Solange Knowles: “I Am Not The #TeamNatural Vice-President”
Solange Knowles is tired of all the conversation surrounding her hair and she let loose on the Twittersphere about the issue, reports StyleBlazer. After going natural years ago, she has become the focal point of the hair revolution that has rocketed through Black America. Often compared to her older sister Beyonce, who is known for her long, flowing blonde weaves, Solange has struggled to define herself as an individual and refuses to now be defined by some narrow perception of “otherness.”
See tweets below:
The article that she is referencing comes from Moderne Meid, who says that not only does she love Solange’s style, but that she, too, is aware of hair hypocrites who instead of relaxing and frying, try to tame, twist, braid and butter their tresses into “curly, good hair”:
Solange does not have the same hair as other ‘natural hair idols’ such as Corinne Bailey Rae, Esperanza Spalding or Tracee Ellis Ross. She is really holding her own. Those ladies are doing well too actually, sporting their own hair and being confident with it…
I’m just going to say it straight. I believe there is a bias in the natural hair community when it comes to certain hair types and hair lengths. I believe there is a hierarchy. Those with bigger and/or longer hair seem to get a lot of praise for it. I guess because it’s not seen as often? I guess it’s because people aspire to obtain that for themselves?
If Solange’s hair would have been longer, would she have had more oohing and awing? Tracee Elis Ross, Esperanza Spalding and Corinne Bailey Rae tend to be regarded as natural hair icons, is it because they have long hair and/or curly hair? Why are not more tightly coiled naturals regarded as hair idols? Are there any tightly coiled naturals regarded as natural hair idols in the spotlight?
Weigh in, Clutchettes: Are black women really embracing natural hair, or is the quest for “good, curly hair,” the new relaxer?
This #natural vs. #relaxed vs #good hair vs #not so good hair etc. is yet another issue designed to divide our community and at the end of the day its foolishness. Rock your hair the way you want and call it a day. Do you! It’s not that serious. I’ve worn my hair both ways and I could care less how somebody else does … unless I’m paying for it.
I see what Solange is saying but …isn’t she the spokeswoman for Carol’s Daughter Natural Transition products (or whatever its called)? If so … she made herself the VP when she signed the contract.
I agree, she is a spokeswoman for CD and is usually seen on their transitions sites or behind their transitions products. No relaxed woman has to transition, naturals do. She signed on to be a face behind a natural campaign. She might not be the Vice Prez but she’s recognized as that girl.
And I know for myself where I live I have been natural ten years and I’ve been living here for 12. When I first moved home NO ONE was natural. So in a way people know me as ‘the natural girl’ and I never asked to be the go to or the face of naturalness, it happened because I was there being me in a sea of wavy, straight hair. people admire her and i feel like yeah it can get annoying, especially if it’s on such a large level, but just embrace it. i don’t go around with a tshirt that says ‘one of the longest naturals in TCI’ or ‘TCI vp of naturalness’. You don’t have to make it your all just know that it is.
WOW. I have been saying this. I find that most naturalista’s are complete hypocrites. They only seem to want to do twist outs that basically mimic “curly” hair. The fascination with getting the right twist-out curl pattern and/or curl definition is sickening. Most are not confident enough to just do twists and braids and just rock it. They’d rather twist only to take it out the next morning and then do the same thing again at night.
Don’t even get me started on the ones that feel they can’t rock picked-out hair. Hypocrites!! I agree 100% with Solange.
You are right. Not most but to many newly natural women think they are going to have those corkscrew curls and become dissapointed when they find out they have Erykah Badu naps. There’s like this secret hierarchy in the natural world with type 3a being on top while type 4c is the least wanted.
Yes! yES! YES!!! One million times YES!!!!
That whole “I’m so natural and police other’s naturalness as I rock my twist out/braid out/bantu knot/blahblahblah so my hair can look wavy because I don’t like my real texture but I’m just gonna call it ‘stretching’ instead of the natural/mechanical re-texturizing/relaxing technique that it really is and hope you don’t notice that I’m perpetrating a fraud” gig drives.me.MAD!!!!
Someone help me out. I am natural but I do not know what twist-outs are or what they are supposed to look like.
@ grace,
two strand twists that have been taken out and about town.
Overall people should mind their own business when it comes to hair. Why does it matter if someone else perms, twist, curl defines etc. their OWN FREAKING HAIR! Solange is in a delicate position because she has been made the face of the CD transitioning movement. So to many she is the unofficial “VP” of the “natural movement.” She should take a note out of her sister’s book and just ignore the negative/random comments about hair.
@Lady One–people do twist-outs for various reasons and it many times it has nothing to do with wanting your hair to look like “curly hair” (i will assume you are meaning “good hair”). I LOVE my natural curls, my wash and gos are beautiful BUT they result in major tangles which cause major time spent on detangling (especially since I finger detangle only). So I rather twist-out/braid-out which produce stretched, less tangled hair. Then I can spend more time with my hubby, family, church, exercising, fun life stuff not hair related activities. You are part of the issue…calling people hypocrites. Again, let people who whatever to their hair, you do what you want with yours and let’s just LIVE LIFE!!!
I also wouldn’t say “most”. For me, as a natural (and for the naturals I know) twist-outs, bantus and etc. are interchanged w/ picked out fros to create variety. For me personally, I am a die-hard twist-out-er because I am all about saving my energy for the important things (ie. not hair). So, by the time I detangle and then pick/shape every day (throughout the day) and then have to SUPER detangle the next wash, I could have detangled, twisted once, and been nice and full for the next 4 days w/ 25% of the effort lol.
Now, I’ve read of people who do “stretch” to trick folks, and that’s pitiful, but I highly doubt it’s everyone’s story. And any natural who says that it’s hypocritical to manipulate hair even w/o chemicals better not own a single hair roller, comb or brush.
@girlformerlyknownasgrace: It’s when you twist your hair(wet or dry ) and then undo them leaving a crinkly, curly effect.
solange is right- i know for a fact- if the natural has a curl pattern its a hair goal, if it looks like solange then it needs to be fixed -black people still aint over good hair- and if the natural aint what’s black acceptable- then people say why dont you get dreads, twist, ect..
“ Tracee Elis Ross, Esperanza Spalding and Corinne Bailey Rae tend to be regarded as natural hair icons”
What is sad is that all the natural icon that many black women look up to are mixed. There nothing wrong with admiring a biracial women but why can’t we look up to mono racial women like us. In the same way worshiping these women loosely curled hair is similar to upholding beauty views centered around whiteness.
THANK. YOU! the women they mention as natural hair icons are all freakin biracial. OF COURSE their hair is gonna end up curly and loose most biracials have that kind of hair.
Exactly! I said the same thing in a comment below!
+1, I was wondering the same thing that the natural hair icons hold being biracial in common. Things that make you go hmmm…but I do notice that in the natural hair community that in order to get praise most of the time you either have to have a looser texture or extremely long hair if it falls into the 4 range or a mixture of both.
True. Even on commercials and shows you really just see the light skinned or biracial girl with the pretty curly natural hair and no one has a problem. But honestly I have never seen a dark skinned girl in the broad mainstream on the same level of hair as them…I know their are darker women with that kind of curly hair….because my hair is just a inches short from looking like my gorgeous girl Corrine…and I’m dark skinned! But you know who I love? YaYa has absolutely beautiful hair and she is one of the most beautiful people I have ever seen…naw not just that pretty for a dark skinned yada yada that we hear ALL the time…beautiful. Period. I think we just need to really realize each others beauty instead of criticizing and fantasizing. Jealosy. Come on black women! We are beautiful just the way we are! : )
Is it just me but as a newly #teamnatural I learned that people are always going to have something to say about my hair good or bad. I just take it in stride and where my hair proudly regardless of the look. Even though “I am not my hair” I kinda am and I don’t mind taking some pride in that on good and bad hair days.
Solange *sigh* you are one of a few naturals that are consistently photographed, you are the face of a very popular black hair care lined and linked to their natural hair care line, and you are consistently in different natural hair styles. Of course you are in a way a vice-president, an ambassador, and/or a role model to natural hair-nistas and you have elected yourself (maybe unintentionally) to be at the core of the natural hair style movement. Get over it. And if you don’t want people to talk about your hair where more hats…#imjustsaying