Wake Up Fort Collins, Our Hair Matters Just As Much As Yours Does!
The approximate population of Blacks in Fort Collins is 1.56%. Yes, this is devastating, but it is believable. For the purposes of this article, I interviewed an acquaintance in one of my Ethnic Studies classes. She is another Black individual and I feel that the only way to get my point across was to see the problem through another person’s eyes.
Q: How do you feel about the lack of representation for Afro American hair products?
A: The lack of representation for Afro American hair products is the thought that people don’t want to do their hair or they have to conform to the social standards of beauty, so they could have access to more products, then they would if they kept their natural hair style. The lack of representation could be a correlation that there is no market for us, but it’s weird because there are so many products out there, but the bigger companies overshadow the smaller companies that actually want to teach us about our hair and how to keep up with it.
Q: Why is your hair important to you?
A: Because I feel there is a piece of myself that I had no idea about. And now it is like rediscovering a whole new personality and loving the person you are. It’s a visual representation of saying fuck you to what society says is beautiful. And you have access to a whole new community that you had no idea existed.
Q: What is the most annoying question you hear when wearing your hair natural in Fort Collins?
A: Can I touch it? How’d you get your hair like that? Is it natural? Because why would I allow you to come into my personal space and touch my hair? Why does it matter if your hair will never be like mine? I feel as though if they can phrase it in a non-provoking and invasive way, then I would be less offended. Because the way that they ask, makes me feel like I’m an animal in an exhibit and I just feel uncomfortable.
Q: What would you do to make people in Fort Collins change their minds about what our hair means?
A: They need to be educated just as much as we do. Hair is so versatile and looking at hair as a spectrum rather than in categories and taking the time to understand another person’s hair, and what it means would make it easier.
Q: What is one thing you want to explain to the rest of the population in Fort Collins about your hair?
A: I wish they would treat it like hair. They can appreciate it without making it a spectacle.
We take pride in our hair now, because when our ancestors were brought to America, they were forced to assimilate to the European beauty standards.
The ability to showcase our hair as we want, makes us feel like we’ve taken part of ourselves back, but the idea that we’re being looked at as other, or like we’re an exhibit makes us feel as though we have to retreat back into the European beauty standards, because it makes others feel more comfortable. Or simply because we hate being asked questions about our hair, that we shouldn’t have to answer, because it is just hair.
