17 June 2012

A Hairy Post.

He had to bend down so I could take his picture.
G has exactly the sort of hair I'd always wanted.  Ring-y curls all over the place.  The kind of hair  that I paid $60 to perm (and this was back in the 1980's) to get.  The kind that he hates.

Judging from the way everyone treats him, I guess I don't blame him.  Strangers - even old ladies! - ask to touch his hair.  I've heard a lot of racial remarks, too, about his "Afro."  I'm really not sure whether to be insulted or mad that here people are dragging race into my kid's hairdo.  He has tried using a straightener before but literally he would look like some London Guard wearing his hat without the funky chinstrap.

I like his hair.  But it weirds me out that SO MANY otherwise NORMAL people feel compelled to touch his hair and talk about it.  I think maybe G should set up a booth with "Your Hair Questions Answered!  $1/minute" in the front yard.  Who needs a summer job if he gets a steady business, right?

PS.  Ironically, he is very shy and I paid him $2 for the ability to do this post.  :)

7 comments:

  1. Wow! And I thought the 70s were over!
    But I do agree that having old ladies ask to touch your noggin is a little bizarre :)

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  2. He has amazing hair!
    It might look less like an affro if it was shorter!
    My son's have hair like that too... only they keep it fairly short.

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  3. My kids get strangers asking them if they can touch their hair all. the. time. Maybe it is because I am an introvert's introvert, but I can't even imagine asking such a thing.

    Great hair! I think he may be going for the early John Stamos look.

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  4. It's very cute! It's does get tiring being treated like a chia-pet, doesn't it. Speaking of race and hair, a very well-meaning lady said to each of my kids this weekend (a boy and a girl)... "is all that hair yours?". Ugh... annoying. Black people can't have a lot of hair anymore without someone thinking it is a weave... stereotypes, stereotypes.

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  5. How does he reply when people ask to touch his hair??

    That is strange.

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  6. Grandpa, he INSISTED on wearing that jacket. I used to have a nice one like that myself :)

    Chris, in some ways, it lessens the curls to cut his hair but the ones that are left are even more curly, yk?

    Julie, at least they are ASKING. People keep petting G on the head as though he were a puppy. :/

    Andrea, that is ALMOST as unclassy as asking someone if those are her real boobs. Stereotypes indeed. And who cares if it ISN'T natural hair? Like... why do they need to know this?

    Blondee, it IS strange. You'd think some guy over 6ft 4 would be unapproachable and not likely to be petted and fussed over. You'd be wrong! No clue why.

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  7. My hair dries into ringlets if I leave it to dry itself after washing it. But it doesn't stay that way. As soon as I run a comb through it, the hair becomes a mess of wavy curls in all directions.

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Non-troll comments always welcome! :)

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