FOTKI

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Dinn

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Dinn

Hi All,
It took me a minute to finally get this together, but it's here. This is only the beginining I plan to add pics quite often, so check in as frequently as you would like. Enjoy!

The Preconceived Misconception

In Septemebr of 2003, after much contemplation, I made an ultimate decision that opened the door to my awareness of inequality for women in general and women of color specifically. For most of my life I have worn my hair straight by the use of chemical relaxers. Today in my culture it is expected of you not to wear your hair naturally and not to show pride in our heritage. I felt that I would not have been true to myself or culture by relaxing my hair. My hair was not healthy. It seemed as though I was cutting more off to maintain a head full of healthy hair than growing it. At the time I was working for a finance company and had not informed any of my co-workers of my decision. When I returned to work the day after the "BC", to my disappointment, many of my co-workers questioned my sexuality or thought I was physically sick i.e. cancer, or just plain ol' CRAZY. Where I had seen my short and coily kinks as a display of beauty, they seen them as a deviance that triggered these misconceptions. I even noticed through body language that because of a simple haircut, that men and women did not view me as feminine. One may think that these actions would make me or someone in my position weak, but TRUST, it only made me wanna whoop somebody's A**! Ok, I'm just playing. But seriously, these actions actually confirmed my realization that in our society norms are based on preconceived perceptions of those with a soverign status and are somehow contagious to the rest of us. Fortunatley, I am capable of surrounding myself with those that are not contracting these lame habits. The best way for me to deal with these kinds of barriers is to understand others with an open mind and put myself in their place. By achieving that I am setting an example for the standards of addressing inequalities that are not paid much attention to. Before cutting my hair I began to look for a support group or individual women of color who shared the same beliefs I do about natural hair. I found my satisfaction through www.nappturality.com. With their support I was able to absorb the idea these types of forums are the bridges being built that represent our foundation as not just women of diff. races, but women of diff. ethnicities, socio-economic status' and sexuality and are used to unite us with the acceptance of ourselves. It's a beautiful thang!

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