As Destiny's Child lead singer Beyonce's barnet gets blonder and longer we ask whether relaxing your hair is a sign that you are uncomfortable with being black?
I'm currently growing out my relaxed hair because I want to be 'au naturel'! I relaxed it so it would be easier to manage. Maybe subconsciously I wanted to be able to flick it over my shoulders like white girls. Afro hair is very versatile though, you can have cornrow, dreadlocks, plaits etc. But why shouldn't black people be allowed to relax their hair? At the end of the day it's a personal decision. Does relaxing your hair mean you're trying to be white? Surely real freedom would mean black people should be allowed to do what they want with their hair.
Sekai Makoni, 14.
I think it does a bit. Black people are born with beautiful curly hair which is different from everybody else's. You should be able to use this a difference and make the best of it. There are many black people who don't relax their hair during their entire life and they still look pretty. Famous people like Destiny's Child make young people think that you have to relax your hair to be cool. If more famous people had unrelaxed hair maybe young people would think its cool to have natural hair.
Benjamina Avro-Owiriwa, 13
Relaxing your hair doesn't make you any more or less black then someone that does not relax their hair. Black people relax their hair so that it is straight and easier to manage. Anyone with Afro-Caribbean hair will know that it a lot higher maintenance then European or Asian hair. Although relaxing is the easiest and most permanent way of straightening Afro hair, it is actually a chemical, which can damage your hair, if not looked after properly.
Emma Dennis Edwards, 13
If someone finds their hair difficult to handle, and they want to make the job a little easier, this doesn't mean they're ashamed of their race. If a white person wants to perm their hair, does this mean they're uncomfortable with being white? And what about a person of mixed race? Does this mean they can neither perm or relax their hair without being accused of liking one race over another? The answer is no to both questions. People have a right to do whatever they want to their hair.
Keshia Harvey, 13
The only thing that I feel women find uncomfortable is the impracticality of having natural hair. Relaxing your hair is simply an aid to making styling not the biggest task since Mission Impossible. If we were to take into account that straightening your hair was a sign of being uncomfortable with being black, couldn't we also say that speaking in an English accent also reinforces these ideas?
Della Hicks-Wilson, 15.
About the team
The Answer the question panel are members of Children's Express London bureau. This column was published as part of Teen Talk, the Children's Express page in New Nation.
