Good Hair?  by Margot Starbuck

Tuesday, March 09, 2010 - Comments 4

About twelve minutes after enthusiastically posting “GOOD HAIR ROCKS!” on my facebook page, I came to my senses and quickly deleted.

I’d just enjoyed Chris Rock’s HBO documentary about the African-American hair product industry, Good Hair, and wanted to get the word out.  As the comments started coming in, though, I realized that it wasn’t entirely clear, in cyberspace, whether I was announcing that Rock’s film rocked—which was my clever intention—or I that was touting the fact that smooth shiny bouncy hair sprung effortlessly out of my own scalp.

Clearly, those are two very frighteningly different posts.

The genesis of Rock’s surprisingly professional inquiry into the black hair industry came when one of his young daughters came to him and asked, “Daddy, how come I don’t have good hair?” His investigation took him through Greensboro, NC, Atlanta, India & Los Angeles where he learned, from men and women, about natural hair, relaxer, perms, weaves and more.

For readers who are new to the biz, relaxer (which sounds much more peaceful and soothing than it actually is) is a product which straightens naturally coarse hair.  One comedian, Paul Mooney, noted, from under a huge ‘fro, “If your hair’s relaxed, white people are relaxed.  If your hair is nappy, they aren’t happy.” This funny sentiment was expressed much more seriously by students at Santa Monica High School.  One girl, hair straightened, suggested that applicants for a position at a law firm might not be taken seriously were they to arrive for an interview with a vibrant shock of natural hair. 

Though I wish these girls were super-wrong, they’re not.  A friend of mine, who wears her kinky hair natural, teaches at a local grad school.  She’s had some great conversations with students about this very issue.  And although she would like to reassure her students who are entering professional church ministry that they won’t face the same sorts of pre-judgments, she can’t.

In the movie, Rock visits a chemist to learn more about the active ingredient in relaxer, sodium hydroxide.  Donning lab coat and safety goggles, the two conduct an experiment to test the impact of the chemical on an aluminum soda can.  After four hours soaking in the chemical solution, the can has completely dissolved!  Which is pretty scary for human heads.

Rock explains to the white scientist, “Black people put this in their hair.”

Shocked, the chemist asks, “Why would they do that?”

Deadpan, Rock replies, “To look white.”

And there it is.

Musical artist KRS-one comments, “European and Asian hair, the texture, seems to be the style that all women seem to be trying to achieve.”

Clearly, this is where it gets kind of dicey.  Critics of Rock’s film, many who are proud black women, don’t really want to be white, do they?  Of course not.  The quickest google will demonstrate that outrageous thing.

The fact remains, though, that millions of women are choosing to appear differently than the way we’ve been made.  I personally don’t think it’s a coincidence that the “different” we’re all choosing happens to match the appearance of a ten-inch high, plastic, blonde bombshell.

Please hear that: the time, energy and money that goes into changing the way we actually are is not at all particular to black women.  And though Rock doesn’t delve into the coloring, streaking, highlighting bleaching, dying and retouching that white women, and others, pay way too much money to do to ourselves regularly, that weird reality can’t be overlooked.  It’s what we, as humans, do.

In the final minutes of the film, actress Tracie Thoms noted, in amazement, “To keep my hair the same texture that it grows out of my head is revolutionary.” Wacky, but true.

Beloved, this is the revolution that needs to happen in the Church.  Can you imagine a congregation in which hair and eyes and brows and lips and wrinkles and saggy breasts were presented as they actually are?  (Sorry if that felt jarring) Here’s my two-fold fantasy of how that might look:

1. A visitor to a “natural” church would perceive, “I do not need to be any different than I actually am to be here.  I do not need to be hyper-polished to be accepted here.  This is a place where it’s safe to be real.” (I promise you, this is not the experience of most church visitors today—unless they accidentally show up at church on a night when AA is meeting.  Now that’s some church…)

2. The billions—billions, people—of dollars spent by Christians on beauty products could be redirected for kingdom building.  Beloved, we could change the world if we committed, together, to changing nothing about our physical appearances.  (And how hard is it, really, to do nothing?) Learn how you can participate, right now, at True Shift.

Here’s what I want to hear from blog readers: “Where do you see this revolution happening in the church?” I want names, people!  Specifically, I’m interested in the public figures who are living into this reality—that what God has made is, in it’s natural state, good—and are sharing the message with others.  Share with us, below, where you see this kingdom reality being lived out…

Margot Starbuck is the author of Unsqueezed: Springing Free From Skinny Jeans, Nose Jobs, Highlights and Stilettos.  Pre-order now at InterVarsity Press or learn more at www.MargotStarbuck.com.