Gabby Douglas came in dead last on the uneven bars today. that is not good news, but it is far from tragic. What is tragic is the fact that her hair is still a hot topic. Why are we so hung up on hair? I remember as a child my mother used to sit us next to the stove and she would hot comb our hair so that it could be straight. We graduated from the hot comb to Vigorol, this straightening agent got the hair straight but little girls lost a lot of hair in the process. Now we routinely pay anywhere from $70-$100 for a stylist to apply the latest, greatest perm, and when we get the hair just like we want it we make Herculean efforts to keep it straight. Many of us refuse to swim, workout or anything else that will wet our hair or cause us to sweat. We are committed to keeping every lock straight and in place. So that’s why whe many saw Gabby douglass with pins in her hair they scoffed at her appearance and basically missed the historic moment. I have linked to two stories one from The Grio about our hair obssession and the other from Fox News about the other side of fame.
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I feel so ashamed of my country and its arrogant behavior. I credit places like Facebook and Twitter with reinforcing the idea that the conversation is all about ‘ME’ rather than the reality of community and seeing the other as brother/sister. I hope and pray, and I believe Gabby already knows, that these remarks are seen as saying more about the people who say/tweet/text them than it does about the person referenced.
Gabby obviously is so beautiful inside as to explain why she is so beautiful outside. She is priceless!
Our self worth as black women is linked to our hair. And we have a tendency to judge the worth of another black woman by her hair… rather than her character. And that is sad.
And that is just my opinion… the opinion of a black woman whose hair was taken by a chronic illness.
Unfortunately I don’t have the luxury to judge another woman’s hair. Oops… maybe that is a fortunate thing.
I hope at the young age of 16 that Gabby has learned an important lesson. People will find a reason to degrade you… even people who look like you. Afterall, people must find a way to cover up their own inadequencies… hmm.