Sure, baby girls get their ears pierced and nails painted. But is straightened hair (not to mention its accompanying physical and psychological implications) taking things a little too far?
According to one mother's Facebook post that's getting a lot of attention, many people say yes. From BlackAmericaWeb:
This week a mother posted a photo of her 5-month-old daughter's straightened hair on her Facebook page.
Since then the web has gone wild with comments on both sides of the argument. The mother does not disclose how her child's hair was done. However, people are upset thinking she is too young for the hairstyle while others believe the mother has the right to style her child's hair how she wants.
Well, clearly the mother has the right to style her child's hair any way she chooses, but that sort of misses the issue (or, rather, multiple issues).
Besides expressions of a widespread visceral "that's just wrong" reaction, responses to the image on Facebook have covered everything from the perceived physical risks (heat, chemicals and/or just having to be still for baby beauty-salon time can't be infant-friendly), aesthetics (this child's delicate scalp won't have any hair left to straighten by her second birthday) and the psychology of internalized racism (can she at least learn to walk before she gets the message that the way she looks isn't OK?).
Let us know in the comments: What would you tell this mother, who appears to believe that a hot comb belongs right alongside the baby powder and diapers?
Read more at BlackAmericaWeb.