Old spice guy, Isaiah Mustafa Wants a woman with Good Hair

All you nappy headed women don’t have a chance with the handsome Old Spice guy Isaiah Mustafa. While being interviewed on E Mustafa said he wants a woman with “good hair.” He also frowned on women with weaves. He wants his children’s hair to be straight and since as he said his can get “slightly nappy” he can’t risk marrying a nappy head. This comes out of the mouth of a man in 2011 not 1911. He has since tweeted an apology if anyone was offended, but should anyone be offended? He is just saying what he wants and he has a right to that opinion, but if you do feel offended you have a right to not support him. Tell me what you think.

http://www.bet.com/news/celebrities/2011/10/02/old-spice-guy-wants-woman-with-good-hair.html

Are Black Celebrities Stealing ideas from the Common Folk or are the Common Folks Just Haters?

I just finished reading an article about the Wayans Brothers. One of their former assistants is suing them because he contends the brothers stole his idea for their book, You Know You’re a Goldigger…, Jared Edwards said he worked for them a decade ago and he wrote jokes about women using their wiles to secure status. He said the brothers rejected his book idea but later published a book that was similar in nature. After reading this I thought of the Chris Rock movie Good Hair. A woman that worked for him while he was doing Everybody Hates Chris said she showed Rock clips from her film Nappy Roots and some of the segments of Rock’s Good Hair are quite similar to the film she showed Rock. She too is currently suing Rock, and finally Steve Harvey’s book Think Like a Lady Act Like a Man. Sharon P. Carson  claims that Steve Harvey’s new book Act Like A Lady, Think Like A Man is not his, but hers.  Carson said she holds the copyright to a book of the same exact title with the same exact premise. And much of his book is way too similar to hers. “She wrote her book back in 2004 and is speaking out about Steve (or his people) stealing it and changing some words, then slapping his name on it so he could go make money for the publishers and “writers”.” So are all of these people delusional or are celebrities actually taking their ideas and turning them into moneymakers? So often people know someone famous and they think that the person could help them. So they do share their idea with the celebrity hoping and trusting that they will help them make their dream come true  but sadly in some cases the celebrity sees a good idea and they have the clout and the connections to actually turn a concept into reality. I am no judge and I don’t know if the celebrities actually stole the ideas from these visionaries, but I believe the takeaway from this is before you share an idea you need to have the viewer sign a contract so that if they do steal your idea you will have some kind of legal recourse, and do not forget to copyright your work.

Hair Looks Good, Body Not so Good there Might be a Solution

 Chris Rock recently produced the movie Good Hair. In it he talked about black women’s obsession with their hair. A great deal of the movie was devoted to hair weaves, but many black women struggle with other aspects of their hair. One thing we avoid like the plague is “sweating our hair back”. Most black people know what I mean. It is when you exert yourself a little too much you and your hair becomes wet with sweat, and it literally starts rising. This happens whether your hair is permed or natural and it is something that most of us avoid. Today I was sent an interesting article from AARP which discussed black women and their aversion to exercise. “AARP finds that for many African American women not being able to manage their hair style is a key barrier to exercise. The report suggests that brisk walking for 10 minutes at a time, for a total of 150 minutes a week, can keep Black women active and alleviate some of the hair issues that come with more vigorous workouts. AARP held focus groups with African American women aged 45+ and African American hair stylists. Black women said they avoid physical activity that makes them perspire because it gets their hair wet, which ruins a hairdo and can present a large disruption to their daily schedules.” AARP fitness expert Donna Richardson Joyner said that she wishes African American women would take care of their bodies like they take care of their hair.” Joyner went on to say, “you have to have balance … your hair cannot be an excuse to keep you from working out.” Our physical health has to become as important as our hair and for some of us that is a tall order, but it is not impossible and if we want to avoid being a sad statistic we had better buy a sweatband and start ‘Sweating to the Oldies.’ For more information on health-related issues go to http://www.aarp.org/aarp/black_community/

Does Chris Rock’s Good Hair Start A Conversation We Don’t Want to Have?

Over the past few weeks I have seen Chris Rock sit down with Oprah and talk about his new movie. By now we all know the story Rock’s daughter supposedly admired her white friend’s hair just a little too much. Thus, the beginning of his odyssey into the hair industry. He traveled throughout beauty shops and barber shops having conversations with women and hair care professionals. So what does he learn? We spend a lot of money on our hair, but is this a bad thing? No if you like what you are doing and can afford it than it’s really nobody’s business, but as far as this new conversation is concerned I’ve got some reservations. Why would I want to admit to anyone that I have hair weaved into my own hair? Do we ask people if their teeth are real or are they dentures or implants? Do we ask men is their hair black or do they dye it? Rock is over 40 he might be a candidate for that question. My point is this somethings are not your business. If someone wants to walk around with hair an inch long on Monday, and down their back on Friday if you want to comment just say it looks nice. If you can’t say anything good say nothing at all. Don’t make the observation statement, “look at your hair”. That’s not a compliment. If they want to discuss their hair with you fine, but I suggest that if you are not the one wearing the weave that you not be the one to start the conversation. This conversation has the potential to go seriously wrong very quickly.

Good Hair, Nappy Roots Neither of these Are New Concepts

This month Chris Rock’s new movie Good Hair hits theaters. It has gotten a lot of buzz along with the Oprah Winfrey seal of approval. “Regina Kimbell filed a $5 million lawsuit in Los Angeles’ District Court this week claiming that actor/comedian Chris Rock stole her idea for his movie. Kimbell claims the inspiration behind Rock’s Good Hair film came from a documentary she made in 2005, which she showed the Rock on the set of his TV series Everyone Hates Chris in 2007. Kimbell’s documentary My Nappy Roots, features celebrities who discuss different hairdos”.* This is going to be a difficult case to prove. Rock might have sampled from Kimball’s work, but neither of them are the first people to discuss the black hair. Most black women fight our hair most of our lives. We all have stories of our daughters and their envy of long straight hair. So hopefully this can be resolved because believe me there is room for Good Hair and Nappy Roots in the black community. *vimooz.com

Black Women Do Love Good Hair

I am looking forward to seeing Chris Rock’s upcoming film Good Hair. The fact is black women do worry about our hair. Whether it is permed, straightened, weaved or waved we want it to look good no matter what. Today I went to get my hair done and to my surprise when I arrived I saw my stylist along with 4 of her co-workers and 4 clients standing outside of a locked door. The shop is located inside of a store in a local mall. The store manager on duty was late. No one could reach her despite several frantic phone calls. My appointment was scheduled for 8AM and generally I am walking out of the shop no later than 9:15, but today I along with several women stood outside waiting for an hour and half until someone with a key came to rescue us. I say rescue because we all stood there angry, but unwilling to leave. Under any other set of circumstances we would have left. My time is valuable and I generally am unwilling to wait for anything, especially when I have a scheduled appointment. I have re-scheduled a doctor’s appointment when I feel I have waited to long. We stood and sat there complaining, but we all refused to leave. We could not imagine leaving without every hair placed in its place by our stylist. Why is our hair such a big deal? We are taught from the time we are small children that if the hair is slightly kinky there is a hot comb or a jar of perm to cure that kinky condition. We are slaves to our locks. We want our hair to look good, and we will go to extremes to make it happen, even if that means standing outside of a store for an hour and half in the hot sun.