Tuesday, July 22, 2008

Hair Obsession

This past Saturday, I asked my cousin to trim my hair. Okay her idea of "trim" was to take my curly locks that used to reach my waist and reduce it to shoulder length. I am still in shock!

Husband walked in on the cut as soon as she was done and you could see the disappointment all over his face. I was irritated by the drastic change in length but had to laugh at the scowl on husbands face. He was perturbed (is that a word?) at the shortness of my locks. If I take a flat iron to my head, it might reach my bra line. Other than that, these curls are grazing my shoulder.

What is it about hair that makes a man desire it on a woman?

Culturally, I was raised to grow my hair. You could ONLY cut it on special occasions and usually the hair was given to make a headpiece, similar to the one in the picture. My mothers mother maintained long hair until the day she died. Her mother, my great grandmother maintained her locks well into her 80's. I suppose my husband was expecting the same of me. Most times, I agree because I like the idea that I am perpetuating my culture. I want to pass that heritage onto my children, especially my daughters.

However, I'm still curious -- what is it about my hair that makes my husband want me to maintain its length?


**Photo, courtesy of Polynesia.com

3 comments:

Darius T. Williams said...

I think for some men (not all), maintaining a long length of hair equates to the sheer essence of what a woman is. It's like if a woman never wore cute shoes, never had her nails done, never did her make up, never did those things that just coherently make a woman a woman.

I'm different though. So, if you like the new 'do...then hell, so do I!

Ui said...

i can't believe you cut your hair that short! omg...i wanna see. but whatever length..i'm sure you still rock it.

so...when we gonna do our hip hop abs again? lol....i was totally slacking this weekend. i was just totally busy. well...FOR SURE...when you come back from the reunion.

Anonymous said...

It's conditional thinking. I know in some cultures, it's a sign of wealth and stature (includes the man's mane as well). Who damn knows.