I love it when anyone claims their curly pride especially when it makes national news!
Does anyone know if this was a topic on the show today?
Straight vs.Curly Hair
by Dr. Gail Saltz
http://gailsaltz.ivillage.com/health...?par=today,hgy
This topic is really near and dear to my heart because I am a curly haired woman who has gone from feeling absolutely tortured about my hair as a kid (I don't fit in, I can't make it look good, kids are teasing me for looking weird or different) to being told I really should wear it straight for work (it looks neater, more professional, etc.) to just recently deciding that I have had it with constantly blow drying it straight (a long, laborious task) and that actually I now love my curls and feel that my outside should reflect my inside and I am at heart, a curly girl. I feel more authentically myself curly, even if now and then I decide its fun to switch it up with a straight "do."
But, it has surprised even me, how strongly people feel about a woman's hair, both male and female. How many people felt comfortable saying "I really don't like your hair curly" and how many really gushed that they much prefer it that way. How could one look evoke such opposing and vehement responses?
Hair is really a woman's crowning glory, a reflection of her tastes, her feelings, and people "THINK" they know a lot about you from your hair. Of course, this isn't necessarily true. But each person has their own interpretation based on their life experiences about what hair color, texture and style mean. I went from hearing as a straight haired woman that I was "serious," "intense," and "smart," to hearing that I look "sexy," "cute," "spunky," and a "spitfire." Well, I have not changed, but when people respond to you based on your look, you can see how it might also alter your self-view and your behavior because they are treating you differently.
Throughout history, hair has been seen as a sign of strength (Samson) and often sexuality. That still rings true today for many women who feel "good" if she likes her hair that day and feel "lousy" if she is, in fact, having a "bad hair day." Many children and adults find it so upsetting to get a bad haircut. Losing your hair is a very traumatic event for many men and for the (fewer) women that it happens to.
Our iVillage Index showed that less than half of all women liked their hair! That is sad, because while it is human to feel that the grass is greener somewhere else, I think many women are not happy with their hair because they think they should look like the models and celebrities in magazines and you all know they had someone spend several hours making their hair look that way.
My voyage with hair has reminded me how important it is to appreciate who you are, to embrace your individuality, and that being the "real" you is as good as it gets.
Just read this on the Today Show website: Straight vs. Curly
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