Curly hair perms, tanning salons, and the white woman?

Question

This question stems from yet another interesting conversation had in my office this morning. Why do some black women use creams to lighten their skin & relaxers to straighten their naturally curly hair, and why do some white women perm their naturally straight hair & spend money on tanning services? My co-workers (both white and black) all agreed that it was a matter of wanting to be like or liked the opposite race. I do not agree. What are your views?

Answer 1

I think people just want they don't have naturally , like a blond wanting to be brunette ,a flat chested woman wanting bigger **** yet the big breasted woman wanting to decrease her breast , a little kid wanting to be grown and grown ups wanting to be kids again
We all want what we don't have or wasn't born with to certain extant some go for the changes some don't
personally i have a a big derriere and very wide shaped bottom small waist even though I'm a size 4 i wish i could be a size 1 or i always wanted a birth mark on my lip and dimples yet my cousin have the dimples and she hates it stated it makes her look young
My point we all or some of us desire to be or have something else look wise etc ,human nature never satisfied with what God gave them i guess !!

Answer 2

I think there may be many answers to this question. Alot of it has to do with personal preference. Some of it has to do with the way you view yourself, based upon what the media portrays as beauty. An example could be blacks lightening their skin. Perhaps they perceive lighter skin more acceptable and beautiful. IS this a view they have been fed by the media? Is this because they feel no value in their own skin color? I mean there are so many reasons. Why do some white people go to tanning salons? Because some are very pale in color, and you can see all the veins, and some just want to cover up the imperfections that can be seen, and maybe some just like the heat. The bottom line is either way you are not happy with your skin color. That is what tanning is about, you are not happy with your skin. That is what the lightening of the skin is about you. It all one way or another stems down to the perception of the individual that is making the modifications. Rather they are personal, or they have been shaped by their parents, themselves, the media, what they read or society. Take your pick :)

Answer 3

I agree with you...Your co-workers don't know what the hell they're talking about. If they have any of this sh!t done to them, well, we see their reasons for it. I don't wear perms/relaxers or dye my hair, and when I did, it damn sure wasn't to look like a white woman. Why would I want to look like a white woman when I have all of the exotic features of a beautiful black woman? I dyed my hair because I wanted a new look and wanted to see how it looked on me. I wanted a relaxer because I wanted my hair to be straight all the time and a little more mangeable. That's definitely not trying to be like a white woman because they have to wash their hair 5 times a day as well as brush and blow dry the hell out of it, leaving it as the consistency of dog hair because that's what people do to their dog's hair. I can't give you an explanation for why the white people do the things they do because the white man has already given his two-cents on what he thinks beauty is--blonde, stringy hair, and blue, lifeless eyes. And white people had better watch it because their skin doesn't contain as much melanin as a black person's, which makes their pale, pasty skin a candidate for malignant melanoma...

Answer 4

Since black women stepped on US soil they were labeled sexual deviants, untamed, and ugly. Since, black women have been trying to get from under these negative stereotypes. However, the current image of beauty is considered the blue-eye, blonde hair, "bombshell" plastered on every billboard, in every magazine, and on every tel-li(e)-vision station. The natural woman gets no props. Sisters are getting the perm and lighter skin to fit that image of beauty. They think this is what "men" want. Naturally black women have the athletic shape, but most lack the light skin and straight hear. White women like the exotic look. The olive tan and golden hair. The movie star look, which is much closer to that of women of Spanish decent. They also have to get the breast and butt work done too. It's all a game. Fixing yourself up to fit some social ideal of beauty is damaging. Love yourself and be yourself. I personally like a woman that can get up in the morning and is beautiful without a "pound" of make-up. Dreads, a natural! It's all good. The only way to rid our society of such foolish ideals is to challenge them. Stop cutting up your bodies, "cooking" your hair to get it straight, bleaching your face, etc... How can you tell the next generation of women ( not just black women) to be proud of who they are, when you can't stand to look at yourself in the mirror?

Answer 5

HAHA i doubt this has anything to do with the question but i feel the need to share since you reminded me. i was with this girl a few years back and one day she decides to get a perm (she's white by the way and has red hair that's important remember that one) so i come home to be greeted by someone that has a striking resemblance to ronald mcdonald (sigh) that was funny, anyway no i don't think getting tanned or lightening your skin displays any desire to be another colour, despite what Freud said sometime a cigar is just a cigar with no deeper meanings

Answer 6

A lot of white women do have naturally curly hair. I think do not think people who do this are trying to be or look like another race. I think it has a lot to do with what is fashionable at the time.

Answer 7

I don't agree...as another poster said, skin lightening creams are usually used to lighten scars or even up the skin, and if you look in large department stores, they are sold to white women too. As for me, I find relaxing my hair makes it easier to deal with, and that's about it.

As for the girl who says she "wouldn't be black for" however many dollars, she'll never be beautiful. You can emulate as many women on TV as you want, but beauty comes from within; being a person who loves themselves and treats others with respect. She doesn't have that and never will. I also live in Florida and have unfortunately met people just like her. She's hitting the meth pipe as we speak.

Answer 8

Depends on the individual.Some Asians use bleach soap to lighten skin due to the desire to assimilate with lighter skinned Asians.Whites tan simply because looking too pale seems unhealthy in their mind.You can speak for the Blacks.

Answer 9

I dont think its trying to be another race...I think after awhile its boring sporting the same hairstyle or what not....so why not have a change of style...and with the creams...most black women use those creams to lighten blemishes such as acne scars...not because they are trying to lighten their skin

Answer 10

it's the matter of preferences, some people like curly hair, some don't, some like tanned skin, some like very light skin

I don't think it has anything to do with the race