Beyonce's baby sister parted ways with her weave this week and the critics, celebs and civilians alike, took her to task for the offense of unnecessary baldness. I thought she looked chic. What did you think - is it a glamour(ous) 'do or a glamour(ous) don't?
The junior Knowles, who's tried everything in the last year from war paint to day-glo bodysuits in her feeble attempt at shining beneath the total eclipse that is Beyonce, seems already to be buckling under the weight of the backlash.
A friend told me that Solange has since been spotted wearing a wig. (Side note: Kanye is dating a chick, Amber Rose, with a nearly bald, blonde 'do and the reaction to her futuristic 'fro has included a contract with the Ford modeling agency. Hunh?)
Feeling pressed to respond to the overwhelming response, Solange took to her Twitter account, and addressed the uproar in a hyper-punctuated series of tweets. The gist of it was that she simply wanted to get free.
We all know that in pop/soul music, big hair, long hair, fake hair, processed hair are de riguer unless you're among the bold and beautiful few like Erykah or Jill.
ONLY reason i responded to this i have is because i was disappointed to see my name more talked about then #iranelection. dont. want. a. edge. up. or a perm. because. im not trying. to make this “a style” or a statement. i. just. wanted. to. be. free. from. the. bondage. that. black. women sometimes. put. on. themselves. with. hair."
And we do. I once rode an A train to Brooklyn and realized that Every single black girl in that car had Naomi Campbell-length tracks sewn into her mass of concealed cornrows. Indeed, with my own straightened, always weave-less shoulder-length 'do, I was an anomaly. It was as if a decree had come down: If it isn't long, it's wrong.
Once, years ago, I pulled a Solange and took scissors and clippers to my head after some emotional isht and went to my brother's barber shop to shape-up the nape. The male barbers were disappointed to say the least.
But the barber who reluctantly edged me up was far more cruel than Bow Wow to Solange. He seemed personally offended, bent over my head, barking, "Did you do this shit over some guy?!"
When I saw the flicks of Miss "Soul Angel" on the 'Net, I was right back in that barber's chair on Long Island. Felt for her. You can tell when someone's reaching, searching. And black women inordinately dig deep by confronting their hair.
In that period, I learned some ugly truths but I learned some profound, enduring truths, too, that I might not have if I hadn't been stripped down to my barest essentials.
Here's hoping Solange logs off Twitter and goes deep.
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