A sort of "reverse racism (for my lack of a better term)" in this community...

**JaeFuma** · 08-12-2012, 08:28 PM

I haven't seen these cliques. But then again, I'm not sure long time member.

I do see groups though. But not in the sense of, "na-na-nah-boo-boo, you can't be in" kind of groups. It's more like, "Oh, your hair is really hard to define? MINE TOO!" I see it more as, within this community, people are finding people they can relate to, not to push each other away, but to help each other out.

There are always going to be people that say to do this, don't do that, and so forth. But I rarely see those people in this community acting that way. Now, some people do get short with newbies when they ask, "what's a twist" without doing a search, but that's just because these are pages upon pages of information, but I have yet to see, "omg, your hair is sooooo not nappy enough. Gurl, you in the wrong thread." Or, "you don't deep condition with super natural nappy-nap goopy goo? You are soooo dumb." I just don't see that around here. I see a variety of routines, hair styles, preferences, etc.

But maybe I'm just not looking hard enough.

Also, this is just me, but why, on a forum made for HAIR, are people like, "omg, can we worry about world hungry and cancer instead of HAIR!?" This is a hair forum. It's for hair. Nappturality members have an array of interests and causes that they uphold and help out with, but you may not find out about them, because this is a Hair. Forum. People, most likely, are going to come here to talk about hair. If not, they'll be in a sub-forums that have other array of topics (that can be quite enlightening). I think it's pretty good to see topics about sociological and world conscious issues on a website geared towards hair, but it's silly to say the people on the hair forum are too "in" to their hair.

**Soul Rebel** · 08-12-2012, 08:47 PM

Originally Posted by Claire76

Honestly. If someone's desire to achieve something depends on whether or not people in their so-called "goal" group are 100% homogenous, then they need to assess their motives.

Indeed.

Originally Posted by JaeFuma

Or, "you don't deep condition with super natural nappy-nap goopy goo? You are soooo dumb." .

Sent from my iPad using Forum Runner

**DeBe** · 08-13-2012, 12:04 AM

Some people are a tad evangelical when they first decide to 'become natural'. They tend to calm down after a while. Other than that NP is the same as anywhere else, there are different types of people with differing opinions.

You laugh at me because I am different, I laugh at you because you are just like everyone else...

Reading your signature line above, leaves me with the impression that you're projecting rather than seeing.

DeBe

**MyHairChroniclesCMC** · 08-13-2012, 12:45 AM

I don't think people expect a coming of Jesus moment when they come to NP...they expect what it advertised on the front page: support. Some (definitely not all) of the posters here can treat noobies like a stinky diaper if they phrase a question a certain way, or ask something that has been asked many times before. Being treated like that when you are vulnerable and in need of support can really work on one's resolve.

I think the OP might be over-stating the issue, but I have noticed how some napturals seem to fit into categories. I wouldn't call it reverse racism, but humans being humans...forming groups around similar ideals, features, etc.

**CCmomof5** · 08-13-2012, 01:58 AM

I can't help but wonder if the OP had a personal experience with this kind of um, separatist attitude...? I have definitely not seen this here on NP. Differing opinions, very direct responses, and passionate expressions of views on certain things, yes, but not the "cliques" mentioned by the OP. I have, however seen something similar in other spaces on the net. Specifically, I've seen it in a group on facebook. Some of those women get downright cutthroat. I've seen what was akin to cult-like allegiance to certain products or techniques, and any hint of disagreement would bring the e-claws out. Some of the meanness could be compared to the colorism conflicts that have plagued our people for centuries, and other situations seem to be similar to the napptural evangelism that another poster mentioned above.

While I agree with the sentiment that it may be a bit overstated in the way the OP has termed it, if the reference is to a broader "community" than just NP, I think I get it. I certainly don't pay much attention to it, or get into crazy debates about it, but I get it (kind of).

**Ororo** · 08-13-2012, 02:05 AM

ITA with everyone here. These people just don't seem to be prevalent enough to call them cliques, police, or nazis. Some people do concern themselves too much with how other naturals wear their hair, but I've seen this only a handful of times on NP. Elsewhere, it's been other sites I don't visit too much anymore, so I guess I don't notice much. Like someone said in the last (recent) thread on this topic, most naturals are probably not on hair forums and boards or reading blogs. They're out doing stuff and being natural without constantly receiving or throwing out criticism over people's hair.

I do agree that there are divisions that are obvious about texture. The Andre system contributes to that by placing unideal hair further and further away from number '1'. Some sites only really cater to the 3 types, or talk about how to turn your hair into that type.

Sunshine Abuwi at Natural Sunshine recently wrote about how the word 'curls' is used by natural hair companies to describe natural hair when not everyone has them. It's a blanket term that idealizes one of the many types of hair patterns in the natural hair 'community'. Fortunately, though, there's places like this to mitigate that. I don't believe, however, that the above constitutes policing or something as drastic as a 'war' or that we are 'destroying' ourselves. If this is happening, I've missed it entirely. It's sites like this and even the ones that don't cater to all naturals that have given people the support and knowledge to go and stay natural.

**gilroygal** · 08-13-2012, 11:07 PM

I agree with the poster who stated that many of us get preachy when we start our natural journey. Certainly not everyone will fit into that category, but I know I did. In terms of nappy Nazis and all such nonsense, sure, there will be those who are militant in their stance that you need to use juices and berries or X, Y, Z in your hair to make it grow, be natural, etc, but I think that overall, this board offers support. Some people have moved past the poitn of needing support and are attempting to offer it. That may come off as some type of elitist attitude or nappy know it all, but if questions did not get asked, answers would not be provided. In terms of "you're stupid because you have not used X, Y, Z goop to DC your hair, I have not seen that. Most people on here seem to preface their statements with "MY hair needs...or can't..." rather than ALL NAPPY HAIR NEEDS...

**A while back, I was struggling with my hair and felt that SURELY there must be MORE women who are going through the same thing. At the time, I was seeking support, though some felt that I was projecting. Many of the posts in that thread were helpful, but ultimately it took me realizing what I needed to do/stop doing to my hair to make it easier to manage, and since I did that, I have not had one bad day or hair struggle moment SINCE!!! Rather than take offense to the things that were being said, I just began to realize that not ALL nappy-haired women had been through a struggle. It motivated me to see what I could do to make things better for MYSELF.
just my .02

**CoilyHairedBeauty** · 08-14-2012, 12:07 AM

Where is the OP?

**Mikalia42** · 08-14-2012, 08:55 PM

Originally Posted by CoilyHairedBeauty

Where is the OP?

Good question.

View Profile · 08-15-2012, 01:27 PM

You people are really slicing an dicing what I said into what my personality is. My signature line means that I may be different but that is certainly better than just being the same. And when I said "if I wasn't nappy today, I wouldn't be nappy tomorrow.." is that I once saw support but then it kind of change to an awkward stage where the support isn't felt. So try and not read to much into what I am saying as a way to get into my personality, it's insulting.