African has been adopting Alien Religions, Values, Customs, and Standards of Beauty for centuries now, I don’t think there’s anything new about this tragic trend.
I think our Sisters on the Continent wear weaves for the same reasons our Sisters of the African Diaspora do; because they are bombarded by the Western media, that is saturated with Black women who aggressively hold to the Blonde and or Straight hair as being most feminine and beautiful, and on the flip side we don’t have any Global African Media to boost the African Aesthetic consistently, without compromise. The most talented and visible Black women on the planet consistently parade on the global stage in Blonde weaves, light colored contacts, and appear in fashion magazines with lightened skin.
This is called AS-R (African Self-Rejection), and it is the result of a very deliberate and ongoing psychological attack against all African people by our Oppressors, those who profit from our dysfunction; mainly the Western Imperial Powers, who also control the Global Media and manufacture these Black “Divas” (aka White Goddess) who aggressively promote the Blonde Haired Black Woman images to their loving Black female and male fans.
Black men also send Black women both subtle and blatant messages and signals that we prefer that Black women have as many Western features and characteristics as possible, from lighter skin, to straight hair, to having identical attitudes and dispositions as White women. We want our African Sisters to behave like White women are shown to behave in Western Media; that’s why there’s that obscene stereotype of Black women being hard to get along with, or having bad attitudes, or being gold diggers, and other bullshit.
Instead of aggressively defending Black women, and denouncing these stereotypes, Black men join other Races in mocking and condemning Black women who express their pain, discontent, aggression, or sadness that comes from the levels of oppression and disrespect she endures.
There is a long standing expectation that Black women have understanding and give support for Black men who struggle to make their way in a “White man’s world,” but we too often fail to reciprocate that support and understanding to Black women, especially when a Black man actually “makes it,” (and by “it” I mean a shit load of money and fame) in the “White man’s world." Hell, Kanye even exposed this in his Gold Digger song, only to do that very shit in real life, and he’s far from the only one.
So we expect Black women to be as gingerly, sweet, and malleable as we are lead to image White women are, even though the average White woman has not seen a fraction of the challenges that Black women endure with grace and power in this world. Also, I’ve yet to meet a White woman who’s anything like the White women Black men pressure Black women to be like, except those on the TV, music videos, and magazines.
To be honest, this System even destroys the self esteem and self image of White women too, so it’s an even greater tragedy that Black women are looking to a lost population in order to find their way. All women under this insane system are degraded, all women, even White women, and many of them employ toxic and torturous "beauty” treatments to look attractive. SMH.
Yes, Black women expose themselves to toxic and crippling chemicals and substances to maintain their White Standard of Beauty, which would require a whole new post to get into.
Even “Conscious,” African-Centered Black men impose White Puritanical standards on Black women, for beauty and behaviors! Shit is fucked up all around. The weaves are just the tip of the iceberg.
So, all in all, it’s not real mystery why so many Sisters opt to just wear weaves in African and around the world. I think it takes some pressure off, and allows them to fell more appreciated and attractive, like when a Black man wears a suit are earns some White status symbol, or any other shit to be less Black and more White.
It hurts me to see so many African women all over the world in weaves, or mimicking any Western, Asian, or India features or characteristics, for any reason. I hate seeing these Self-Rejecting Celebs paraded as role models for little Black girls. I hate that we don’t see our natural features as the standard, the only standard of beauty for us.
But all things are political, and as we organize to transform the power relationships in this world and build towards Pan-African Liberation, we will come to embrace ourselves and our hair textures once again.
All praises for the Sisters who embrace their Natural Hair and features, no matter how they manifest, all over the Globe.
We, Black men need to support Black women weave or no weave, they don’t need us tearing them down, even if they engage in actions we don’t agree with, they need us to be an ally in their individual empowerment, and our collective empowerment. We can support natural hair on Black women without waging war against Sisters who make other choices, and let them know that our criticism of the weaves and the toxic cosmetic industries is not a personal attack against them.
