Colorism in the Natural Hair Community

[Soul Rebel]

http://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/lets-...f=black-voices

These are not issues I'm grappling with personally but I do see this in the larger "natural" community. Not always colorism – although I see that too – but hair-type-ism is still alive and well under the guise of "do you". This is why I wish Nappturality would make a strong come back. This site's message is still important.

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[Claire76]

Thank you for sharing this post.

[LBellatrix]

This was discussed on BGLH some weeks back and I commented on it.

On the one hand I'm always saying "it takes a long time to turn a big ship" and the ship of internalized racism has been sailing for a very long time. On the other hand...I have a hard time believing that texture discrimination is as rampant as this writer implies. IMHO (and I'm saying this with love) she seems really insecure about her hair...which is what can happen when you compare your hair to others' hair. She could definitely stand a dose of old-school Nappturality...!

[Soul Rebel]

This was discussed on BGLH some weeks back and I commented on it. On the one hand I'm always saying "it takes a long time to turn a big ship" and the ship of internalized racism has been sailing for a very long time. On the other hand...I have a hard time believing that texture discrimination is as rampant as this writer implies. IMHO (and I'm saying this with love) she seems really insecure about her hair...which is what can happen when you compare your hair to others' hair. She could definitely stand a dose of old-school Nappturality...!

Yeah I agree that she has her own issues and I also think for those who have been nappy a really long time (for me over 20 years) it's easy to be "over" these kinds of issues but I gotta say... I don't know if you're on Instagram and/or Tumblr but the differences in responses and "likes" when curly hair images are posted vs when nappy hair images are posted... I mean they're just real and an unavoidable truth.

There are a lot of folks out there who could use some old-timey Nappturality in their lives...

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[spiritgriot]

I actually joined this forum in the early 2000s, like 2003 or 2004. There was a website/membership reset a while back, so my profile says 2011. I haven't been on Nappturality for a while, but reading articles like the one I posted above made me curious to scope out the online climate for current day nappy girls.

[Curly T]

I actually joined this forum in the early 2000s, like 2003 or 2004. There was a website/membership reset a while back, so my profile says 2011. I haven't been on Nappturality for a while, but reading articles like the one I posted above made me curious to scope out the online climate for current day nappy girls.

I am the same, I joined in 2005 and was reset in 2010. Any way I have not been on the site for a while. The last time I checked there was a lot for hair shaming. If you were struggling with acceptance as a transitioning nap, they you were full of self loathing and needed to be "woke".

These new nappturals were far from the informative support structure I had when I first joined.

I no longer use the hair casting system (4 a,b,c,d, etc). I find it unhelpful. Rather I prefer encouraging acceptance and making what you have work for you. I find that when you love your hair others will too.

Believe me, I have heard it all daily but I love my hair so much that others have submitted themselves to knowing that they can't fix me because i ain't broken.

[spiritgriot]

There is definitely a vacuum, and some black women, especially the younger ones, are completely unaware of Nappturality and other early natural hair sites and nappy-natural hair vloggers like Najahface. Evidenced by blog posts like this one:

http://actsoffaithblog.com/for-the-uninformed-this-is-what-natural-hair-looked-like-before-the-curly-infiltration-aka-new-black-took-over

I'm a veteran nappy at this point and haven't been in the online natural world for some time, so I was surprised to see the amount of current negativity and snarky comments directed at nappy women vs. curly women getting the thumbs up on peanut galleries such as Twitter, FB, and especially Youtube. All my favorite nappy Youtubers have retired and have been replaced by women who are constantly in search of a product to lay the hair down and make curls pop, etc. etc....Years and years ago I remember being fascinated by the regal nappy puffs, full afros, and juicy two strand twists that I saw other black women wearing in college and not even making the connection that my hair could do the same thing in its natural state. When I realized that and did the big chop, I got some negative feedback, but I was super excited, buoyed up by the nappy love of Nappturality and others, and too busy finally loving and learning my own true texture to have negativity even register. I feel like that for a variety of reasons, that online community/net of nappy positivity isn't as prominent anymore, and I see many girls the same age that I was back then, apologizing, taming, and abusing their nappy texture rather than embracing what they were born with...The online world has definitely changed, and I am happy that Nappturality is still here! I plan to get my pennies together and subscribe soon, because forums like this one are essential....Some people definitely need a dose of that old time Nappturality religion

[LBellatrix]

I have been participating in online natural hair communities since 1999. Nappturality was one of the first places where women who were unashamedly nappy or wanted to get rid of their shame of their nappy hair were welcome. In fact it came into existence because some of us were FED UP with BEING SHAMED about our nappy hair. And yes, for a long time the conversations stayed focused on learning to appreciate this hair type...to the point where abbreviations such as 4a, 4b, etc. were replaced by "nappy."

Was it overkill? Was it shaming? Depends on who you ask.

I've said for years that this site ain't for everybody. NaturallyCurly's Type 4 hair types forum group is still larger than any other group. (Just checked: 20 in the 2's, 34 in the 3's, 96 in the 4's.) In fact I see a lot more black and biracial women on their front page than ever before. If people are going to be up in their feelings because we don't spend tons of time over here bemoaning the "curse" of nappy hair, then there are other places they can go.

And for the record: Things have loosened up somewhat since those "bad" old days of NP. Selective editing no longer exists (that I know of).