overtly ment you had "bad hair", this doesn't bother me anyone because re-educated my mind and i learnt to love my natural hair even though i did texturized, however not out of hate.

[/ QUOTE ]

Yes, Den it was awful. I just think that we as a people still have a lot to learn about ourselves.

 

[Valerie]

BTW:

The word nappy was made up by slave owners to describe african hair. The word nappy didn't become an official word in the dictionary until the 20th century. Words don't just exist. They are made up!

[/ QUOTE ]

That's why my parents were against using the word 'nappy', because mother said at one time, you were given fine teeth combs, which you could never comb your hair. Mother would say that we' black people have the finest hair. Our hair is like a lion manes. My mother would always read the Song of Songs 7:5 'Your hair is like royal tapestry: the king is held captive by its tresses'. We have forgotten that we were God and Goddess, Kings and Queens, so she said using words like nappy, picky are degrading and we are very happy to degrade ourselves through brain washing. Our hair is like finest sheep wool. The finest Angora wool. So that is why me personally, I don't use the word 'nappy' to describe my hair, if others what to refer to their hair is nappy, they are welcome. But my hair is coily and curly. If people don't like the word kinky fine. But my hair is , coily and curly and tightly curly.

 

[Valerie]

Further more, we are the only race to make degrad our hair. Whereas Caucasion and Asian people who have straight hair, describe their hair as the 'finest silk' in glowing terms.

 

[ubavka123]

[ QUOTE ]
Further more, we are the only race to make degrad our hair. Whereas Caucasion and Asian people who have straight hair, describe their hair as the 'finest silk' in glowing terms.

[/ QUOTE ]

If it is healthy!! I have plenty of Caucasian and Asian friends who have referred to their straight hair as frizzy, dry, uncontrollable, damaged, breaking, etc. We could call our hair the most luxurious cashmere if we wanted to, but we would still have to BELIEVE that it is beautiful. However we dress it up, we have to accept it and love it! Words are just descriptions. Not calling our hair nappy is not going to make those of us still caught in the good hair/bad hair debate any wiser or more accepting of it. Just my humble opinion.

 

[Sharpened]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Further more, we are the only race to make degrad our hair. Whereas Caucasion and Asian people who have straight hair, describe their hair as the 'finest silk' in glowing terms.

[/ QUOTE ]

If it is healthy!! I have plenty of Caucasian and Asian friends who have referred to their straight hair as frizzy, dry, uncontrollable, damaged, breaking, etc. We could call our hair the most luxurious cashmere if we wanted to, but we would still have to BELIEVE that it is beautiful. However we dress it up, we have to accept it and love it! Words are just descriptions. Not calling our hair nappy is not going to make those of us still caught in the good hair/bad hair debate any wiser or more accepting of it. Just my humble opinion.

[/ QUOTE ]Not to mention the nasty name-calling and self-hatred of curly hair in general. I have seen the hair torture, tears and taunting up close in my teen years. We live in a society with a distaste of natural female hair.

 

[Xerxes]

The sad thing is that whatever word you wish to describe your hair with, if you are nappy, you're still going to be nappy! "Nappy" just accurately describes your hair's characteristics, no matter how negative it may seem to you! LOL

A fat woman calling herself "pleasantly plump" doesn't make her any less fat! LOL

Some people need to just accept what they are and learn how to embrace it and not be upset by someone pointing out a simple fact. I'm nappy and I'm dark-skinned but neither of these things has ever been brought to my attention by a white person, only black people act silly enough to consider any of these things as possibly negative.

In Western society, if you aren't white, then you're not the "top dog" and white people could care less if you have "good hair" (type 1 or 2 or 3) and if you're light skinned. They see you as a black person, forget trying to qualify yourself as anything other than what most blacks fear being labelled as-- dark skinned with nappy hair. They see no difference between Colin Powell and Bernie Mac! LOL Sure we may balk and claim one is lighter and has "better" hair, but if you haven't learned it yet, always remember that this society sees you as a "n*" if you're black or part black or whatever.

So if you're worried about being nappy or being called nappy, you only have to worry about other blacks bringing it up! LOL

Aw heck, let me just say it to all of those of you who object -- YOU ARE NAPPY! LOL

Let me stop before I call out the names of those I want to point out! <rubbing my 4b TWA and grinning>

 

[RushGirl]

[ QUOTE ]

A fat woman calling herself "pleasantly plump" doesn't make her any less fat! LOL


[/ QUOTE ]

/images/graemlins/lachen70.gif /images/graemlins/lachen70.gif That is hilarious..lol

 

[blasianbeauty]

I think I understand where Salliquay is coming from. However, it's all about perception. If you don't think that the word nappy is bad, then it won't offend you. It's just like a lot of black people still say "good hair" and "bad hair". It offends some, but not all. I personally don't believe in it, but there are some that still do. If she wants to say that her hair is not nappy, then that's her choice. I read somewhere, can't remember the name of the book, that our hair actually does have a very tight coily pattern (coily and tight curls are almost the same). Just my two cents...

 

[Country gal]

Outside of this board, I hear it used in a negative tone. I am sporting a wig after transitioning from perm to natural hair. Some people thought I finally (in their words) permed my nappy hair.

 

[Sharpened]

LMAO Xerxes! /images/graemlins/rofl.gif /images/graemlins/clap.gif /images/graemlins/angeldevil.gif

Good post. /images/graemlins/lachen70.gif

 

[NGC]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]


What is also kinda sad is that we are teaching little black girls to love their hair even though it's nappy. How is that going to stand up against oh the pretty little white girl at my school say's I have nappy hair I know I am suppose to love my difficult hair but enough of those words can really kill a child's spirit.


[/ QUOTE ]

Salliquay! I am glad that you showed up! As I said, you are welcome here! /images/graemlins/smile.gif I just want to respond to this as a mother. I love my daughter and every day I tell her that she is beautiful, that her hair is beautiful and that her family loves her. Nothing will kill a child's spirit if that child believes in her own worth. All of this starts in the home. If the positive messages are not in the home, of course children will be more vulnerable to responding to labeling. This is true of anything, not just the word nappy! All name calling hurts! What if the little white girl says your child is stupid, or fat, or too dark, or has bad clothes? What then? We need to build children's self-esteem in the home and not be bothered by what others outside the home say. If you are getting the same negative message outside and inside the home, of course it will be reinforced. But positive self-esteem is built in the home--the home is the buffer between the child and the sometimes cruel outside world. Using nappy as an example, if the word is embraced in the home and children are taught that their hair is beautiful, they'll be a lot less likely to have their spirits broken by the use of that word or ANY other word in a negative context. And they won't worry so much how they stand up against others, but will stand proudly on their own!

[/ QUOTE ]

Very well said /images/graemlins/up.gif

[/ QUOTE ]

I agree as well.

For me personally, I have no issues with the word nappy, NGC = NappGirlCurl. Napp comes first and foremost. I also have never cared about other people's negative opinion about "nappy" hair, never have, never will. My hair is what it is and I wear it as it was given to me and with much love /images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[abainaa]

For all the Jamaicans on this board, you all know how "nappy head gyal" is never used in a good way, but as adults we can choose to use nappy any way we like.

Black hair is nothing but a genetic adaptation to the environment that we used to live in- meaning in a hot sun with no shelter (remember humans existed for almost 2 million years without buildings) and if you didn't have "nappy hair" while living in africa you would die of skin cancer on your scalp beofre your 1st birthday. So my hair is nothing more than my body's attempt to protect me.

The texture of type 3 and four hair is literlly perfect, because it does exactly what it is supposed to do. What we call it is irelevant- its the feeling behind what we call it that matters. Nappy, curly, frizzy, kinky, its what God gave us to keep us alive.

Its perfectly fine to change it for fashion reasons, but we should never denigrate what comes out of our heads, no matter what man-made word we use to call it. The word really doesn'y matter and the meaning of nappy will soon change the more people use it in a postive way.
.02

 

[Neen]

[ QUOTE ]
For all the Jamaicans on this board, you all know how "nappy head gyal" is never used in a good way, but as adults we can choose to use nappy any way we like.

Black hair is nothing but a genetic adaptation to the environment that we used to live in- meaning in a hot sun with no shelter (remember humans existed for almost 2 million years without buildings) and if you didn't have "nappy hair" while living in africa you would die of skin cancer on your scalp beofre your 1st birthday. So my hair is nothing more than my body's attempt to protect me.

The texture of type 3 and four hair is literlly perfect, because it does exactly what it is supposed to do. What we call it is irelevant- its the feeling behind what we call it that matters. Nappy, curly, frizzy, kinky, its what God gave us to keep us alive.

Its perfectly fine to change it for fashion reasons, but we should never denigrate what comes out of our heads, no matter what man-made word we use to call it. The word really doesn'y matter and the meaning of nappy will soon change the more people use it in a postive way.
.02

[/ QUOTE ]

You couldn't have said it better.

 

[Xerxes]

Aw thanks Rushgirl and Nymphe! /images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[Sweetyb]

To me, nappy is the state of hair. My hair is coily, but has the potential to be nappy. My hair doesn't grow in nappy (tangled), but because it is so coily it can be found in a nappy state if I neglect to treat my hair in a certain way.

 

[oglorious1]

Well, today was wash day and I don't care what nobody says my hair is nappy!!! I'll say it loud and proud, MY HAIR IS NAPPY...like someone told me all hair is good that grows...

 

[Xerxes]

"Nappy" and "tangled" are two very different words in my opinion to describe the state of one's hair. Straight hair can be tangled, yet it never looks nappy! Nappy is used by most as well as myself to describe African American hair that has a poor curl pattern to it and especially for those with a "cottony" texture to their hair which you seem to admit your hair has. Noone's naps are equal but all a person has to do is to look at someone to tell if they're "nappy" or not! LOL

You can call your hair texture whatever you like, but if the idea that others see you as nappy worries you, then you need to search yourself for the true reason why you feel uncomfortable with the word.

I'm nappy and I wouldn't wish to be any other way. I have some curls, coils and even odd random straight hairs that I cut off as they grow like weird mutants trying to wreck my cute 'fro! LOL

But as my hair grows out at even just an inch long, I can see how some of the strands lose their curl as they get longer and after being picked, tend to look nappy, the hair bends at one wide angle and in mass there is no true structure.

Dang, it's not easy being part of the "soul patrol"! LOL

 

[Xerxes]

Amen Oglorious1! LOL

I think that some people have this sad misconception that nappy hair can't be beautiful, but for those of us who know better, I say it's time to do the "cabbage patch:! LMAO /images/graemlins/bdance.gif

 

[DDTexlaxed]

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

U hit the nail on the head, poohb...It's mental block. People are conditioned to think they're ugly without relaxers. I was one of them, until I was forced to do so with mtg. My hair refuses to relax now and my naps are actually overcoming my relaxed hair. The funny thing is that my hair has never felt so healthy. No more shedding or hair in my comb or brush. My hair is growing better than ever. Never had an experience like this with a relaxer. Hence, the transition has begun and naps will run wild!

 

[teenie]

I always refer to my hair as nappy....one of the reasons I do this is because people do often have a negative association with the word nappy, and I just want people to see nappy in a more positive manner

 

[MonaLisa]

For all the Jamaicans on this board, you all know how "nappy head gyal" is never used in a good way, but as adults we can choose to use nappy any way we like.

Black hair is nothing but a genetic adaptation to the environment that we used to live in- meaning in a hot sun with no shelter (remember humans existed for almost 2 million years without buildings) and if you didn't have "nappy hair" while living in africa you would die of skin cancer on your scalp beofre your 1st birthday. So my hair is nothing more than my body's attempt to protect me.

The texture of type 3 and four hair is literlly perfect, because it does exactly what it is supposed to do. What we call it is irelevant- its the feeling behind what we call it that matters. Nappy, curly, frizzy, kinky, its what God gave us to keep us alive.

Its perfectly fine to change it for fashion reasons, but we should never denigrate what comes out of our heads, no matter what man-made word we use to call it. The word really doesn'y matter and the meaning of nappy will soon change the more people use it in a postive way.
.02

So nicely stated.

 

[mkstar826]

You can call your hair texture whatever you like, but if the idea that others see you as nappy worries you, then you need to search yourself for the true reason why you feel uncomfortable with the word.

I'm nappy and I wouldn't wish to be any other way. I have some curls, coils and even odd random straight hairs that I cut off as they grow like weird mutants trying to wreck my cute 'fro! LOLL

I agree

 

[Poohbear]

For all the Jamaicans on this board, you all know how "nappy head gyal" is never used in a good way, but as adults we can choose to use nappy any way we like.

Black hair is nothing but a genetic adaptation to the environment that we used to live in- meaning in a hot sun with no shelter (remember humans existed for almost 2 million years without buildings) and if you didn't have "nappy hair" while living in africa you would die of skin cancer on your scalp beofre your 1st birthday. So my hair is nothing more than my body's attempt to protect me.

The texture of type 3 and four hair is literlly perfect, because it does exactly what it is supposed to do. What we call it is irelevant- its the feeling behind what we call it that matters. Nappy, curly, frizzy, kinky, its what God gave us to keep us alive.

Its perfectly fine to change it for fashion reasons, but we should never denigrate what comes out of our heads, no matter what man-made word we use to call it. The word really doesn'y matter and the meaning of nappy will soon change the more people use it in a postive way.
.02

In total agreement!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!