The natural hair movement is a beautiful thing. Embracing one's natural kinks and curls continues to be a powerful force against society’s limited standard of beauty. The movement goes hand in hand with the fight for civil rights. However, there are some people who claim to be leaders of the movement but actually may be doing more harm than good. These people are known as "natural hair nazis."
According to urban dictionary, natural hair nazis are "Black females with natural hair (hair that has not been relaxed) who believe that it is their responsibility to harass and scold other black women who choose to still relax their hair.” But, the definition is definitely not limited to black women. Men can be natural hair nazis as well. These individuals tend to think that natural hair is one of the main signs of self love and true blackness and anyone who conforms to the white standard of beauty by relaxing their hair or wearing weaves is a disgrace to the black race and should be put in check.
Most of the “checking” takes place on social media sites like Instagram where they often bully black women with relaxed hair or engage in nasty debates about what true blackness entails. Natural hair nazis are not an established group of people. You can simply be labeled as a natural hair nazi, for instance, by re-posting a meme that says relaxed hair = self hate. Many people like blogger Lincoln Anthony Blades argue that natural hair nazis are focused more on dividing the black community rather than uniting it. I agree to a certain extent. But I do believe that Natural hair nazis are just trying to educate others about the undeniable origin of oppression that relaxed hair stems from. They are just going about about it the wrong way. Just like criticism from closed minded religious leaders, judgmental statements from natural hair nazis isn’t very effective in convincing black women to go natural. Instead of being angry, we should respectfully educate people about the origin of relaxed hair and then keep it moving. We can’t convince every body. If they are moved, let them be moved. If not, there is no need to bully or pull people down just because their opinions differ from your own.
But Natural Hair nazis aren’t the only threats to the black community. People who say “natural hair isn't for everybody” also have more intentions to divide than unify in my opinion. This phrase does so much damage that many people don’t realize. I once came across a hair stylist on Instagram who said that “Natural hair isn’t for everybody because some of y’all walking around here looking like a cast member from 12 years a slave.” Then she proceeded to say “choke yourself.” Ummm that was quite encouraging. I don’t usually engage in social media debates with people I don’t know. But her comments were so disturbing that I just had to say something. I asked, "how is natural hair not for everybody when that is how God made them?" She responded saying that she was referring to people who cannot deal with high maintenance natural hair, often leaving it unkempt. That is the problem right there. Instead of discouraging people who want to wear their hair natural by saying it is not for them, we should educate them about how to properly manage it. Because at the end of the day, it IS for them because that is how God MADE them. They just weren’t taught how to deal with their hair.
That all being said, Let’s help each other through positive education, not put each other down with nasty insults and then want to say we are helping the black community. Natural Hair IS FOR those with natural hair. Period. And people with relaxed hair have the right to have their own opinions about blackness. Progress can only be made through inclusion, not separation. Let’s focus on what unites us as a community instead of what separates us.
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