Getting it all on Tape...again.... and final?

I held a shoot last Sunday, once again, hoping to capture as many stories on film as I possibly could. At first, I only had a few individuals lined up to shoot, and, even then, I wasn't sure of their availability, since it was in a "wait-and-see" state. However, I was pleasantly surprised to see that so many other women were willing to help me out, as if the subject itself had burst forth a plethora of generosity and community spirit. At the last minute, one of my neighbors, upon finding out that I could not find women with braids to interview, invited over one of her friends and that friend's child, who also has braids, to volunteer their time and their stories to my project. They were so inviting that they also let me film my neighbor's husband getting his hair done by the woman who volunteered her perspective (she is a very skilled hair braider as well).

In addition, my boyfriend's nieces were generous enough to come by and share their stories as well. I am always amazed at how intelligent and perceptive teenagers and children are. The young girl with braids, as well as my boyfriend's two teenaged neices, were so observant, insightful and articulate. It makes me realize how much adults belittle the abilities of the young.

And, I think that the interviews also brought to light the answer to the question I was pondering only a little while back: braids are not necessarily unpopular anymore, but I think that many black women are trying to explore other aspects of their hair choice. Ten years ago (let's say mid-90s), it would be shocking to see a woman with her hair in a curly fro, which is quite the style right now in pop-culture (not necessarily in the office, especially outside of a metropolis or college campus), but it wouldn't be too hard to find braids. However, while braids (and even to an extent, locks) have a way of, depending on the perspective, emulating long, straight hair, they also can carry negative assumptions as well, since much of the braiding process requires extensions (althought cornrows may not), and it still comes from a long tradition of African hair culture and style. There is still an element of acceptance for children, as I have read in many texts, mainly because it is looked at a traditional style for children of all races (in different forms, of course, since for many white children, this takes on the form of pigtails). However, when adopting styles for adults, there are other representations that come into the mix. I have to research this more before I articulate it clearly, but it is definitely within the realm of styles that we as black women are hesitant to accept, especially for the workplace.