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Solange Knowles: “I Am Not The #TeamNatural Vice-President”

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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?

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  1. I agree it’s sad that people in natural hair community are so biased and aren’t really embracing what “natural” is all about! I feel like this: healthy hair is the most important. As far as the definite of one’s curl patterns and the way they style their hair, all depends on one’s preference. I also feel like those who judge are the one’s who aren’t happy with being natural or don’t have a clear understanding of what natural means and or have just jumped on the bandwagon just because they think it’s a “cool trend”! I will say that I haven’t seen many tightly coiled natural hair icons and truthful I think the one’s that are being made into natural hair icons aren’t really trying to be, but they have become the norm due to the exception of mixed heritages that permits them to have looser hair texture .
    However, I think we as a community (black people in general) need to embrace what we have and stop living up the expectations of what others define as beauty.
    Instead start looking in the mirror, love yourself and reclaim the definition of beauty.

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  4. did she forget everything she said in this interview?

    http://m.essence.com/article_head.ftl?id=http://www.essence.com/2012/05/31/exclusive-solange-knowles-shares-her-natural-hair-secrets/

    ESSENCE: Is there any style that stands out as a favorite?

    KNOWLES: I actually love my natural hair when it’s in a twist out and it’s been slept on for five days and revived by the steam of the shower. A lot of people say, “It’s so beautiful. Why don’t you wear it like that all the time?” Well, I’m in all these different places and working with different hairstylists, so it’s important for me to wear it in a protective style.

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