andromeda
Well-Known Member
Saw this article on glamazini.net (great hair blog for naturals, if you haven't checked it out). I don't think it's been posted yet and figured it would be interesting to hear others' thoughts:
I'm transitioning, so I'll be happy when I'm finally, fully nappy!
What are your thoughts on the word?
ETA: Nonie posted an enlightening movie, 400 Years Without a Comb, that I would encourage everyone to watch, regardless of what your opinions on the word "nappy".
Here's a link to Nonie's full explanation and reaction to the movie (post #40) and a link to post #91, where Nonie shares a PM from another member about how watching the video and reading Nonie's posts changed her opinion of the word "nappy".
"Taking back the n-word", Sharon Watkins Jones
April 16, 9:27 AM
Some historians maintain that slaves with skin color and hair texture most resembling white slave owners (and who sometimes happened to be progeny of said masters), often received preferable treatment, such as the “privilege” of performing work inside the master’s house, rather than the fields. The affect of this demarcation of Blacks possessing lighter or darker skin and “good” or “bad” hair still infiltrates the shared soul of the African Diaspora in America.
Generally speaking, in the Black community, there is no greater insult to a young girl or a grown woman than to speak of her hair as nappy. Just ask Don Imus. Upon hearing his depiction of an NCAA women’s basketball team as “nappy-headed hoes,” even the most sophisticated of us rolled our necks, snapped our fingers and began to take off our earrings and shoes in a collective, “Oh, no he didn’t!” Quite frankly, and disappointingly, Imus’s use of the word “nappy” was much more disturbing to many, than his descriptor, “hoes,” in online chat rooms, editorials and blogs...
My hair was pretty and it felt good. It was cotton-candy soft, thick and healthy. My edges were full and I had no broken ends or bald spots. I thought, “I have good hair! It’s really, really nappy, AND it’s really, really good.” As time passed, I was able to release the anxiety passed down to me from my great- great-grandmothers and praise God for the gift of nappy hair. My naps reflect my heritage and my personality. They are soft, strong, resilient and most certainly - - a force to be reckoned with. I am nappy and completely unashamed. God, in His infinite wisdom, placed nappy hair on my head because He knew I could rock it like I stole it. So, that’s exactly what I do.
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IMO, I don't believe the term is inherently derogatory (unlike the other n-word). I feel that it can be used in an objective way, merely as a descriptive term, or in a positive, socially conscious way, imbued with connotations of accepting the texture it describes and rejecting the derision the texture receives from others. However, because of the negative connotations, I would hesitate to use the word to describe others' hair unless I knew that they def would not take it the wrong way.April 16, 9:27 AM
Nappy, adj. (comparative nappier, superlative nappiest)
/næpi/- (US, slang) Of hair: tightly curled or twisted; frizzy (occasionally specifically in reference to Blacks' textured hair, often used derogatively).
Some historians maintain that slaves with skin color and hair texture most resembling white slave owners (and who sometimes happened to be progeny of said masters), often received preferable treatment, such as the “privilege” of performing work inside the master’s house, rather than the fields. The affect of this demarcation of Blacks possessing lighter or darker skin and “good” or “bad” hair still infiltrates the shared soul of the African Diaspora in America.
Generally speaking, in the Black community, there is no greater insult to a young girl or a grown woman than to speak of her hair as nappy. Just ask Don Imus. Upon hearing his depiction of an NCAA women’s basketball team as “nappy-headed hoes,” even the most sophisticated of us rolled our necks, snapped our fingers and began to take off our earrings and shoes in a collective, “Oh, no he didn’t!” Quite frankly, and disappointingly, Imus’s use of the word “nappy” was much more disturbing to many, than his descriptor, “hoes,” in online chat rooms, editorials and blogs...
My hair was pretty and it felt good. It was cotton-candy soft, thick and healthy. My edges were full and I had no broken ends or bald spots. I thought, “I have good hair! It’s really, really nappy, AND it’s really, really good.” As time passed, I was able to release the anxiety passed down to me from my great- great-grandmothers and praise God for the gift of nappy hair. My naps reflect my heritage and my personality. They are soft, strong, resilient and most certainly - - a force to be reckoned with. I am nappy and completely unashamed. God, in His infinite wisdom, placed nappy hair on my head because He knew I could rock it like I stole it. So, that’s exactly what I do.
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I'm transitioning, so I'll be happy when I'm finally, fully nappy!
What are your thoughts on the word?
ETA: Nonie posted an enlightening movie, 400 Years Without a Comb, that I would encourage everyone to watch, regardless of what your opinions on the word "nappy".
I realize that when a thread is as long as this, folks don't read all the posts so maybe posting yet again the videos of 400 Years Without a Comb may not be a bad idea in case someone missed them. As silly as this may seem, until I watched the movie, it had never occurred to me that slaves never had time to pack combs when they were taken from their homes. And the impact that this had on how they came to view their hair is sobering. It is especially so if you read the book Hair Story and see what a proud people Africans were of their hair and how elaborately they wore it in ways that had significance. So in addition to all the things you know they were robbed of that fall under "dignity" add to that self-respect--ie feeling good about themselves.
Here are the videos of 400 Years Without a Comb. I apologize to those who've seen all the posts in this thread that had the vids:
Part 1 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4cMf1heTa6A
Part 2 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=winJvvYCS20
Part 3 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CvMvNgFJ8zU
Part 4 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tRwLkS7W4oM
Part 5 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p-FBFIA1Hks
Part 6 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rbXLbZhivOM
Here's a link to Nonie's full explanation and reaction to the movie (post #40) and a link to post #91, where Nonie shares a PM from another member about how watching the video and reading Nonie's posts changed her opinion of the word "nappy".
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