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undertale-writing-times · 3 years

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Absolutely loved your writing for my last ask, so had HAD to send another.

Again, with my underfell and mafiafell boys with whomever else you like.

Black s/o always has their hair in protective styles like box braids and locs and such. As they are a little insecure about their curls.

One day, just out of nowhere they have their hair out naturally bc they forgot to make an appointment to get their hair rebraided and now they have to wait for a while.

What would their reactions be to seeing their natural curls for the first time? And s/o admitting to being a little shy over them?

Platonic love and hugs!

Afro anon ❤️

Ahhh I'm sorry, I don't really know how to write about hair like this, but I'm gonna try my best >n< I'm sorry if I do anything wrong.

but thank you! I hope that this writing is good enough :) hugs and love back. Totally Platonic Ou-❤️

Red- Normally he pays attention to whatever you do with your hair, mostly because he thinks it's a little weird how many different styles you can do. Yet the one time that he sees you with your hair out because you forgot? He's gonna laugh. It isn't that he thinks you look bad or anything, just... wow! It's so fluffy! When he sees you getting flustered though, or even upset at him for laughing, he stops and explains that he just thinks it's cute. Damn. He kind of wishes that you'd keep your hair out like this more often, it looks... better? Not that you didn't look good in the other one, but this makes you more eye-catching. Ugh, he doesn't want to upset you dammit. Whatever, do whatever you want for your damn hair and he'll think you look good. Who cares about hair anyway? Don't listen to what he says now, he likes your hair a lot in whatever styles it is but does like it more when it's out because it looks like it would be soft and he likes soft things.

Edge- Hm he has been reading up on how to do those 'hairstyles' so if you really do not want to go out with your hair out like that, then he will do it for you! He does it really well, shockingly enough. Yet he thinks that you shouldn't be nervous, you are his datemate so that means that you're already better and more beautiful than everyone around you, and that means you should be proud of yourself no matter how you look! He thinks the curls are.... nice. If he can't talk you into going out at least once with your hair out in the normal curls, then he isn't going to want to go out because you should feel proud of yourself and he isn't leaving until he knows that you love yourself, just as much as he loves you! He will fucking smother you will love! Also yes, he did learn about the styles just to make you happy. Love him.

Clip- It might not seem like he cares all that much about your hair, but it's more just because he isn't sure how to tell you how pretty he thinks you are! He loves any style that you do but does like the new thing. The first time he sees your hair out and all fluffy and curly, he can't help but blush and mumble out "so pretty..." then he realizes when he said, making him blush darker which then got you embarrassed so you were both just kinda standing there. Until he asks what's up with the new style? When you tell him that you forgot he says that you should forget more often. If it's hard to take care of when it's out like this, he won't force you, but he really does like seeing you with your hair out like that and kind of wants to see it more often, please? You shouldn't be insecure about something so beautiful! Everything about you damn it. ❤️❤️

Boss- So you're saying that you can't get your hair the way you want because you messed up? Okay? Come on, he's paying someone to fix your hair up. They can fucking deal with it if they don't have an appointment. If they want extra payment, he could pay it. He likes you with your hair down like that, but he wants you to be more comfortable than whatever he wants.

#Everyone: ❤️Boss: $$$ fix it #Boss likes your hair too #don't worry #Mafia boys #Mafiafell #Mafiafell Sans #Mafiafell Papyrus #Underfell #Underfell Sans #Underfell Papyrus #POC Reader #poc reader #I'm so scared #Undertale Imagines #Undertale Headcanons #undertale headcanons #undertale ask blog

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writingwithcolor · 5 years

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Hi! I have a question I really hope you can help me with, I have a black character in a futuristic military and I have no idea what hairstyle would be good for her. She spends a lot of time under water, wearing a helmet, or doing hard exercise. Also, if I had her woken up suddenly would she be wearing any kind of night cap, if not how can I describe her hair and do it right

Black Hair in the Military

[Image of Black servicewomen: source]

Your best bet for a military setting would be a protective natural hair style. From Short-term buns, twists or braids to long-term braided styles or locs – For someone in training or active battle, styles that lay relatively flat, can be pulled down and back, won’t catch or snag, and stay out of the way would be ideal.

Military Hairstyle Considerations

Bun

Ponytail

Twists

Braids

Cornrows

Dreadlocks / locs

Hair kept short or shaven

Military Hairstyle Issues to consider

Straightened

I have seen Black military women and people with straightened hair. They likely have more access to hair maintenance depending on unit or assignment, or must use their free time to maintain the styles. There are salons on some bases, and some seek local salons depending on their station. Wet and sweat-drenched hair would want to revert back to its curly state, though, so having access to hair straightening methods to maintain the style is essential.

Major Tennille Woods Scott, U.S. Army [X]

Woods Scott has adapted her beauty regime under some pretty adverse conditions during her 12 years of military service. “In Iraq, I would relax my own hair every eight weeks, which was quite dangerous,” says Woods Scott, who served in the region in 2007 and 2008. “In the hour or so that it took, I was nervous, thinking, What if a rocket or mortar comes in?”

Hair Products

Your character might use local resources in the town they’re stationed and / or those that are on base to care for their hair. What they were initially allowed to bring may vary. If nothing local fits their hair needs, they might go towards natural resources that are generally more universal (coconut oil, shea)

[See: Caring for natural (curly) hair in a setting with no access to modern hair products]

Hair Regulations

For a time, the U.S. army banned many black hairstyles that are easiest to maintain and called them “unkempt.” Many Black people, especially women, struggled under these strict policies, including wearing wigs under their helmets to comply.

The ban has been loosened in many areas, although there are still regulations regarding length and keeping hair “well-groomed and neat.”

Sources and Articles:

US Army PDF: Wear and Appearance of Army Uniforms and Insignia

The Navy Just Gave Women the Okay to Wear Locs, Ponytails, and Topknots

The U.S. Navy Finally Lifts Its Ban On Women Wearing Locs

Night Care

As for the nightcap, I cannot see why your character wouldn’t be able to wear one. A scarf and bonnet come on and off easily (Too easy…they often fall off in the middle of the night!) so it wouldn’t hold her up if she had to suddenly get up and go. Wrapping straightened hair is a common technique too.

Applying this to your futuristic military setting

Examine those rules (both the initial strict and the current regulations). See how Black people feel and felt about them, and consider how you would like to address this in your future military setting.

Could you fix these rules for the better or might it get worse? Your world building should determine if it would be an issue or not. It doesn’t need to be if you don’t want it to.

Featuring at least a few sentences here and there describing their hairstyle of choice, and a few maintenance activities would add realism and representation.

EX: Re-doing her braids during a slow day at the base, or waking up early to do so. Wearing a sleep bonnet; maybe she gets playfully teased by others for wearing a big, cheesy colorful bonnet. A lot of people who don’t know what they are think they’re shower caps.

Hair Stories from Black Servicewomen

I’d like to include a story from this vogue article:

A trailblazing generation of black military servicewomen is embracing the natural hair movement.

Black Women in the U.S. military talk about their natural hairstyle of choice and military service. 17 Images included. I’m only including one here so read the full article. It’s a brilliant resource!

Lieutenant Colonel Junel Jeffrey, U.S. Army

Jeffrey is the kind of risk-taking, chameleonic beauty who’ll turn a disastrous hair misadventure into an opportunity for total and complete reinvention.

The public affairs officer had no qualms about cutting off her long, chemically straightened hair after an abrasive relaxer treatment at a salon on her Army base in Germany caused extensive thinning. She now experiments with new, head-turning styles even under the most challenging circumstances, tracking down a natural hair whiz in Afghanistan to twist her curls. And when a $5 haircut at a barbershop in the Congo left her with what she describes as an Afro “shaped like a microphone,” she laughed off the jokes made by her comrades, cropping her hair close and bleaching it peroxide blonde.

“The recent change in regulations has given me more options,” she says. “It also says a lot about how the Army feels about inclusion. I feel like now it’s okay to be me.”

Disclaimer: I’m a Black American woman with no direct military experience. Those who do have this experience, or have a non-American experience as well, feel free to chime in.

~Mod Colette

Commentary

@itsthemagistra said:

I’m glad much has changed since I was in the military. I wasn’t allowed to have braids/twists but had no access to natural hair care products through training. Needless to say, I was constantly “out of regs” and getting written up for “faddish hair styles”. The worst part is that such judgments were case by case, meaning that it all depended on the point of view of the particular cadre member that happened to see me. Great fun, 10/10 experience.

@the-geek-cornucopia

I love youtuber Jackie Aina and she’s ex military so I think she did a video about black women and hair in the military. Military Hair and Makeup Tutorial

#beks-crooked-glasses #Black #black hair #military #discrimination #racism #afro hair #writing #fantasy #settings #Black women #asks #articles #writer resources

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jessicakehoe · 4 years

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Texture Talk: 6 Local Women with Afro-Textured Hair Share Their Quarantine Hair Journeys

Welcome to Texture Talk, a new weekly column that celebrates and deep dives into the dynamic world of curly hair, from springy S-patterns to densely-packed coils — because curly hair is far from one big category. This week, we asked six Canadian women with Afro-textured hair to dish on how they’re each coping with their unique curl care routines now that stay-at-home orders have shuttered hair salons and many go-to beauty supply stores.

Gloria Alamrew, communications specialist and freelance writer

Courtesy of Gloria Alamrew

Pre-Covid hair rituals: “Pre-quarantine, I was a wash-and-go advocate through and through. I’ve always worn my curls natural and had never really been into protective styles much.”

Hair under quarantine: “For the first few weeks of quarantine, I really fell out of love with my hair. Anxiety was high for me with the news and adjusting to the WFH transition. My hair was honestly the last thing on my mind. And after a while, my curls caught up to me, and I was surprised at how much they had gotten me down! Now that I had neglected them, I was legitimately sad. Recently though, I’ve started pouring more love back into my curls by twisting my hair for the first time. They’re perfect for doing yourself at home because there’s virtually no skill involved: as long as you can section your hair and literally twist two strands together, you can do it. There is something about the routine of washing my hair, brushing it out, sectioning, applying product to each section and then twisting the strands that is so calming to me. I hate to sound cliché, but it really does feel like a sacred moment of self-care for myself. Quarantine has given me the time to actually come back to my hair, and the ritual of styling and protecting it feels so restorative. It has honestly helped with my mental health so much.”

Winy Bernard, entrepreneur and podcaster

Courtesy of Winy Bernard

Pre-Covid hair rituals: “My BC (before corona) hair life was wonderful: I saw my hairstylist every single week for a blowout, sometimes twice if I had an event. I loved my hair; I loved my weekly appointments.”

Hair under quarantine: “I had not done my own hair in maybe 30-35 years. I didn’t even have products for at-home haircare to wash or to take care of my natural hair. I am one of those people that was never, and will never be, an at-home, do-it-yourself person, so this has been extremely difficult and frustrating. I had to call my hairstylist and ask what products to buy at the drugstore, how to wash my hair and how to blow-dry my hair. The first time I washed my hair [on my own], I was very frustrated: It took over 3 hours, hair was everywhere in my washroom and the result didn’t even look good. It’s getting easier, though. I can’t say I’m very good at it, but I am doing my best. Now, my hair is always in a bun or slicked into a ponytail. I am so looking forward to getting back to some kind of normalcy that involves getting my hair done.”

Tasneem Nanji, artist, musician, writer and actor

Courtesy of Tasneem Nanji

Pre-Covid hair rituals: “I have a couple curl patterns going on and I love that. Before quarantine, my hair routine sort of went hand-in-hand with auditions, and I have always worn my hair natural for the most part. I have two [curly hair] looks: One I get with a hair dryer and product, and the other is a completely air-dried natural look.”

Hair under quarantine: “My hair has grown longer since I’ve been quarantined (it tends to grow pretty fast), and when it gets this long, it starts to get harder to manage. I gave myself a trim last week; the split ends were getting to me! I’m wearing a lot more buns and braids in this Covid era, which is new for me. I don’t feel like they’re as authentic of a look in terms of my personality, but I am also learning I am more than my hair. Lately, I keep thinking I should master how to cornrow my own coiff! I’ve been looking to icons, like Sade and Stevie Wonder, who have beautifully worn their hair pulled back and braided. I’m finding a lot of strength in knowing that hair like mine is versatile and can be worn a myriad of ways. Time to hop on a YouTube tutorial!”

Sandra Parker, corporate learning and development consultant

Courtesy of Sandra Parker

Pre-Covid hair rituals: “My hair has been relaxed for a very, very long time. Before quarantine, I had my hair relaxed at a salon by a stylist every six weeks. Between stylist visits, I washed my hair myself once per week. After washing, I blow-dried and then straightened my hair with a flatiron – basically doing everything my stylist does, but not nearly as well. Between home hair washes, I try and heat style as little as possible, so at night I wear a silk bonnet and sleep on a silk pillowcase. This really helps to hold my style so that I don’t have to use a flat iron each morning to fix it.”

Quarantine routine: “Like everyone else – I have no stylist. I’m totally on my own. My last salon relaxer was in mid-February, so twice the time between my regular touch-ups has elapsed. Hair washes now take longer, since my hair is more delicate with the new growth. I’m leaving conditioner in my hair longer and using a deep conditioning mask more often, too. I bought a boxed relaxer kit at the drugstore a few weeks ago. It’s been a million years since I’ve done my own hair, but things were getting out of hand. I bought it hoping I wouldn’t have to use it, but that day came a few days ago. My last few hair washes were really frustrating and my hair was much harder to manage. I watched a million YouTube videos on DIY hair relaxing; I didn’t trust the instructions that came with the kit. I then summoned all of the bravery I had and I relaxed my own hair. Thankfully, it turned out OK and my hair didn’t fall off. Hopefully the restrictions on salons will end soon so that I can have my hair professionally done again.”

Collette “Coco” Murray, university education administrator by day, dance educator, mentor and performer by night

Courtesy of Collette Murray

Pre-Covid hair rituals: “I’ve had dreadlocks for over 20 years. Before quarantine, I would go to my loctician three times a year for a treatment, cut and to wear various petal-loc styles, twists and updos. I have yet to see my stylist this year, so thank goodness I don’t have any highlights or hair colour to treat.”

Hair under quarantine: “With the abrupt shift of working remotely and quarantine life, I was frustrated because I failed to stock up on products. My locs were stressed and lacklustre at the beginning due to dehydration. I needed some advice as I structured my new home routine, so I reached out to my loctician to check in on how my hair was doing and expressed my worry. Finding products that work for locs can be a challenge. I needed tea tree shampoo, castor oil and a shea butter scalp conditioner. He recommended where I could order stuff online (something I don’t normally do), and I also had to be strategic in finding a store close to home that sold products for Black hair: On my social media feed, some Black women share tips on local West Indian or African grocery stores that carry suitable products. Currently, I’ve been setting my hair in loose curls using rollers and I moisturize my scalp and locs every couple days with a shea butter conditioner. I wear them up in a bun, an updo or a ponytail most of the day, but allow them to flow freely, especially for most Zoom meetings. I’m not wearing any new hairstyles yet, but I may rock some Bantu knots over Zoom one day! Quarantine hair has been a bonding experience. Instead of constantly being on the go, I’m now forced to stop and take a few hours of self-care. A good TV binge-watch while I go through my hours of washing, deep conditioning, re-twisting and styling at home is worth it. I love my locs, my cultural ways and the freedom I feel wearing my hair this way is how I cope with my upkeep.”

Bunmi Adeoye, publicist

Courtesy of Bunmi Adeoye

Pre-Covid hair rituals: “Just before lockdown, I decided to be adventurous and do my once-a-year blowout and also put in a colour, which I feel wasn’t the best thing for my hair (I’m now experiencing lots of shedding and maybe heat damage). I don’t know, though, because I haven’t been able to go to a salon and get someone to look at it and assess!”

Hair under quarantine: “Being left with the aftermath of potential heat damage from the blowout and colour (that I don’t love), I’m figuring out how to rehab my hair and get it back to good health. I’ve been doing more protective styles: twists to twist-outs, braids to braid-outs, intense detangling, protein treatments (twice so far in lockdown) and weekly deep conditioning. My immediate work team has now seen my hair in twists, twist-outs and space buns over Zoom meetings, and I get a lot of Slack messages, like: “OMG, your hair looks ah-mazing!” It makes me smile. Someone recently said that I change my hair every day. There was one time, though, I had to leave the camera off because I didn’t have enough time to rinse out the deep conditioner and my hair was under a plastic shower cap. People don’t need to see that JUST yet!”

The post Texture Talk: 6 Local Women with Afro-Textured Hair Share Their Quarantine Hair Journeys appeared first on FASHION Magazine.

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junker-town · 7 years

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Colin Kaepernick, Michael Vick, and the fallacy of respectability politics

It’s naive to think Kaepernick would be closer to game day if he had a fade instead of a fro.

As the Civil Rights movement reached a crescendo in 1963, James Baldwin published a masterful collection of essays and a litany of thoughts examining a continued euphemism called “The Negro Problem.”

The Fire Next Time is a multi-point dissection of the plight the black body undergoes while being American, partly dictated to his teenage nephew. Across the book, the reader can see Baldwin’s eloquence as well as feel his anger.

Given his book was intended as a piece for mentorship, it would be improbable if Baldwin ever advised someone like Colin Kaepernick to alter his image for acceptance.

Yes, it’s painful to be black and American, Baldwin noted. Integration isn’t a sustainable goal, he thought. But adopting white standards was misguided, it was a misplacement of the “value” black people had to give this country, it was an attempt to presume that black people had become equal to their white counterparts.

By 1970, The Fire Next Time was a relic of Baldwin’s mind. He had radicalized in those years and his points grew bolder. In an interview with the late Nabile Farès, an Algerian-born novelist, one of Baldwin’s many immortal passages was set in stone.

“What is the definition of a black man, and his power?” Farès asked.

“I am a black man, if you will,” Baldwin said. “I was darkened long ago by the sun; but that’s not what makes me ‘black.’ It’s the role I play in the world.”

The role Baldwin describes is a point he discussed in The Fire Next Time. He argues that black people shouldn’t be, and don’t need to be, accepted by white people. That respectability politics is a vicious disease others posit with the assumption that the marginalized will receive better treatment from those in power, if they act in accordance to the principles the majority have laid out.

It’s what Michael Vick sought to do when he lectured Kaepernick this week and insisted that his hair, his afro, was one of the reasons the NFL was keeping him out of its ranks. Though Vick explained later that what he said “was not in malice,” it doesn’t matter. Whether he did so consciously or unconsciously, the nature of his comments is what becomes bothersome.

“The first thing we got to get Colin to do is cut his hair,” Vick said on FS1 to Jason Whitlock. “I don’t think he should represent himself in that way in terms of the hairstyle. Just go clean cut.

“Everything takes precedent in terms of image and perception. You gotta clean it up, you gotta make sure you do it all right,” Vick continued before saying, “That’s what I would tell Colin if we were sitting face to face.”

Outside of the respectability in Vick’s words, you have to understand who is setting the precedent that Vick defends himself with. White consumers, owners, coaches, and more are the gatekeepers of this ideology. Black hair has often made the majority uncomfortable, whether publicly or professionally. It’s been seen since the ’60s and ’70s as a political statement, especially an afro. But, it’s naive to think Kaepernick would be closer to game day if he had a fade instead of a fro.

“If your hair is relaxed, white people are relaxed,” Paul Mooney, a popular comedian, said in a documentary titled Good Hair, created by Chris Rock. “If your hair is nappy, they’re not happy.”

Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports

Evelyn Brooks Higginbotham, a lauded author and Harvard professor, was one of the first modern voices to articulate the fallacy of respectability in her 1993 book Righteous Discontent: The Women’s Movement in the Black Baptist Church, 1880-1920.

In it, Higginbotham addressed the “politics of respectability” in black Baptist communities — namely, how black women contested the notion and demanded equal civil, voting, employment, and educational rights.

“[Higginbotham] argues that the embrace of the standards of white middle-class respectability by Black women and, indeed, their attempts to impose these standards on less affluent members of their own communities represents not colonization, but a strategic initiative,” Margaret M.R. Kellow, a history professor at the University of Western Ontario, said reviewing this book.

“By creating institutions of this kind,” Kellow continued, referencing groups like the Women's Convention and the National Baptist Convention, “they laid the foundation for resistance to and rejection of white domination.”

This is the concept of respectability and its inherent problem. It was, initially, thought as a construct that would protect the marginalized and hopefully propel that group to a higher sphere. It’s an idea that if you talk “right” or act “right” that white people will treat you “better.”

So, it’s not far-flung that Vick could not only believe this but offer it as a resource to other black athletes. Vick is a convicted felon who was sentenced to 23 months behind bars for fighting and killing dogs. He still receives backlash over his crime. But he found a way not only to play football after that, but to succeed in the sport. It’s not hard so see how he’d conclude that with a haircut, Kaepernick could do the same.

The misguidedness of the attempt isn’t just something Vick conjured. It’s had a home in American rhetoric as long as black people have been in America. In an infamous 2004 NAACP speech meant to honor those who fought for the Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court decision, Bill Cosby lambasted poor black folk for failing to live up to the dreams of the Civil Rights Movement.

America’s most famous black father transformed from sitcom comedian to social critic, attempting to mix a message of the essentials of black empowerment with his disgust of black America’s perceived bottom rung. The “Pound Cake Speech” was heralded as a manifesto. But it was the same respectability that Vick offered, just in a different format.

“These people, the ones up here in the balcony fought so hard,” Cosby said. “Looking at the incarcerated, these are not political criminals. These are people going around stealing Coca-Cola. People getting shot in the back of the head over a piece of pound cake! Then we all run out and are outraged, ‘The cops shouldn’t have shot him.’ What the hell was he doing with the pound cake in his hand?”

Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images

It’s this bombast, the type from Cosby, of Vick, of more, that pushes forward the fallacy of respectability. The assumption that better actions can equal better treatment is foolish. It shifts responsibility from the oppressor to the oppressed, meaning institutions profiting from racism are never to blame.

It also offers a bridge of hope for those that believe in it, which only doubles racism’s blow when it is encountered en masse. When racist graffiti was spray painted on the gates of LeBron James’ home this summer, it proved it doesn’t matter how rich or important or extolled a black athlete is to the white world because racism’s grasp is inescapable.

In the current context of Kaepernick, of being pro football’s most passionate protester, Patrisse Cullors, one of the original leaders of Black Lives Matter, pushed back on the need for modern activism to look “respectable.” In a 2016 documentary titled How A Hashtag Defined A Movement, Cullors decried the idea that black people and activists have to portray a sense of respectability.

“The old civil rights [movement] really upheld the narrative around ‘respectability,’ around what we’re supposed to look like and be like,” she said. “Folks in Ferguson said, ‘No, we’re not your respectable Negro, we are going to sag our pants, we are going to be ratchet, and we’re okay with that.’ We believe that we have to show up in our full selves, without closeting parts of ourselves, marginalizing parts of ourselves, and build together.”

Cullors’ deconstruction of the “proper” way to protest attacks what Vick and others like him have said about Kaepernick for nearly a year. At first, people said he was a distraction for kneeling during the anthem, then no one thought he could play, now he’s chastised about his image.

That’s the absurdity of respectability politics. Kaepernick doesn’t need to and isn’t better served to abide by fictitious rules about himself or his hair. The manifestation of his protest and of his moment is exactly what Baldwin envisioned writing The Fire Next Time.

One of the many questions Baldwin asked in his book was “Do I really want to be integrated into a burning house?” As the NFL currently turns its nose up at the idea of keeping Kaepernick in the game, one has to ask why a man demonized for protest would want to be a part of the NFL’s noticeable blaze.

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