Digital Femme blogger Cheryl Lynn Eaton, in a cross-post at Racialicious, checks in on the recent transformation of popular Marvel Comic character Idie Okonkwo, who straightened her hair. She asks if Okonkwo will be demonized in the media for trying to pass for something she is not.
Straight, curly, relaxed, or natural — it really shouldn’t matter how you wear your hair. And yet it does. Simply put, when one particular type of hair (kinky, or tightly coiled) is repeatedly demonized in the media, those who alter their appearance to mask that type are going to be scrutinized. Does she hate herself? Is she trying to pass as something that she is not?
For those happy and well-adjusted black women who have long since come to terms with negative media portrayals and still choose to wear relaxers or press their hair, these questions are infuriating. Can’t one simply desire a different look? After all, it is rare to encounter a white woman who has lightened her hair subsequently accused of despising her ethnic background. It’s just hair. I still press my hair occasionally, and any poor soul who had the audacity to question me about it would need at least a full day of mental recuperation from the verbal assault that would ensue.
Over in Marvel’s Wolverine and the X-Men, resident ingénue Idie Okonkwo has changed her hairstyle from a large, black afro to an equally cute straight, brown pixie cut. Normally, for a well-adjusted black teen who loved herself, such a change would not draw any attention. Nor should it.
However, Idie is not normal.
Read Cheryl Lynn Eaton's entire blog entry at Racialicious.