Where to Shop with Siblings

A post for those of us with siblings who are nearly decades apart...

...and who appreciate together time.

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Dreaded double standard

Photo credit: loverastafari.tumblr.com

The dreadlock

Dreadlocks aren't just knots. They are a traditional hairstyle of the Rastafarian. The ones who see God in the Ethiopian emperor and in Africa the promised land. Dreads are also one of many hairstyles commonly worn by peoples of African descent. Maybe indirectly, then, dreads could be considered representative of a dimension of beauty  belonging to the African American race. Dreads emphasize the coarse, curly texture that makes Black hair so unique. More than any other hairstyle out there, I would say dreadlocks seem to embrace "naptural" textures. I'm sure that many would agree there is something beautifully stunning about a headdress of long (or short!) dreadlocks. So why is it that when non-Blacks, and more specifically White people, decide to lock their hair, they get a different reaction?

Not to be offensive to any White people who have begun or are thinking of beginning a rasta hair journey, but more often than not, it seems like people aren't so fond of the idea of dreadlocks on non-Blacks. I hear a lot of, "it looks messy," or "only Black people can pull off dreads." There seems to be this idea that White dreads seem unnatural or forced. But when we make these critiques, are we genuinely saying that White dreads look bad, or are we more simply and instinctively rejecting an image headbutting the "norm" that's been established for us?

The idea of more-typically White characteristics being the Western standard of beauty is a concept I've heard of often. It's also an idea that is hard to dispute. When you look at media and fashion, it becomes pretty evident that straight and wavy hair are what make it on screen. Maybe you'll find "tousled" and curly looks every now and then, but they'll be limited to defined curls (think Taylor Swift) and absolutely no frizz! It is true that over time, racial representations in mainstream media have inched closer to reality, but even considering the progress, media representations are still no where near accurate representations of the American population. When you look at Black women whose faces are present in the movies and TV shows, how many of them wear their hair natural? Close to none. There's a reason why Beyonce, Zoe Saldana, Tyra Banks, Lauren London, Oprah...(the list goes on) rarely ever wear their hair in its natural state, and it probably has a lot to do with the American standard of beauty.

So here is the real question. Straightening Black hair and wearing wigs and weaves are equally as "unnatural" (well, actually more unnatural than) locking White hair, right?  So why is it that heads turn when Whites resort to typically Black hairstyles, but when Blacks resort to typically White hairstyles, nothing feels too out of the ordinary?

Photo credit: amycore.tumblr.com 

Admittedly, I've had the thought before that only Black people can really pull of dreads. But, lately I've been noticing more and more dreads on non-Blacks around campus, and I've begun to pick up on something I was missing before. People, Whites and Blacks included, are beginning to see something ideal in frizz and to see beauty in texture.

It feels as though Black women are especially affected by White American beauty standards. Black women actually purchase 80% more cosmetic products annually than do general market women (I'm probably in there somewhere, too). Some say that the yearning for straighter hair could be traced back to before Black civil rights. Straighter hair or looser curls implied being mixed, having traces of Caucasian blood. During and shortly after slavery, relations with White people could have been seen as a sign of status, and straighter hair then, could have been seen as more prestigious. Wherever the de-texturized ideal came from, I would say it's made many people feel negatively towards their textured or curly hair as if it is ugly or unwanted.

White dreads prove them wrong. Now, textured hair is becoming something fashionable. People are recognizing the beauty of Black hair. Not only is the general public becoming more tolerant of natural Black hair, in the sense that more women are embracing their natural textures (and now you may even spot an afro or two in corporate America), but White people are actually going out of their way to achieve Black hair textures. We're experiencing a cross pollination of racial differences. Now, the envy goes both ways. Despite any stigma against dreaded White hair, I find something very positive in them. Maybe as Rastafarians see divinity in Africa, the general public is starting to see beauty in Black hair texture. White dreads seem radiant of racial tolerance and appreciation. I think I kind of like them.

-doe

Photo credit: loverastafari.tumblr.com

Photo credit: loverastafari.tumblr.com

Intense work outs that don't make magazines

Photo credit: northernlife.ca 
Climbing Jamaican waterfalls

I was actually pretty young when my parents took me on our Jamaica trip, so I don't actually remember doing this very vividly, but I do faintly remember. Maybe I'm just pretty low-energy, but I would say that this was definitely an energy-exerting experience. It was also a lot of fun and thrilling to be walking up a waterfall through rushing waters. The guides made us hold hands most of the way up, which I think made balance difficult. My mom actually slipped and dropped me at one point - which maybe made the scene feel more intense than it actually was, for me at least. If you're looking for a work out while still having fun and splashing around in the tropics, I would advise you to venture here. 

Kayaking trip with little sister

I thought I would be a nice big sister and make use of the kayaks my mom impulsively bought a few Summers ago, that spend the majority of Summer days sitting in the garage, hiding from the homeowner association that says we're not supposed to have boats. I offered to take one of my little sisters and her friend on a kayaking trip at a nearby lake. It made for good bonding time and also a crazy arm work out. This may be because I have spaghetti arms, but both my little sister and her friend (who are both probably stronger than I am) said that they thought it was hard on their arm muscles, too. If you're looking for a way to work out your arms without the use of a personal trainer, a gym, weights, bench presses or any of those fancy work out machines, I think kayaking may be your answer. 

Trail maintenance and gibbon 

observation in the Thai rainforest

This was no easy task. The Gibbon Rehabilitation Project (GRP) had us volunteers working from 6:30am to around 3:00pm everyday. Work involved walking for miles and miles through rain forest terrain and doing maintenance work like clearing and sweeping trials and tracking wild gibbons. Walking through rain forests wasn't simply walking either, it was keeping up with our quick-paced guides, crawling under and over thick tree trunks that had fallen on the trail, crawling under massive spider webs housing spiders the size of my hand, stepping along stones to cross small streams, and climbing up and down steep, rocks and dirt cliffs. It was like pacing through an obstacle course all day for two weeks. We were all tired and sweating but after a while, we got so used to it. Though the motive behind volunteering with the GRP was not to get a good work out, it still did just that. All the work was well worth it in the end. As you can see in the photograph, our gibbon tracking was a success.

Climbing Lake Michigan sand dunes

Towards the end of the Summer, my boyfriend and I planned a camping trip on a site near Lake Michigan. We definitley miscalculated the distance between our camp site and the beach while looking over the maps, so we decided we would just walk over the dunes instead of drive. The man at the camp convenience store tried to warn us subtly that it would be an intense treck, but we didn't take his warnings very seriously. We didn't realize that when we reached the edge of the dunes along our campsite, we were literally miles from the beach. We climbed up this initial mound of sand, which I think must be the steepest I've ever climbed. We figured the beach would be just over the top. We finally got up there to see no beach anywhere, just vast amounts of hot desert sand. This sand wasn't just flat, either. It was up and down and burning hot. On the way down one slope, I started getting burned and actually lost a flip flop. Eventually we reached a point where we could see the blue water in the distance and we kept going. When we finally arrived, we were gasping for water. I think we got Pepsi. It was the best Pepsi I've ever had. I think climbing dunes is probably the number one most intense work out I've done. If you're going to do this, I'd suggest wearing shoes with straps. 

Photo credit: ccjm.com
Getting lost in Washington DC

I took one of my little sisters on an overnight trip to Washington DC. Everything was going well. We visited the zoo and got kiddie food and everything was good. Then we started walking around town. I looked over the map before we headed out but of course didn't bring it. I knew our hotel was on C Street. Little did I know, there are actually four different C Streets in down town DC, and that we had actually wandered very, very far from our hotel. It started getting late and we started getting tired and decided to head back. Soon enough, we found C street. It looked a little different, but it was certainly C Street because the sign said so. We literally walked up and down this whole street maybe three to five times. The hotel seemed to have literally disappeared. At this point, we got a little panicked and headed toward the more populated part of town to be safer. We must have spent hours walking all over town trying to find our hotel. Eventually, we spotted a normal looking couple that kindheartedly guided us back to where we wanted to go. Thank God for nice people. All that walking, though (and increased heart rate from panic) probably made for a decent cardio work out, I would say, but If you're going to walk all around DC for some exercise, at least bring a map.


-doe