There’s no denying that black hair has always been a talking point- everyone seems to have an opinion on it. Last week, Northern Stage hosted Cynthia Butare and Mundia Situmbeko’s documentary, Kickin’ It with the Kinks.
The film explores afro hair texture, the history of black hair, societal norms and expectations and the dangers of chemicals to this hair type. It considers more than just the hair itself and looks into the lives of women who have natural hair, relaxed (chemically straightened) hair, permed hair, weaves and braids in all their variety. It was interesting to observe a debate that was recorded with Manchester Met’s Afro-Caribbean Society and to listen to the varying views among men and women in the group about the acceptability of natural hair and what role it really plays within someone’s identity. Whilst watching, I felt as though I was revisiting stages of my personal hair journey and was somewhat thankful that I returned to my natural curls when I did.
There is the common misconception amongst many races that afro hair is unmanageable- which are highly untrue. As highlighted by one woman featured in the documentary, something is only unmanageable if you do not know how to manage it; education is key. Hair education (or hairducation) may well be the way to ensure that ‘going natural’ is much more than just a ‘trend’. Like all things, once a trend booms it will tail off- some people will continue to follow it whilst others will try something different or go back to something they did previously. However, if we kill the initial misconception that a challenge lies ahead then we are already over one of the biggest hurdles on the route to the natural revolution.
However, undoing the mindless feeding of Eurocentric beauty standards to generation after generation of women will not be easily undone. People always want what they don’t have (after all, we’re only human) and when the media parades you a circus of long flowing locks on the likes of Kim Kardashian, Nicole Scherzinger and Cheryl Fernandez-Versini, it’s no surprise that we may begin to wonder if a little less kink does go a long way. The chances of us seeing a woman with an afro advertising a hair product on TV are virtually zero and to add to that more often than not the only way you’ll find any products that cater to afro hair will be in ‘the black hair shop’. Now, recently Boots and Superdrug have been adding afro hair products to their shelves, which is great. However, it’s 2015 and #teamnatural is not a phenomenon that started last week.
“Society is multicultural, so surely the shops should be too”: a comment in the documentary that certainly rings true and certainly brings into question why the media and the beauty industry like to treat afro hair as something ‘other’. This otherness creates somewhat of a shame culture around natural hair- which is inherently wrong. Afro hair should no longer be stigmatised as ‘unprofessional’ or ‘different’: it should be appreciated in the way that other hair types are. Black and mixed race women have the right to choose whether or not they wear their hair in a natural style. After all, hair is a part of us that gives us freedom to express ourselves. Whether someone chooses to wear a weave, braids, use relaxer or stick to their natural locks is completely up to the them. The important thing is that women are confident in themselves and proud of their roots.
Kickin it with the Kinks is available to view online at https://vimeo.com/52351813
