e-mail
People, such as this one from Newsweek, are now judging Angelina Jolie’s daughter’s hair. If you don’t have access to media, you might not know that Angelina adopted Zahara from Ethiopia a few years ago. Zahara is now four. There have been several photos of “Angie” out and about with her kids, and always – ALWAYS – someone mentions how awful Zahara’s hair looks.
This makes me very angry.
I admit that I have remained fairly ignorant of the importance of hair to Black women. I have a boy who has curly hair that doesn’t require any special maintenance. I don’t do much to my own hair. Doing a girl’s hair will be a new, terrifying experience for me. I do plan on learning more before I have to go there.
The Newsweek blog post states: “Any self-respecting black mother knows that she must comb, oil, and brush her daughter’s hair every night.”
I fail to see how this can be true. Everyone’s hair is different. My son’s birthmother has wavy, shiny, black hair that requires little special care. Her sister, on the other hand, has very frizzy hair, and she’s always doing things to it. Their mother keeps her straight, rather coarse hair, short and natural-looking.
I have no intention of putting anything unnatural in my child’s hair. If that makes me a bad mother, well, fine then.
The article goes on to state that Zahara will be embarrassed when she goes to school, unable to look at her baby pictures without cringing, and resent her mother. Over hair.
And this may be my <sarcasm> favorite </sarcasm> quote:
For the record, Jolie’ daughter Shiloh isn’t exactly looking like much time is being given to her hair either. But she isn’t a little black girl being judged by mainstream standards.
So it’s OK for sister Shiloh to look like a normal kid, but not Zahara? Zahara has to suffer through a hair care regimen because she’s Black, and therefore a role model to preschoolers and their parents? I don’t see anyone criticizing brother Maddox’s mohawk or brother Pax’s blond streaks. (And hair dye is really not healthy for kids.) No, it’s just Zahara who gets picked on.
Personally, I agree with the sentiment “Thanks for Your Concern, But Zahara’s Hair Will Be Fine“. For once, I even like the comments.
[(Photo by Arnaldo Magnani/Getty Images)]
