And Still I Rise

 Gabrielle "Gabby" Douglas, the 16 yr old gymnast from the United States wrote her name in the record books by becoming the first US woman to win gold in both team competition and all round. Even more satisfying is the young African American was competing in a discipline long dominated by whites. Despite shattering the stereotypes and wowing the audience with her skill a lot of talk has been centered on her  hair.

Yes, for the black twitterverse and other online communities Gabby's gelled ponytail has been the source of  disgust and embarrassment. I wish I could be surprised at the vitriol but hair and its issues have long been a  sore point for black women. We have classified hair as bad or good depending on  its texture. Of course the nappier the hair the less desirable it becomes. In my opinion this unfortunate situation is a hold over from slavery where the European standard of beauty was adapted. Madame CJ Walker and others capitalized on this and made  a fortune by straightening the naps of black hair.

Chris Rock's documentary Good Hair discovered black women spend about 9 billion  annually on hair related products. He found the biggest money makers in the hair  business to be weaves where regular black women spend thousands of dollars on weaves and even put them on layaway. Conversely, black women is under represented in the fitness industry because among other things we just can't mess up our hair. So while we fuss and grumble about Gabby's hair be reminded that she is not her hair. How could her hair get so much play when within her tiny body lies so much talent? Her hair which does not define her anymore than ours does should be secondary.

Talent aside, the thing that stood out for me was a resemblance to a young Oprah and not her hair. Gabby Douglas could well be advised to quote these India Arie lines to her detractors:

Does the way I wear my hair  
Determine my integrity?  
I am expressing my creativity