naturalversary - month one. (HELP!)

hi all!

so today marks the the one month anniversary of going natural and i must say, that it has been a great journey thus far. i have noticed growth since the big chop and lots of cute curls sprouting up from everywhere, but now i'm trying to maintain a solid regimen for my natural hair.

let's rewind, shall we?

here's my hair the day of the big chop...

and here it is today - see that growth right therre?! *lol*

examining racism in the fashion- (documentary attached)

 "i need a black model, but she has to be a white girl dipped in chocolate..."

 



from music to movies, the industries that are driven by millions of consumers around the world seem to have one thing in common: there aren't that many african-americans that promote the products that these industries endorse. after watching this documentary about twenty-four year old model renee thompson, i just thought that this is something i should discuss.

everyday, i see thousands of advertisements about products that push being thinner or lighter or blemish free. as an african american female in america, this can very overwhelming. i'm not the thinnest person in the world, but these advertisements just make me want to try even hard to pursue this unrealistic representation of beauty. in my opinion, instead of promoting universal beauty, health and acceptance, the fashion industry and many industries like it are constantly drilling into young females heads that in order to be perfect, you must be a size 00.

renee thompson is a gorgeous girl and fierce model, but she's constantly rejected by major labels like gucci and prada because simply put "black models don't push products" - which i find extremely ironic since the hip-hop music that a percentage of blacks do listen to are usually talking about these labels (but that's another topic for another post).  there are so many different representations of beauty but until those are exposed and shown to the world, we really can't diverge from seeing a pale porcelain-skinned models on the cover of magazines and on billboards everywhere.

i want to start a dialogue about this topic - why do you think black models are scorned by the fashion industry for having full lips and curvy hips? will it ever change?

☮ and ♥, 

-*csc.

a case of "angry black woman" syndrome?

am i the only who sometimes feels a little guilty at times when i fall into the category of the "angry black woman"? you know, the one with a lot of attitude, rolling the neck and trying to always cuss someone out to prove her point sometimes? here's an example...

now while some (and i do mean very few) of those characteristics may come from me at times, it's not always so. yesterday, one of the people i'm on this trip with blatantly stated (right in front of my face too) that i was mean and seemed "scared" to come up and stand near me for a picture. in another instance, one girl on the trip told my roommate that she thinks that i don't like her. this could easily be because i've usually got quick comebacks and can be witty when i want to or i may be a little stand-offish at times, but other than that, i'm a little taken a back at why this would be.


am i looking into these two instances too much?

these two individuals could just be joking and usually back in syracuse, i throw the deuces and don't care, because that's their problem and not mine. no, i do not (nor do i ever) feel the need to "represent" for my race/culture on this trip nor am i trying to play some sort of victim. this could simply be a case of when i need to check my ego at the door, but i do feel as if though i should be educating these individuals, not only about generalizations of black females, but also about me as a person. sure i can sassy and maybe a little snappy at times, but i'm also sophisticated, sensitive, independent and rather friendly.

on the contrary though,  trips like this have taught me that people only take you for face value, and that's totally understandable. it's only six weeks and personally, i don't expect to share my whole life with these people. i've done my part to be nice on this trip, and that's that. i just don't like the whole notion of people jumping to conclusions about who i am with out really getting to know me because that sh*t right there is for the birds.

but putting everything in perspective, i guess it does give me yet another chance to learn about the type of person i am and somethings that i may need to work on because after all, this thing we call life isn't a destination but rather a journey :)

☮ and ♥, 

-*csc.