by Brittany Johnson, Guest Writer
My name is Brittany, I’m 23 and, as you can see in the photos above, I have naturally wavy hair. I am African American, as are both of my parents (I look too much like them to argue otherwise, haha), and my hair is wavy. This little factor has affected me my whole life; in good and bad ways. When I am out it’s not uncommon for strangers to come up with the same questions like, “Is all of that your real hair?” and “What are you mixed with?” My hair has naturally loose curls that are almost wavy, unless I’m somewhere with high humidity, then they tend to curl more tightly. I wash it daily out of necessity. I have never met anyone else with hair like mine, and my mother and I only have the knowledge of my great grandmother being Native American to explain things. None of my cousins, or aunts have texture anywhere near mine. I love who I am and where I come from, but as I mentioned earlier my hair has not always left me in the best of situations.
Growing up I didn’t have many black girls as friends, it was hard for most girls that I grew up with to not let ill feelings and envy keep us from a friendship. As many of you know when you are in school, whether it is elementary, middle or high school being different is never a good thing, no matter how small of a difference it is. Middle school was particularly hard because I went to a predominantly black school and according to the other girls I didn’t “act” black. Adding that difference to my hair did not make for a fun few years. For example I had a few girls come up to me on occasion and look through my hair shouting, “I know I saw her tracks, I don’t know why her mama put all the weave in her head”, or I would get dirty looks and and whispering while walking down the hall. Sometimes I would even hear stories from other girls about how they use to have hair like mine until a jealous family member did something to their hair to ruin it. It took a long time for me to feel comfortable around other black girls and to love who I am, but it made me who I am today and I wouldn’t have it any other way. I am so happy and proud to see other women of color on this site proudly showing off their beauty regardless of what hairstyle they happen to have. Maybe one day I will find someone like me to relate my experiences with, but if I don’t, oh well. I will still be here living, and loving life as the natural black woman that I am.
Interesting story! Has anyone had a similar experience? And do you think we sometimes make other women feel guilty for looking different?
*grabs popcorn*
Weave checking? This is why I sometimes give people the side eye when they say that hair is just hair. Sometimes hair isnt just hair in the black community.
why should you give people the side eye for that! For them it may be just that. They are speaking to you from their own perspective and experiences in life. For me it is just that. I grew up around people who didn’t put a great deal on hair, we all had the same type of hair (not relaxed) and there was never an issue about it, we did what we want with it, whenever we want, however we want, we went to school with kids whose hair textured varied, yes, and and our relatives had the same kind of… Read more »
Wow! Brittany, your hair is gorgeous and don’t let anyone make you feel bad or guilty! Its a shame that when people see black women’s hair that doesn’t fit their conceptions of what black natural hair looks like, the first questions asked are “Is that your hair?” and “Are you mixed race?”! It’s beautiful, everyone should love and embrace all natural hair whether waves, curls, coils, kinks, whatever, there is no hard and fast rule on the type of hair black women can have! There is no rule that if you’re black (particularly if you’re darker skinned), you must only have… Read more »
Beautiful hair Brittany! I think your story highlights that growing up is tough and someone will always have something negative to say no matter what.I know many women from the Caribbean (undoubtedly black women) with naturally wavy hair. My best is friend is from Trinidad- a deep lovely plum-chocolate complexion with very wavy hair. It’s not nearly as uncommon as one thinks when you travel. People with narrow experiences have narrow views.
Of course this adds nothing to the discussion but Your hair is lovely!!!
I agree Nappy Kitchen. I’m convinced more and more every day that it’s not “just hair.” When people stop weave-checking, asking “are you mixed?”, feeling envious enough to cut the hair of others, then it’ll be “just hair.”
Anyway, I think it’s cool that she has wavy hair and no one else in her family does (other than the Native-American great grandmother she mentioned). Great article and thanks for sharing your story!
all these people running around here saying hair is hair should stop it. Especially in the black community. The amount of emotion hair can stir up in females makes it a very serious issue. Your hair is beautiful Brittany. Its sad that you had to go through the isolation and name calling because of your hair. Hurt people hurt people. Most little black girls are not happy with their hair and are growing to have a complex about it, that is why more than half of black women are walking around trying to cover it up(If it doesnt apply to… Read more »
@Ada… Wow, that’s CRAZY. Damn.
Just like anonda and Abii said, there are “black” women with all different kinds of hair everywhere in the world. The first thing I thought of when I saw the photo was indigenous Australian. They have wavy hair, and even straight hair. I also had a Sudanese friend who had thick curly hair, but it was naturally a very light brown. She used to dye it black because she thought it looked weird (compared to the other people she was hanging out with). It’s sad that people just can’t accept that the HUMAN race is a huge mish mash. You… Read more »
“Sometimes I would even hear stories from other girls about how they use to have hair like mine until a jealous family member did something to their hair to ruin it.”
YESSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!
I HATE those stories!!! Why to they tell them?!! Is that supposed to make me feel better/worse/awkward? Bizarro. hahaha!!! So glad it’s not just me.
@Ada
Wow, that was your housemates outer body experience.
*grabs popcorn*
I have a few friends with hair like yours, Brittany, so you are most certainly not alone, though I don’t mean to in any way diminish the way you felt growing up. You’re right — the slightest little difference can make/break you as a kid/teen/young adult. Your hair is lovely, btw!
Your hair is so gorgeous!!!! I thought it was a weave too. I live in Central America where many women of color have hair like yours. It’s the Indian in them that does that. I think it’s great!!! Have you even read about the girl in South Africa that was born black but both her parents were white as can be? After DNA testing she was proven to be theirs. That’s what you call a “kickback” gene. lol We all come from Adam and Eve so you got your choice of variety. Embrace it and enjoy it. I love your hair 🙂
Grabs sliced pickles (…what? I don’t LIKE popcorn. And I do like pickles :p ).
Grabs pickles. (what? I don’t LIKE popcorn. But I do like pickles :p )
I would have honestly thought her hair was a weave too. You just don’t see many dark-skinned women with full features with that hair texture. I commonly associate her features with beautiful, thick coily hair. I can understand the questions.
Hi, your hair is gorgeous. Your story is sad yet empowering, a lot of people have lack of education hence the reason for all the weave/ethnicity questions. In grade school the girls with what they would call “good hair” had the most positive attention. it’s sad because this is an ongoing thing, I am already preparing myself for these same questions once my hair gets past APL, it’s as though the Black race cannot grow hair past their shoulders and when its done we need an explanation for it. I am from the Caribbean island so i know those same… Read more »
Thanks for sharing this. Much love to you.
Yep, I was one of those girls picked on. My mom would send me to camp with a long, single french braid. I’d come back home looking a frayed mess, because a few girls would pull on my ‘doo-doo braid’, as they called it. Kids will be kids. Kinda makes you wonder how those hecklers turned out but then I realize, we still have some of those hecklers running rampid on blogs and youtube; ostracisizing women for differing hairtypes/practices/etc. Conscious or subconscious we absolutely make women feel guilty for looking different. I think it’s only relevant to ask if we… Read more »
females with her skin and hairtype are not uncommon in the caribbean. i am belizean, and have a female cousin with darker complexion and that hair type.
Your hair is GORGEOUS!!! Don’t know why everybody thinks our hair is “xyz” when the truth is so many of us relax our hair and we have no idea what’s going on under there.
LOL, @ GHD & Anonymous why are you two grabbing popcorn? RFLMAO 🙂 @ Brittany, you’re very beautiful and your dimples are to die for (*sigh* I wish I had dimples)! The only other African American that I can think of, atm, with your hair texture is Ananda Lewis? And Tatyana Ali (but I don’t think both of her parents are African American). Anyway, regardless I think your hair is beautiful <3! You said you wash it daily out of necessity: do you shampoo your hair or co-wash? I’m also curious about your regimen? And yes, I do believe at times… Read more »
Thanks for sharing your story Brittany. The green-eyed monster is alive and well. Always has been, and always will be. You and your hair are beautiful. Keep your head up. To piggyback on Dee and previous posters, I have a very good friend who looks like a Barbie Doll dipped in chocolate. She’s the color of a Dove bar, and beautiful. Her natural hair has a 2c or 3a wave to it. She doesn’t even get the “Are you mixed?” questions because of her complexion, but she does get the “I bet that’s a weave” side-eye alot. *sigh* People can be… Read more »
You and your hair are beautiful. My mother and a former student had hair just like yours! It is absolutely wonderful that black people come in all different shades and hair textures. As a fourth grade teacher, it was sad seeing the girls in my class talk about each others hair in the ways they did. We had frequent conversations about the characteristics that made us unique. Hopefully one day we can get to a place where females realize we are not in competition with one another and we should enjoy and admire our uniqueness as well as the uniqueness… Read more »
Genes work in mysterious ways.
Also, this reminds me of a post I saw on BCK. A woman said that she has black American parents, is black herself (duh) but has straight natural hair. Another person replied with, “No black person in the world has natural straight hair. Obviously you’re not black.”
O_O;;;;;; Issues much?
Children and little girls in particular can be awful, growing up my best friend would have “Weave” shouted at her in the street for no reason and more than once when I was at college, I would be talking to a group of girls and without realising that we were friends one would mention “That coolie girl who things she’s too nice”. Also, I will never understand why random strangers feel that it is appropriate or acceptable to ask “Is that your hair?” I am often tempted to answer that question with “Are those your boobs/nose/backside?” I understand that people may… Read more »
Like somebody mention growing up if you don’t fit the mold of what some people think you should be then that is when the teasing and bashing is going to start. I remember my hair getting pulled because a boy thought it was a weave and a teacher asking is this my real hair during lunch but I always thought if it was a weave, so what that is so rude to ask. I always found it funny that nobody ask my white friend “is that a weave” and she wears them…lol. Your hair is lovely and you are not… Read more »
I’m not sure why anyone thinks that skin color and features have ANYTHING to do with hair texture. That’s pretty ridiculous. I think it just comes down to what people “assume” versus what is actually reality. The genes that program those things are not linked, which is what would need to be the case for that statement to even be true. I wish we focused as much on science as we did on hair. At any rate, you don’t have to be biracial, light-skinned, fine-featured, or Caribbean to have wavy natural hair. My extended family is huge (southern, rural origins, so… Read more »
to be honest i have been natural for a year i relay wanted a Afro, but no not me my hair looks like a blow out quite straight with a bit of kink how sad lol to be honest i was quite disappointed i wanted kinky hair and ended up with straight hair instead. whats the point lol
ok, people…it may be natural to want to associate skin color with hair type, but both are controlled by genetics! both skin color and hair type are polygenic, as in controlled by MORE than one gene, which means that there are many different combinations possible that produce a certain hair type…maybe this should be explained to the ignorant women in the black community who are hating on ms.brittany’s hair!
the ignorance irks me.
I’m a 4a that used to have long relaxed hair and I remember girls checking my ponytail to see if it was weave in middle school. Middle school kids are sociopaths. I think there is a lot of hair insecurity in the black community and women will judge you when they are jealous of your hair. This goes for naturals too. I remember one youtube video by a woman with a gorgeously large puff who had other women come up to her and say it was fake.
@anonda
” People with narrow experiences have narrow views.”
this is too perfect.
Limited exposure and contentment with the result~ ignorance ~ allows one to think that Black must look a certain way. As a previous poster indicated ~ many Blacks do have straight or wavy hair. Black is worldwide, not just one’s segregated corner. Exposure outside of yoursef is good and necessary for personal and cultural growth.
Brittany ~ you are perfect in your skin with your hair!
Looking at your features and hair I thought indigenous Australian too. A friend I grew up with has features and hair very similar to yours and both parents are black as well. I remember some girls being very jealous of her hair. Her hair was very soft and silky and she would always spray it down with holding spray to get it as hard as she could. That never made sense to me. After reading your post it made me think of her. Maybe she was tired of the jealousy…interesting.
thanks for not writing an anonymous post brittany.
lol
Your hair is beautiful! <3 IMHO its not very common to see hair like your’s on a AA, but AA genetics are so varied it is very possible! The African Diaspora worldwide is so varied and beautiful, like the rest of the human race.
I’m Puerto Rican and I have many cousins with hair like your’s. I also had an Egyptian classmate with your type of hair also. It may not be too common in my area (that I’ve seen), but it definitely out there.
God made us all unique and special and I’m glad you are embracing that. *hugs*
this is very interesting. my SO has very straight ish hair. his mothers hair is relatively straight and wavy too but his grandmother is mixed with native so I guess that explains it.
for real
wow @Ada I totally know that experience, once a fiend of mine made a weird comment while we were talking about my home country about how the first time she saw me she thought “I was just a black girl with a good ass perm” (I had no perm in my hair btw) I thought about it and honestly to this day I don’t know what her true meaning was with that comment. *(I kinda like to think to myself that somehow she meant it in a good way and was actually amazed that black is truly diverse …yup thinking… Read more »
My experience has been similar. I am Afro-Puerto Rican — both parents from PR and possessing African features with mixed hair textures. Growing up in the NYC schools, I was too brown to hang with the Spanish girls and too Spanish to hang with the Black girls. Completely isolated. As an adult (I’m 34), I moved to the Midwest a year ago and am experiencing the same isolation. I did the BC early this year and am steadily growing a healthy curly afro, probably the only one in my state, surely the only one in my suburb. I get stares… Read more »
Brittany thank you for sharing. I have many cousins and friends with hair like yours. Unfortunately they did not understand their texture either when they were younger so they would put a lot of product and chemicla in their hair to make it straight. Which you know is not the best thing to do for your hair texture. While it is a lot of hair the actual strands are usually thin. Anyway by the time they all got in their late 20’s they cut their hair off. It is easier to deal with short, they are often asked wht they… Read more »
When I was little, I didn’t know the word ‘weave’. None of the adults I knew had them (all about the Jheris and braids in those days). If I saw a Black child with this type of hair, I would not have thought to suggest her hair was fake, I would have been jealous like I was always jealous of my friends’ hair who were natural. Maybe I am/was ignorant, maybe times have changed and maybe I’m just looking back and adjusting my memories to suit myself, I dunno, but I feel that sometimes, saying children can be so mean… Read more »
It’s really not that uncommon at all. Many women with Britney’s hair texture or similar textures still choose to relax their hair and their natural hair becomes that yaki perm look of most relaxed hair. So natural 3a’s and 3b’s look like 4c’s with relaxed hair to some extinct. When I was elementary school I remember there were so many different textures of hair, all black children. Chocolate little girls with loose straight curls and fairer skinned girls with 4c hair or what I would now say was relaxed hair, even back then. The more Black people embrace the natural hair… Read more »
@Ada
girl that is a mess smh. pain over hair runs so deep
http://sartorialme.blogspot.com
I have an aunt who has wavy hair, but she has a caramel complexion and slender facial features, so people just assume that someone in her background was Caucasion. My little cousins are both dark with loose curly hair. I myself am dark with a hairtype similiar to what someone else has said on here..the front of my hair is in looser curls/waves and the middle of my hair looks like an old relaxer. I went to get my hair twisted and the beautician insisted that I still had relaxer in my head, when I know that I could not… Read more »
Well this is definitely not uncommon my hair is the front is really tightly coily/curly but the back always amazes me because it is so straight that no matter how i twist it it never curls up it always comes straight or wavy which really gets on my nerves bcs i want it to be like the front. When i say straight i mean really straight the closest to curly it can get is wavy after a twist out. My black is diverse and beautiful and I love it. I wish we can just be comfortable with our diversity and… Read more »
Brittany ‑you have beautiful Hair!! Fight on!!
@Amberbrown~LOL!!!
@DEE~~~Thank you so much for your comment!!I thought i was the only one whofelt the same!
I went to school with black girls with Brittany’s hair type. Actually black girls had all kinds of hair in my high school…there was even a dark-skinned girl with naturally red hair and a couple of girls with naturally dark blonde hair. There were several black girls with WL hair as well. Yep…all textures, all colors, all lengths. Genes…ain’t they something? 🙂
it’s funny to me that people say that they’re FROM AFRICA or that their parents came from Africa to denote that they’re not at all mixed. racial mixing occurred in many parts of Africa! I mean, look at Sudanese or Eritrean women. They obviously have arab features, and have many similarities to peoples of the middle east. That’s why Africa is currently as screwed up as it is now — colonization. i agree with everyone who has stories of not being accepted as a young person because of your hair, or even your light complexion. i don’t think ALL wavy/loose… Read more »
Don’t be stupid, there was no mixing in Sudanese and Eritrean cultures with Arabs. Many Eritreans come from a Semitic language speaking group known as Tigriniya.
You have to realize not all Africans look the same. Just like not all Europeans look the same. You make Americans as a general populace look naive.
How could you call LL stupid? Would you like me to call you stupid? I don’t think so!
ALL races have mixed together!! whether it be in the Americas or African and Asian continents. Put males and females of ANY RACE together and SOME of them WILL be procreating, PERIOD!!!!
that is called being HUMAN
@Pangi~~I couldn’t have said it better myself. Kudos to you!
@ dkremmer “I get stares all around and even more questions when I speak Spanish so that what comes out of my mouth does not match the perception of what i “should” be. I’ve been openly labeled “weird, different, and a progressive” – to my face.” Goodness! I’m Afro Puerto Rican and I can relate to that! I get that from Latino and non-Latino folks all the time. Like Latinos can’t be dark skinned? ROFL That and since I’m an animal lover, green, and etc… I get the raised eyebrow and I’m weird or “trying to be white”. It used to… Read more »
@LL~~~ You are one of the voices of Wisdom!!! Thank you so much!!!
Hi, Brittany! There is a youtuber called LeobodyC5 whose unstraightened hair is also loosely patterned, and she has a lot of it. She also has a little over a decade of age on you. She recently delivered a scorcher of a scold on her channel because of people who were getting uncivilized with her over their insistence that she “had to be” mixed with some other ethnicity than she claimed, all because the texture of her hair, like yours, didn’t line up—or curl/kink up—with their ideas/experiences of how her hair should be for an African descendant woman native to the… Read more »
I think the issue goes deeper than hair. Kids are made fun of in school and to this day people are made fun of for being unique or different. I was made fun of for being too skinny, one of my best friends was made fun of for being too dark, another friend of mine was made fun of for being to thick. I wish there was a way to eliminate these practices in schools, but I really think it starts at home, with how we raise our children, and the things we say around them. If we don’t like how… Read more »
Just wanted to say, your hair is beautiful! I have naturally wavy hair too, but I’m mulatta. I love this website so much–so many ladies with fantastic, inspiring hair, regardless of the texture!
Hi Brittany, I, too, can relate to your experience. My hair is no where near as fine and loosely-textured as yours, but it is long, thick, and very curly and wavy. Also, I am not light-skinned. Oddly enough, I got very minimal feedback about my hair from other kids when I was growing up. I have only experienced the most ignorant comments since I have embraced my natural hair as an adult. In fact, I received the MOST ignorant comment just a few weeks ago at work: I walked into the bathroom, and there were two black women standing at the… Read more »
“And do you think we sometimes make other women feel guilty for looking different?”
Sad to say it but, yes. No one can control their genes before birth so as to please the world at large..
I wish people would just accept each other at face value and not add in their own biases/prejudices to them, especially people of color who know the pain of “otherness”. Why inflict it on ourselves when it’s so clearly divisive and unneccessary?
@LL What does a “real African” look like? As an African myself I have had to learn that our idea of what a “true African” looks like: dark ebony skinned, wide rounded facial features and coily type hair was also taught to us as a result of racism. “Black” Africans come in all shades of brown and all hair types. Although their are distinct regional differences in physical characteristics such as that between West Africans and North Africans, is there evidence to support that these differences occurred as a result of racial mixing?
I am the Brittany from the above reflection story. @ Lissie and anyone else curious about my hair regimen, I wash daily with shampoo and conditioner (Garnier Fructis: Triple Nutrition, to be exact. It is a WONDERFUL moisturiser that has made my hair shiny and soft, and I recommend it to anyone as a nice addition to a moisturizing regimen). If I don’t wash it, then by the next day my natural oils have built up and weigh my hair down making it more difficult to style. When I wear it wavy/curly I apply about a tablespoon or a generous… Read more »
Lelia thank you for featuring a natural that doesn’t have kinks/curls. I was thinking about this the other day. I have two beautiful black friends who’s natural hair is straight. Like Britt they are not accepted by permed or natural hair girls.
she’s very pretty! she looks as if she is from aboriginal descent(indian eskimo) i love her hair and how exotic she looks. Cheers to a diverse African race!
to MBB Unfortunately this lady is not alone, there are many people like her who from a very early age have been indoctrinated about how undesirable they are because of their skin, or some other point, be it from the media or whatever. When they then see someone that looks different and possesses something that they covet they get upset and then start bullying that person or even try to demoralize them. This starts when they are young and then carries over into adulthood. Unfortunately many minorities fit into that category. There have been times when people have made remarks,… Read more »
@ LL and Fulaman, I think that it is just important to remember how many differences exist between African countries and even within these countries. Everything from the skin tone to the hair type changes. I know that the previous sentence is pretty general, but it is to point out that to some extent, both of you are right. There has been mixing within our mother continent (eg. South Africa). Sudan has two main populations (ok this once again going to be general): Arabs and Black Africans. So yes there are different races and no one can say that there… Read more »
[…] wavy hair if you are multiethnic, black, or any race. This link is to a black woman with wavy hair: Reflections of a wavy-haired natural | Black Girl with Long Hair I hope that helped at least a little. __________________ last relaxer 08/08/09 all natural […]
I read your page and it made me reflect on my child hood; it is really sad how people teach their children ignorance. I didn’t have many friends because my hair was long and I was fair skinned, so to them I was automatically a snob. In which really I was far from it; I was a lonely insecure little girl. It is sad to say I still have to combat this problem with students in my classroom picking on others because of their own insecurities.
I looked at her hair and thought it was a weave. Why? Straight hair is not pervasive in people of African descent. Some do have naturally straight hair, but most don’t. Secondly so many black women wear weaves as supposed to their natural hair, it has become the default perception. I am not going to ask any woman regardless of her race or ethnicity if the hair on her head is real, because it is none of my business, but I am honest enough to admit that I myself may wonder or be baffled at times as to the phenotypic… Read more »
PREACH!! I live in the city and i HAVE NEVER MET unmixed BLACK women with wavy straight hair in my life! On AVERAGE Our hair kinky. Im not saying it’s impossible im saying ur not likely to see it
Umm..I looked at the hair and thought weave…and still do. NOT because she’s black…Ooooo. But because of right there by the front looks like one of those instant weaves…sooo i will continue to disbelieve this post of “real hair”.
Hi Kaye, I’m the Brittany who wrote the above post. I’m not writing this in hopes of convincing you in any way possible that my hair grew from my head because you’re going to believe whatever you want when this is all said and done. What I would like to do is share that I wrote my story in hopes of finding someone else in the same situation or with a similar story, not to try and fool people with a phony photo. So I’m leaving you with one more photo and a hope that you can accept the truth… Read more »
Seriously?
You said, “NOT because she’s black” as if that makes you any less of a hater.
All you did was make a fool of yourself in a public forum.
Brittany~~Good For You!! I wish you all the Best!! I so admire you! 😀
I hate to say it but its nothing but plain and simple jealousy.But with black people there is always a problem.Apparently I’m too light, my sister is too skinny,my god-daughter is too dark etc etc etc. My mother would then turn up to collect me from school being even lighter than me, hair half way down her back, open her mouth and out would come this strong jamaican accent, which looking back was ridiculously funny. My parents are from the carribean and you get all kinds of combinations and maybe living in London we are a little bit used to… Read more »
@ Doreen
Very Very Good Point! What if we all did our DNA test?? What would we find?? Mine was Brazilian,Moroccan,Belgian and Spanish…Yes Doreen, What is Black???
Do you know how many people in the UK of carribean origin die whilst waiting for a bone marrow transplant? Its not just due to the fact that you don’t get many volunteer donors, its because our DNA is so mixed with so many different cultures that its extremely difficult to find somebody who has the same match as yours.So what does the make carribean people, black or mixed race? And as for some of my white friends, some of them spend so much time under the sunbed, some of them are blacker than me and they are proud of… Read more »
Brittany and other wavy naturals: I commend you for this post and understand your plight. I too am dark complected with wavy hair. It has no coil or kink to it. Not a day goes by that someone does not ask me if I’m mixed, where I’m from, are both my parents black, or if this is all my hair. I recently went from wearing a twist out to a curlformer set and a new girl at my job walked up to me and said, “I am having a hard time believing that is all your real hair.” I’m assuming… Read more »
We disregard u not because ur hair is wavy we do it because u don’t have the same hair as us! Does ur hair have RETAINING LENGTH? IS It constantly dry or brittle?
To all those that believe you HAVE to be mixed with something and can’t be fully African or black to have Brits characteristics, what explanation can you give for the Africans born with blue eyes? The human genomes are very complex systems. Mutations of varying degrees occur all the time. A black person doesn’t have to have a mixed race heritage for something like having wavy hair randomly occur to happen. We need to broaden our thinking and get out of the smallness of “You HAVE to be mixed with SOMETHING to have so and so”.
Thank goodness somebody is bringing in some good old fashioned science to clear up a few points. First of all what are Brits characteristics? I am British and we call ourselves Brits, so can you help with that. Secondly we don’t understand fully how the genomes work which is why there was that couple from Nigeria, who could not recall any European family members, gave birth to a white baby with blue eyes and blonde hair.Lastly, especially where there has been mass migration etc, everybody ( and I mean both black and white) will if they have a DNA test… Read more »
Sorry, I meant Brits as in Brittany’s characteristics…of her hair. Commenting through a mobile phone so please forgive the confusion/spelling mishaps.
No probs!
To me, If a person’s genotypic combination can result in “caucasian” features and “afro” hair, then why can’t the opposite be true? My younger sister has blonde reddish hair almost the same texture as my own, possibly even tighter curls, and she is in the Pallor-Caucasian skin tone category. If that can happen, it seems entirely likely that someone with midtone-African skintone could have wavy loose curls. Biology is an amazing thing, almost limitless in it’s possibilities for variation. Brittany, I’m sorry you’ve gotten so much “flak” for your uniqueness. Believe me though, you are something to appreciate and appraise, for whatever… Read more »
Has anyone heard of aborigines? They are black people with silky hair like that of a caucasian. They are very beautiful people. Not to say that Brittney is an aborigine, but just saying that people come in all shades and uniquenesses. I think she’s absolutely beautiful and unique and shouldn’t have to PROVE anything to anyone. Whether your hair is kinky or silky, embrace it because it’s you!
Not to not pick but I’ve seen it done a few times in this thread: “aborigionie” (I even hate typing it but have no other way to describe the word so that what I mean is understood) and “Aboriginal” are NOT the same thing. The first is actually considered a slur. Please use ABORIGIBAL.
[…] and shouldn’t be a part of it. Some of this thinking came into play here on BGLH when we posted an article by Brittany, a wavy haired natural. What do you think ladies? Should being black and having wavy or straight hair disqualify you from […]
Brittney, it wouldn’t matter what type of hair you had, insecure people have to find a way to tear someone else down. I have “super nappy negro hair” but you couldn’t tell by looking because I use a relaxer on it to make it more managable (because that is my choice), but since I have long hair, because I take good care of it, strangers assume things about me as well. I’m asked if I’m mixed, I’m asked “Is that your real hair?” (Which is a very irritating question. I don’t ask women with weave, “Is that a weave?”). Plus,… Read more »
Gorgeous hair…aboriginal people are not of African descent SMh.
Yes they are
What she is saying is aboriginal peoples do not have the same genes as Africans. They generallyhave straighter hair and lighter skin. Saying aboriginals are African is the same as saying Caucasians are African and Chinese people are African lol. We are all African. They just left Africa tens of thousands of years earlier than we did so our genes are different
Aboriginal people look like dark skinned indians
…Yes they are?!???? ‑_-
technically everyone is descended from ancestors originating in Africa. But Australian Aboriginals DO come directly from Southeast Asian descendants.
Thank you for sharing your story. It’s so unfortunate how African Americans in this country (or just people in general) can sometimes treat each other by coming up with all kinds of silly reasons to exclude someone who may have the slightest difference in character or appearance. Growing up I went through similar experiences even though I didn’t even have naturally wavy hair. I actually have medium length hair that is really thick and coarse. But back when I was relaxing my hair and even now that I straighten it with a hot comb a lot of people make silly… Read more »
hi my name is delmair and i thought i was the only african american girl with naturally wavy hair. im glad i found someone else because i was beginning to feel wierd.all my friends have naturally curly hair and ive tried to make my hair curly but no matter what i do my hair doesnt get curly it just stays naturally wavy. i love your hair by the way
Uhmm- what in the world! There are so many african americans with ALL TYPES of hair textures NATURALLY!!
Anyone who believes otherwise is IGNORANT!!
Black People have all the genetics to hace
light eyes, dark eyes, straight hair, wavy hair, curly hair and every version of kinky.
Stop the ignorance with EDUCATION
Hi Brittany, I have wavy, curly, and straight hair. It makes each day very interesting. Do mind sharing what type of products you use? I have a hard time finding products that are not heavy, oily, or dry my hair.
Wow! I have never heard of anything like this in my entire life! I am African American, have similar hair type as yours mine being wavy and curly naturally. Being jealous of someone else’s hair I cannot comprehend it. I’m sorry struggled with that. I’ve gotten compliments from hair stylists-people telling me that I have nice hair or how it was a pleasure to style my hair. Hunny, all I can say is: over look certain things. Everything doesn’t have to become a battle. Pick and choose the ones that are worthy. Take care and God bless!!
Im 50 years old and understand what you have experinced and still experience it today from black women. Yeah they want to look through your hair or ask if it weave. Get dirty looks and side glances and dont have one true black woman as a friend. Doesnt matter anymore its their problem not mine so i just live to be happy with who i am.
my twin sister and I have had the same problem all of our life even until now I’m 50 years old soon to be 51 when we were growing up in New York we were tease a lot quotes,like you’re not really black or you are half black and half white you see in the 70’s most people wore thair hair in afro and if you did not get your hair relax or straightened with a hot comb held over the fire, you wore it in its natural state, whatever state that was curly hair straight hair kinky hair blue black… Read more »
My hair is fine, & tightly waved. Since, I was 3, my mother had my long hair straightened. I grew up befriending quite a few African-American girls (including my cousons) who all ranged from medium brown to very dark brown in skin color. And they had similar hair texture to this young lady. Some of them had one or two Indian grandparents. Others had one or two bi-racial (white-black) grandparents with fair skin/long wavey straight hair. It’s common among black Americans. we’re all ‘mixed.’
I’m a bit apprehensive any time someone claims masses of people are jealous of them.
Sounds funny right? But I don’t see why they should lie about it, especially know how we are (as a group) about hair. I’ve known girls that have been attacked because of having long hair, remember the young girl whose hair was chopped off by other school girls because they were jealous of her hair, well to be honest, those girls do grow up. They grow up with the same nasty attitudes and would cut you down if they have to. I have experienced it, and so have other people I know. In fact I distinctly remember one time where… Read more »
You shouldn’t be, because this sort of thing happens. It makes perfect sense: African-Americans have a common skin color and hair texture complex. Girls with “pretty hair” used to get this kind of treatment all the time growing up. I used to get it for “talking like a white girl,” getting good grades, being in band… Anything that set me apart from other black girls. Cruel reality. Don’t be so skeptic.
i am from the seychelles islands. the population is of mixed races, african, european, chinese, indean… here there is nothing strange with black people with straight hair, blue eyes, white skinned people with very kinky hair…its all so beautiful. i dont think this has ever been an issue of discussion or it being strange. ingnorant people will always have something to say. peace
Your hair looks normal to me, I know plenty of people who are Black with that hair texture. Some are Black and Hispanic, but identify themselves as Black because Hispanics so have a large African Descent. Some are most likely “mixed” with other races, but aren’t we all? Sorry that you had to deal with hate and jealously growing up. I spent the better part of my teens explaining to people that Dominicans are Black as well…very silly, I know but as I’ve gotten older I have realized that not everyone is as knowledgeable in the topic of history and… Read more »
wow that is really sad smh. But I know I have had that experience and still do. In high school I knew this one girl I thought was my friend but she was secretly jealous that I had super long hair (mbl). When ever I would flip/swing my hair to the side to get it out of my face she would say something. Like our freshman year someone started a rumr and claimed I said something about her (which I didn’t) tried t make that a reason to fight me. we got over it and I foolishly became her friend… Read more »
My hair wasn’t even that long in middle school. I relaxed it one day (tired of black kids calling me names over my hair ) and it came to about arm pit length. And that was enough for girls to say “Oh you think you pretty ” or “Humph, my sister has longer hair”
I stay away from black people to avoid these headaches.
Hmm. Honestly this just sounds like typical messy high school girls stuff. In your case it was long wavy hair but if not that those kinds of bi$%&es would have found something else to start crap with you about. I think any girl who a lot of the boys find attractive is going to get backlash.
I believe this girl, that is her natural hair texture due to the fact her great grand mother was native american. A dark skin black girl can be born with straight hair, it’s possible but it doesn’t happen too often. That’s like a one million. This is rare case because usually dark skin blacks have type 4c hair texture even if they have a white or native american grandparent, they tend to have type 4c hair.
Hate to admit it but I have had so many experiences like this growing up. My memories of elementary school is being bullied. I remember washing my hands in the bathroom a girl said (as if I wasn’t there) “She ain’t got nothing but her hair, other than that, she ugly!” I still go through taunts as a 45 year old woman. At work, another Black woman walked past me and hit my hair as if she were fighting it and said, “I don’t have this!”. I spent 4 years at that job being tormented by the 1 black woman… Read more »
Australian Aboriginals have your hair type. You might be an Australian Aboriginal.
i thought the same thing
Australian Aboriginal? Did she say she was from Australia? Hair texture is about genetics. There are black people from all over the world with different hair textures.
She may not know it or not have looked into her DNA ancestry. Most people haven’t done so. Would be interesting to hear her results on that front.
Agreed. I thought the same thing too. Some type of Aboriginal ancestry looks likely, especially with her facial features & skin colour looking Aboriginal too. Not so unusual down under — gidday!
I had the same problem growing up, only my hair was long,thick,and type 4b. Girls hated me and my story is identical. Back in the 60s there were no weaves, so people thought i had the secret to growing nappy hair. I didn’t, so they would beat me up. It was a tough life and it was all because of protein. Thankfully, we type 4s now all can discover the secrets of growing long hair: it’s called YouTube.
You touched on something big there. People still think type 4a/bs have the ‘secret to growing nappy hair’ and they subscribe in droves & set up those who naturally have that hair type as gods & gurus! It’s ridiculously crazy and only serves to lower self-esteem further.