NAPPY.
"Hair distinctive to some Africans and Americans of African descent. If taken care of properly, it is very beautiful, thick, and soft. And people actually DO wash natural, nappy hair."
/nappynluvnit (urbandictionary.com)Related hair sites:
nappy-n-happy.stores.yahoo.net
www.nappturality.com
www.nappyhairaffair.com
www.nappykitchen.com
www.nappyhairproducts.com
www.nappyhairshop.com
16 comments:
I have nappy hair. It was the best thing I ever did, cutting off my perm and going natural. I swear I got hit on more, especially by younger guys, and a boatload of compliments from women with naturally straight, limp hair. I've thus been growing sister locs since 2yrs and they're wild, long and crazy, as my afro was getting too huge and obscuring my face.
Nappy is also a deragotory word... just a heads up there. Lol :-)
Never call somebody "Nappy Head"
I love my napptural hair! It is highly versatile and can be done in a variety of styles. I have a white friend with stick-straight hair who wishes she had my hair. Why? Because her hair doesn't even hold a curl. Whereas I can wear my nappy hair in its natural state, curly, braided, or straight among many, many other hairstyles!
Honestly, though, I can appreciate hair of all types. But because of conditioning, I have taken a looonnng time to appreciate my own.
Well whatever it's supposed to be called it's damn sexy either way if you ask me! This hairstyle looks so vibrant, healthy and youthful it's really attractive and uplifting to look at
-Robin
Give him a break. As long as I know this word is used a lot by black people. Some say nappy some say curly or kinky. ;-) Its just hair!!
Rosi
I think that's part of the point- to have a discussion about what "nappy means" and why it's considered a derogatory term.
I'm not offended by his use of the word "nappy" here. I think it depends on the person and the context the word is used in.
As an African-American woman I applaud the efforts of this blog to invoke and inspire dialouge. I believe this was the sole intention of this blog and specifically, the "Word of the Day". The author never made any statements indicating his personal feelings or thoughts on this word, he merely posted the definition from Urban Dictionary. com. It is painfully clear by some of the commentary written that this fact went unrecognized.
It is also painfully clear that many people are still firmly rooted in the racism of the past. It is mind-boggling to me that as a people we still haven't come to a point in our collective conscious to openly discuss issues such as this. It is true that the origins of the word "nappy" are historically racist. There is no argument there. The term "Nappy Headed" as a concept, was created to demonize African people in order to keep them mentally enslaved as well as physically. This term was widely embraced everywhere African people were exploited by colonialism, imperialism and slavery. In the 1960's and 70's with the Black Revolution, terms like "Happy to be Nappy" became popular as African-Americans began to internally shed the stereotypes from the past, and embrace every aspect of blackness that was historically deemed as loathsome. This also led towards the recent reinvention of the word ni**er which has now become widely used throughout pop-culture.
As an African-American woman I am not afraid to discuss the origins of any word/term/action from the past. It is impossible to move ahead (as a people) if we can't even discuss issues without fault-finding and irrationally pointing blame. The word "Nappy" doesn't bother me because the institution that constructed the word, no longer has power over us a people. Recently when radio show host Don Imus was fired for referring to some female basketball players as "nappy-headed hoes", my world did not come crumbling down into a million pieces. It was a stupid and racist thing for him to say, but the act of him speaking those words had absolutely no power in my life. The physical bonds of slavery have been broken, but unfortunately the mental shackles still remain for a lot of people. When it boils down to it, it is just HAIR. Straight, curly, kinky, dreaded up, weaves, braids, extensions; it's just a style. The way I choose to wear my hair as an African-American has nothing to do with my love of my culture and uplifting my community at large. It's an insult to black women as a whole to keep this perpetual conversation among us. There are so many more pressing issues that face black women in the Diaspora, than the way they choose to wear their hair. It's almost a way to keep the collective consciousness on a superficial level so that the deeper issues never get discussed, which results in stagnation. For example; there was a recent study that came out in 2010 by the Insight Center for Community Economic Development. Their researched found that the net worth of a single-working African-American women is $5. There was barely any nationwide discussion held on this topic, but everyone has something to say about Chris Rock's movie. "Good Hair". ???? It just doesn't make sense to me. Issues that really matter to the sustainable life of the community i.e, Health-Care, Poverty, Education, are the real "skin deep" issues that need to be discussed and addressed in a open collective forum. Blackness transcends our hairstyles, clothing, fashion, and music.
Thank you for this post. I also have natural hair and I love it! This time of year I rinse it more and keep it in a curly pontail...Hot and muggy where I am.
I think Andreas copied that from a site, I don't think those were his actual quotes...Maybe it is...but it looked like a quote.
Within the quote, it is not saying that we don't wash our hair.
The point in the statement suggests that it is a myth that we DON'T. That is the context I understand it.
That we DO wash our hair, unlike the myth that we don't. I am rinsing/conditioner washing or scalp cleansing at least every other day.
I have natural hair and I embrace the word nappy. Having natural afro hair is beautiful and it took me a while to get over my hair issues and I still struggle. Beauty comes in all forms and I'm not one of those militants who condemn other women for chemically straightening their hair. It is a personal choice and there is beauty in differences. Any man who appreciates a woman for who she is should be applauded. Although, a WM finding a BW with natural hair attractive is attractive to me.
I have natural hair, and don't use the word nappy, I think it is a deragotive word. I rinse my hair daily, I love how it feels and how versatile it is!
@ NIghtly Candy-
Really?... $5... Really?!? I might be there now, given the economy. Times were better, but not anymore. Oh, and when I got my dreads, my family was speechless. They thought I'd never get a job. One aunt said I'd never be allowed to be an usher at her church. Well, I've worked steadily for the last 15 years, and guess which church I don't attend...
@lockrocker- I wish that the findings of that study were false but the Insight Center for Community Economic Development is a pretty solid organization. Poverty among black women has been a prevalent issue and I wish that it could be on the forefront of the collective discourse. I'm glad to hear that you proudly rock your locks and are holding down your career. It's always inspirational to hear about women striving and achieving!
I come from a time where the word "nappy" was considered a bad word. I also came of age(college-wise) in a time where we embraced the natural state of our hair(i went to an HBCU) and a lot of us were proud to wear "Happy to be Nappy" t-shirts, wear afros and grow locks. I like that term "napptural" that someone used earlier. Of course, as with a lot of words, you have to know who to use it with because not everyone is as embracing of the term coming from another white person...even one, who claims to "love black women".
As a black (AA) man who also loves and celebrates the beauty of black women across the diaspora, i have to wonder if it's only white male/black female couples who are considered "beautiful couples"? I haven't researched the entire blog yet but i have to wonder if black-on-black couples are considered beautiful as well?
I have natural hair and it is when someone uses the term nappy in a hateful way that I get offended. This man is simply appreciating "our" hair and probably got his information from a website where some "sista" probably said ,"We wash our hair and comb it too..." or something to that. I think those who were offended need to step off of their high horse and reevaluate.
i didnt know what "nappy hair" was so i was researching it. It is not a word used ever in Australia. To us a nappy is a what you put on a baby before its toilet trained. i heard the term on "the view' I want to touch an afro, they look cool!!!
p.s i love the corn rowes. I loc=ve the african american girls hair on "clueless"
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