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1. Natural Afro-Textured Hair is Magical
In the children's book entitled Sunne's Gift, the main character's beautiful afro-textured hair enables the character to make the sun rise and set. All afros have magical abilities. What hair defies gravity, replicates the DNA spiral and contains the force of whirlwinds and tornadoes? Natural afro-textured hair! Guess what? Most little black girls have that kind of hair!
8. Relaxers May Be Linked to Uterine Fibroids and Other Reproductive Disorders.
Another 2011 article in the American Journal of Epidemiology entitled 'Hair Relaxer Use and Risk of Uterine Leiomyomata in African-American Women' raised the hypothesis that hair relaxer use increases risk of uterine fibroids. Uterine fibroids are tumors in the uterus that can cause heavy bleeding, severe pain and complications during delivery and pregnancy, and they are the leading indication for hysterectomy in U.S. women. African-American women have 2-3 times the incidence of uterine fibroids of white women and the lifetime risk of uterine fibroids for African-Americans women is estimated to be as high as 80 percent. This ethnic disparity is not adequately explained by established risk factors such as alcohol, obesity and physical inactivity. It is possible that the lesions and burns of the scalp caused by hair relaxers facilitate entry of hormonally active compounds commonly found in relaxers into the body, thereby increasing black women's risk of uterine fibroids. Dr. Wise, lead author of the hair relaxers and fibroids article, is currently conducting a follow up study of environmental factors and fertility (PRESTO). If you'd like to contribute to research in this area click here.
We can't make sure that eat their vegetables or sleep early. Nor can we protect them from hormonally active compounds in food processing and in the air. But we can control what we put in their hair.
9. Relaxing Your Child's Hair May Give Your Child The Impression That Her Natural Hair is Not Good Enough.
What message are we sending our daughters about the state of their natural hair when we place our girls at risk of burns, reproductive disorders and early puberty by putting toxic and caustic chemicals in their hair in order to alter it? What is so bad about the kinks, coils, spirals and curls that God gave our girls that those kinks have to be eliminated by any torturous or toxic means necessary? Are we putting their spirits to death by sending them messages of self-hate? I'm not sure of the answers. It is possible that the issue is not that serious. But as caretakers of little black girl magbees (magical beings), we have to ask such difficult and inconvenient questions. The current climate of hair-bullying in schools and the military makes these questions even more timely. In my experience, black mothers are among the most generous, loving, self-sacrificing and devoted human beings on the planet, but many of us are unaware of all of the potential dangers of relaxers and therefore are not making informed choices. Moreover, black mothers face overwhelming pressures to make little girls comply with notions of beauty that are often rooted in white supremacy. The harsh criticism that Blue Ivy's afro received is evidence of those pressures regarding styling black girls' hair.
10. We Should Teach Our Children That They Are Perfect and Magical Just as They Are.
Regardless of whether or not you believe that relaxing a child's hair presents any physical or psychological danger, we can all agree that children of all races deserve affirmation and should be comfortable with their natural selves. In my children's book,Sunne's Gift: How Sunne Overcame Bullying to Reclaim God's Gift , the Creator tells children 'You are all my children, made in my image' and 'I made no mistakes in creating you all with your beautiful and varied colors, hair types and features.' I hope that all parents will read Sunne's Gift to their children because that is the message that ALL of our children need to hear. They need to hear that they are perfect as they are in order to have the confidence to face all of the challenges that life brings. You can take the Sunne's Gift pledge here .
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