Do You Ever Wonder If These Derogatory Names Will Go Away?

[aquajoyice]

Originally Posted by labelfree

But doesn't the Bible say Jesus had hair like wool? That's what throws me off I'm not very religious but if your God has hair like you why would you hate the term?

And this brings about another point I told someone the other day.... Jesus had hair like wool so if he were here today would we consider his hair "bad". Nothing about Jesus can be "bad". LOL So it should be considered a blessing to be giving a gift that Jesus had.... the word nappy wasn't used when describing his hair.

[Theresamonet]

Originally Posted by vkb247

ETA: ^^^So what part is the napp?

Hhhmmm...I just always assumed nappy hair refered to matted or something similar to that. But I really don't know...

All I do know is whenever my hair was pretty and done up or well groomed, nobody ever said "girl, your hair is sooo nappy...how can I get my hair napped up like that?" Lol. But when my hair was undone, unkept, in need of tlc people would always say, "girl, your hair is NAPPY!" And that was when I was relaxed!

So to me well groomed/pretty=not nappy, unkept=NAPPY. Just my experience...

[araceli2418]

Originally Posted by jamaraa

Nappy originally referred to the hair on a sheep (ie the wool) which is what Euro people thought of when they saw Black hair. If you've ever seen or smelled an unshorn sheep, you know it was/is fully derogatory. Hardly any reference to sheep is positive (ie herded like sheep, etc..).

As for when these words will go away, dunno.

Thanks for sharing this. I never knew this. I always wondered where the word came from.

Originally Posted by BlackMasterPiece

I think they'll go away when the majority of us embrace our natural texture and wear it proudly. As long as embracing our god-given features is seen as "ugly" or unkept or militant and only in the few, this ignorance and self-hate will continue to permeate our sense of beauty.

As for the word itself, I think I've come to be desensitized as well, however on the whole I tend to stay away from it. Neither of the n-words are okay in my book, let's not worry about changing the meanings of words already mired in hatred and sadness let's just use encouraging words like coils kinks, tightly curly, highly textured instead.

Yes. This is why I refer to it as curly.

Originally Posted by vkb247

I don't have a problem with the word nappy. Some still use it to mean something negative but I find these are usually the "good" hair people who don't appreciate highly textured hair.

ETA: ^^^So what part is the napp?

Also, in my experience, the ones that the idea of going natural is as good as the idea of having their bodies ravaged with a deadly disease. I know I'm not the only that has seen "the look".

Originally Posted by beans4reezy

I don't feel its derrogatory, however, hearing the word makes me uneasy. It may not be a bad word, but it's one I like to avoid.

Yeah, that's pretty much how I am now. It's just uneasy.

Originally Posted by Theresamonet

Yeah...so, I'm tired of black people always being compared to an animal. I would like to stay away from these type of comparisons. Nothing about me is ape, monkey, mule, or sheep like.

This reminded me of my older sister's 7th grade teacher (from Texas) telling her she originated from the orangutan b/c she had red hair.

[jamaraa]

Originally Posted by labelfree

But doesn't the Bible say Jesus had hair like wool? That's what throws me off I'm not very religious but if your God has hair like you why would you hate the term?

Yup it does say this in the Bible, however, this is NOT the origin of the word wrt African textured hair. The point on how it is used in this present context is as an animalistic thing because it is unlike Euro textures. LOL remember this, Jesus to Europeans looked like Michaelangelo envisioned him, not what was written in the texts.

[jamaraa]

Originally Posted by Theresamonet

Yeah...so, I'm tired of black people always being compared to an animal. I would like to stay away from these type of comparisons. Nothing about me is ape, monkey, mule, or sheep like.

Yup, this is exactly it...comparing African traits to those of animals. Nappy in the context in which we're discussing it has about the same meaning as mulatto (ie mule). I would never call a mixed race person a mule nor do I wanna be compared to a sheep.

[pisceschica]

Originally Posted by araceli2418

I used to hate, hate, hate the word nappy. Now I've settled into some indifference. I thought about this b/c my 9yr old niece refers to my hair as curly and in conversation I found out the word nappy would never have even occurred to her.

It made me see things in a different light b/c, although, I know our hair is referred to as tightly curled, coiled, whatever, in everyday reality I've always heard nappy. So it was like having an epiphany when she called my hair "curly". Is nappy really necessary?

I know for some people it doesn't bother them but I've never heard it used in an affectionate way.

I don't like the word but I don't think it will go away. There are plenty of blacks that still use the word. I cringe especially when they do it in front of blacks.

You can't say that a word is derogatory toward a group of people (especially yours) and then use it so freely. Lead by example but most don't.

[Theresamonet]

Originally Posted by araceli2418

This reminded me of my older sister's 7th grade teacher (from Texas) telling her she originated from the orangutan b/c she had red hair.

WoW . This type of stuff always makes me think of the time when black people were thought to be sub-human. All of the terms associated with this idea needs to go away imo. And "Nappy" is one of those terms used to compare us to things less than human.

[araceli2418]

Originally Posted by Theresamonet

WoW . This type of stuff always makes me think of the time when black people were thought to be sub-human. All of the terms associated with this idea needs to go away imo. And "Nappy" is one of those terms used to compare us to things less than human.

Yes, girl. And the school only wanted to suspend him. That is, until my stepmother threatened to call every news media imaginable in the country and make a big deal out of it. So they fired him. This was in the 70s but, guess what, he was back in the 90s and taught my younger brother and sister. Ridiculous.

[FluffyRed]

i've always associated the word "nap" with textyre, hence "nappy" would just mean textured.

i've never had it used as a slur against me, tho

[ceebee3]

Originally Posted by FluffyRed

i've always associated the word "nap" with textyre, hence "nappy" would just mean textured.

i've never had it used as a slur against me, tho

Neither have I, growing up nappy hair/wooly hair was all the same. How can it be deragatory if it describes exactly what your hair is?

Most people who have a problem with it just don't know the definition of the word nap.

[Theresamonet]

Originally Posted by ceebee3

Most people who have a problem with it just don't know the definition of the word nap.

I think most of us have access to a dictionary...but it's not the denotation but the conotative associations that make some of us uneasy when the word "nappy" is referenced.

[FluffyRed]

Originally Posted by Theresamonet

I think most of us have access to a dictionary...but it's not the denotation but the conotative associations that make some of us uneasy when the word "nappy" is referenced.

But, among what group is there a negative connotation?