What does the word nappy means?

[plove]

I tryed to look it up but what i came up with had nothing to do with hair.
I see this word thrown around all the time, nappy hair, I'm happy to be nappy ect......so i wanted to know what it means. In the dictionary it has something to do with dapper rash.

Or you came tell me with the word nappy means to you.

 

[JazzyDez]

nappy to me is synonomous with kinky

it irks me when people with tangled hair call it nappy

 

[crlsweetie912]

Adj. 1. nappy - in small tight curls
Synonyms: frizzly, frizzy, kinky, crisp

http://webster-dictionary.org/definition/nappy

 

[ThickHair]

Nappy, tight, kinked, coily is all the same to me. I do disagree when people call all nappy hair frizzy. Nappy hair is not ALWAYS frizzy and FRIZZY hair is not always nappy.

It is all positive to me. Whenever I hear someone say something negative about nappy hair. I always tell them, there is nothing wrong with nappy hair, my hair is nappy.

 

[plove]

thanks ladies and thanks for the link to the word.

 

[Mestiza]

Nappy

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Nappy can refer to one of the following:

* a popular adjective describing Afro textured hair
* a diaper

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nappy



Afro textured hair

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


Afro textured hair (also casually referred to as "nappy" hair, "kinky" hair or "wooly" hair) is the type of hair found among most people of sub-saharan African descent.


Overview

This type of hair is extremely tightly coiled, with a thick and compact appearance and feel. Only persons of African descent usually have this type of hair, although some Caucasians have extremely frizzy and hard to manage hair.

Many of the populations of North East Africa have looser hair that is not as tightly coiled as that of most other Africans. Some of these groups (the Amhara, Tigray/Tigre, Harari ) have Semetic (Sabaen) ancestry; others have virtually no Middle Eastern admixture or significant Middle Eastern ancestry (ie. the Somali, Oromo, Afar, some Nubians and so on ). Although Horn Africans are the only Africans who may have non-tightly coiled hair without Arab or Berber admixture, Black Africans naturally differ in complexion and facial features as well without admixture with non-Blacks.

Tightly coiled haired people of African descent are found in large numbers throughout the United States of America, the Caribbean, and Latin America as a result of the Atlantic slave trade, and in smaller numbers throughout parts of the Middle East and South Asia as a result of a lesser known Islamic/Eastern African slave trade. In addition to the Atlantic and Arab slave trades that dispersed people of African origin to these parts of the world, the Negrito Pygmies of the Andaman Islands (of whom there are less than 1000) and the Melanesian populations of the Pacific who are of proto-African descent (via South Asia) often have African features and hair texture.

Through African/Caribbean/Latin American migration, there are significant numbers of Black people found in Canada, Europe, and Australia as well.


Various styles

During the 1960s and 70s, Black Power and pride movements in the United States brought about the emergence of the Afro hairstyle. Black men and women would grow their African textured hair out to significant diameters away from their head. This was a rejection of Eurocentric standards of beauty, an embracing of African heritage and roots. and a confirmation of the idea that "Black is Beautiful"

The Afro is sometimes texturized so that it is not in its true African state, but slightly relaxed with a frizzier and more wiry appearance that springs out. Eventually, this hair style grew away from its political and cultural connotation and was embraced by the mainstream. Afros became popular even among non-Blacks with looser curly hair.

Other hairstyles often worn by wooly haired people of African descent are cornrows, braids, and dreadlocks. Cornrows and braiding traditions have survived in the African diaspora, and were brought to the Americas by African slaves. Dreadlocking is a tradition among the Rastafari movement of Jamaica. These hairstyles associated with people of African descent have become popular with non-Blacks with the emergence of hip hop culture and Caribbean influences such as reggae music.

While recent years have brought about a movement among Black women to wear their hair naturally, most Black women in the Western world have their hair relaxed or straightened (either by use of a device such as a hot comb, or by the use of chemical relaxers usually containing lye). From the 1930s to the 1960s, conking, where Black men straighten their kinky hair using chemicals, was common in the United States. Some Black people in the Western world are discouraged from wearing natural hair in the workplace and also among other Black people. "Kinky" hair is sometimes seen as something inferior or to be ashamed of, compared to straight or "good hair" (an old southern United States term for looser, curly hair). Afro textured hair is usually handled and combed with an "Afro pic", which comes from the traditional African grooming instrument that has long separated "teeth" to part out tightly curled hair.

There has been a boom in marketing to target hair products at African descended people (ie. "African Pride" for women, "Out of Africa" shampoo, etc. ) Slogans that promote a pan-African appreciation of Afro textured hair include "Happy to be nappy", "Don't worry, be nappy" as well as "Love, peace and nappiness". When African descended people wear natural hair, this is sometimes referred to as going "napptural".


See also

* Afro
* cornrows
* dreadlocks
* conk
* Jheri curl
* wooly hair syndrome

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Afro_textured_hair

 

[plove]

That's why i love being apart of LHCf lots of information.

 

[Crackers Phinn]

I have mixed feelings about this particular word.

On one hand, I appreciate that people are trying to take a word with a negative connotation and make it positive, but it's like why not just make a new word instead of trying to salvage something that is still viewed in a negative light. Said another way, why is it so hard to let go of a familiar word - even if it means something bad and will take hundreds of years to redefine for the general populace?

 

[Aubergold]

The hair on a sheep are called "naps" and due to the similar wooly texture of natural African (sub-saharan) hair, the term "nappy", was used to describe our hair.

 

[crlsweetie912]

RavenIvyGurl, you got me thinking. Also fabric can be described as having a "nap" the more "nap" the more texture it has. So could this have evolved because our hair had more "texture".
Great thread ladies. There is nothing better than dialogue where you learn something in the process.

 

[KhandiB]

Im not a fan of the word at all

its the other "n" word in my opinion..

I dont knock nobody's hustle tho.. Do You!!!

 

[sareca]

I have mixed feelings about this particular word.

On one hand, I appreciate that people are trying to take a word with a negative connotation and make it positive, but it's like why not just make a new word instead of trying to salvage something that is still viewed in a negative light. Said another way, why is it so hard to let go of a familiar word - even if it means something bad and will take hundreds of years to redefine for the general populace?

I think I'm in this camp too.

 

[sugaplum]

I never cared for the word "nappy."

After doing the BC, my grandmother called my hair nappy. But what she actually meant was: nappy=natural. I strongly disagree.

 

[DDTexlaxed]

I remember as a kid, we called somebody's hair nappy as an insult. I don't use that word to describe hair anymore. I use the word natural.

 

[caligirl]

Yes, the word "nappy" is definitely an insult.

 

[Belle Du Jour]

The word nappy doesn't bother me. I don't consider it an insult. Isn't nap a type of wool? So the word can mean wooly to me.

 

[miss Congeniality]

The word nappy doesn't bother me. I don't consider it an insult. Isn't nap a type of wool? So the word can mean wooly to me.

ITA. My hair IS nappy and I love it. When someone called my hair nappy for the first time, I was yeah it is nappy. I don't know if it was meant as a insult, but I took it as a compliment.

 

[so1913]

IMO, the word itself isn't a negative in its origin and actual definition (as some other words are) it's simply describes texture as, kinky, tightly coiled hair, that of wool, etc.

Now it's the negative view people have of the hair type in which the word has been used to describe that is more of the problem I think. You can replace "nappy" with any other word, i.e. kinky, but as long as it is used in the same negative context, it's all just the same

 

[2cute2B4gotten]

I remember as a kid, we called somebody's hair nappy as an insult. I don't use that word to describe hair anymore. I use the word natural.

So do I. "Nappy" has always had such a negative connotation that I choose other words, such as natural or kinky. I am so glad that "we" are beginning to understand the roots of these words though so that we can pass the information on.

 

[missann]

ITA. My hair IS nappy and I love it. When someone called my hair nappy for the first time, I was yeah it is nappy. I don't know if it was meant as a insult, but I took it as a compliment.

Exactly. A couple of months ago, someone said to my nephew "Your hair is nappy." I told him to say "Thank you!" He did and the person just kind of stood there with a blank expression.

I think nappy hair is pretty; and I will always respond with an enthusiastic "thanks" when told my hair is nappy. This negative connotation is more of the same ongoing infatuation with straight hair and the good hair/bad hair argument.