Ever since, I was a little girl I had big, puffy and knotted short hair. Which, in some places having these characteristics, it is not viewed as pleasing. I was born in San Juan, Puerto Rico. A place where having 'pelo bueno' is truly appreciated since it is viewed as the crown that showcases your value. Some describe this golden attribute of good hair, as a person who has fine, sleek and presentable hair. Yet, the question that keeps popping up in my mind is what does it mean to have "presentable" hair? Some people say it means to have controlled, blows in the air type of hair or to have 'eurocentric' type of hair. Now, the counterpart of 'pelo bueno' is 'pelo malo', meaning bad hair. This is the type of hair, that my grandmother says is appalling to the eye, since it is everything else but sleek and straight. Hence, the reason why many young girls, starting at the age of 10 or even younger, have treatments known as "Alisados" to break down the curl shape and turn it into a sleek hair for just a few weeks.
I have been a part of those group of young girls, who have bought into the idea that an "Alisado" was necessary to be considered beautiful by society. That somehow my curly "bad" hair was a burden and that its texture was a curse, for a while this is what I believed. Yet, these values of fine hair beauty were fed, when I went to a predominantly white High school, where the Hispanic population is pretty small. Lots of the girls had straight hair and only some had their natural hair do's.The funny thing was that many of my classmates, friends and teachers loved my hair when it was pin-straight, yet with my curly hair I hardly heard a compliment. It's truly funny, In a sarcastic way, how straight hair is embraced more than curly hair or even more specific, how sleek hair tangle-free is more sought after than big thick hair.
Maybe, this idea of what hair was acceptable started in my childhood, when I played with white dolls with long straight hair and non-curvaceous bodies, or when I watched the "telenovelas" in la sala with grandpa. I am not sure, yet I do know that I will no longer shame my hair for what it is because it is BEAUTIFUL.
My crown represents my ancestors, my heritage, my culture, my values and most importantly, me. So yes! I am not surprised that in today’s time women are still judged by their outward appearance, but more harshly on their identities. My hair or “The Lion Mane” as I call it, is a part of who I am. It is wild, free and untamed. It is its own being. One day it can be nice and perfectly curled and others it can be like a cotton ball. Yet, when I don’t have my hair in its natural state, I don’t truly feel like myself, I feel as if a part of who I am is being robbed.
This is my definition of beauty, love what you have and embrace it. My hair is NOT a political statement, it is my hair and it is not good or bad hair, for those words are society's way to degrade value. Therefore, I ask you today to do me a favor, young women and men, name your hair by its own name and give "it" its own identity, and not what society tells you to name it. All in all, I would like to tell my 9-year-old self, "Tu pelo es bellisimo," your hair is beautiful!
