Weave - How Many of Us Need Them?

As I entered the gentleman’s club the music quickly allured me. Sounds that a man should only dance to when alone convinced me to grab a seat and get a drink. And though it is rumored that a woman has to look a certain way to entertain men, age has pulverized that myth. So, I sipped on a cranberry juice, while screening the room and allowed the smoke, cologne, perfume, adrenaline, hormones and sweat to blend into one enticing concoction. I had refused a few dances before I saw what I liked and ordered another cranberry juice. At any moment the beautiful, well sculpted, video babe type sista would make her way to me. Besides, she had studied me since I had sat down. Hell, this is why I was there. Not for excitement. Not even for sex. C’mon – they’re called strip clubs and I appreciate the slow, seductive movements of temptress, on occasion.
At any rate, the vixen shimmied into my life and we immediately cliqued. Her hands braced against my shoulders as she periodically whispered things in my ear, teased my lips with brushes of her breast and swept her hair across my face. I quickly thought that an ambience of jazz and less calculating movements would be more suitable for a woman of such beauty. So, I arranged to meet her later. Yeah, we met, but over the weeks I would learn more about the pressures of beauty, image and living in Atlanta as I discovered that the beautiful woman with the long tresses was the average sista with identity issues.
Atlanta has a variety of women with an assortment of hairstyles. Sadly, not all of them are wearing their own hair. More importantly, not all of them need the wig, extension, clip-on or weave, either. For various reasons, they each cover, adorn or alter their natural crown for a look that suggests that being a Black woman may be just as tough as being an employed Black man. Mind you, white women do alter and extend their hair, but it is less noticeable, unexpected and unforeseen. One would wonder why a white girl needs weave when sistas getting weave are mostly choosing straight hairstyles, because white hair is perceived as better and/or good hair. And of all the things that a white girl may put on or take off, few expect hair to be a concern. Words like nappy, kinky or bad hair only add to the dislike and confusion contained by self-hatred. Of course, so-called Black publications only exacerbate the identity crisis with pictures of straight haired, light complexioned or bleached skin sistas.
No doubt, we all have been conditioned by the media, but there is no scientific evidence to suggest that the damage done to our psyche cannot be reversed, obliterated or reprogrammed. Nah, it won’t be easy. Moreover, it is not difficult to love a natural sista with natural hair. Somehow, we have to learn to love who we are and ascertain that our women know that we love them as they are.
As for the dancer-friend, she wore she of the most expensive and deceptive hair on the market. To this day, I think she showed me the hair to get me out of her life. :)