by Lillian Chioma Nwosu

Adichie is not advocating some kind of hair monkhood, she is advocating the acceptability of our own hair as a valid and beautiful choice, even if alongside foreign- looking hair.

“Views are tainted with bias, but some views are ‘too’ tainted with bias.

A clear example is the hair debate that has arisen in reply to novelist Chimamanda Adichie’s comment about African women and hair. When asked to give an honest description of her hair and what it says about her, Chimamanda replied:

“That is the best question! My hair is in tiny cornrows; I have a big ponytail on the top of my head. I quite like it. It is natural. I am a bit of a fundamentalist when it comes to black women’s hair. Hair is hair – yet also about larger questions: self- acceptance, insecurity and what the world tells you is beautiful. For many black women, the idea of wearing their hair naturally is unbearable.”

From the beginning, I knew she had struck a raw pysychological cord, because most African women are affected by her comment. But did she make any sense? YES, she did. Many women hold that Adichie’s comment was too sweeping, condescending and autocratic to African women. They ask, what is ‘Natural hair’ and ‘Africanness’? They hold that a woman ought to be free to choose how she wants her hair to look. Some even throw jabs at Adichie, asking her to quit using synthetic braids for her hair, speaking English, and living abroad.

While I grant that these arguments have merit (especially the one about a woman’s right to self expression), I hold that their view sadly reads too much into Adichie’s comment, and misses the point.

Adichie is not advocating some kind of hair monkhood, she is advocating the acceptability of our own hair as a valid and beautiful choice, even if alongside foreign- looking hair. She did not throw any hidden jabs and was not being condescending; she only stated her opinion, one which she aptly holds tagged a ‘political statement’. It is not about dictating personal choices, but about a political reclaim of one’s identity.

The truth is that many women are offended because Adichie struck a raw psychological cord. No self-respecting woman would like to be told how she ought to look, to be valid. I don’t believe everyone must wear their hair naturally, but I don’t believe that wearing your hair naturally is less beautiful. That is what this is about.

Opposing the prejudice. When conveyed gently, it makes sense. Every woman likes variety, but if only our own hair were part of that variety! Your hair is not everything about you, but it is some part of you.
Truly, while our different choices are valid, those choices should be made free from prejudice, and with ample information. For most African women, this is not the case. Many African women use this ‘manageability of hair’ argument as a cop-out. Many African women don’t know jack about their hair, they don’t know how to take care of it; and frankly, they find it rough and unsightly. That is the root of the matter; the fact that an average African woman does not feel beautiful wearing her own hair.

Of course there are choices, but if only the choices were made freely, outside of instituted prejudices. Girls are brought up with the default assumption that they ought to straighten their hair and wear weaves. It is the norm. It is not just about personal preference, it is about a default and systematic erosion of confidence in one’s own hair. It is about the forces of beauty who drum it into our ears that our own hair is not beautiful, and not easy to manage. Where are the hair products? Who has paid attention to managing their own hair?

Again, this is not just about the right of a woman to choose what suits her; there is always that right. More to the point, this is about questioning WHY the average African feels that her hair does not suit her. It is about an inner prejudice unwittingly enforced. It is about challenging what pop media tells us is beautiful.

It is not about eroding the choice or variety in hair for the African woman, it is about presenting African hair as a good enough choice, as well. For most African women, to wear their own hair is unthinkable. The question is WHY? And we cannot avoid that question by feeling offended.

Adichie champions the cause of authenticating African women’s hair, that is why she says it is a political thing, for her. The cause is to remove the bias against African women’s hair, and let African women know that they have the valid option to wear their own hair. An option,  not a mandate.

An artist is a political statement. Sometimes an artist may have to take positions that are neither easy nor popular;  the artist would have to act contrary to the norm, so as to challenge society to see things in another light.

Soyinka is an artist. Asa is an artist. Lady Gaga is an artist.

Some people are not called to take up certain causes; in fact, they may be called to oppose that cause, in order to create balance, moderation. In this, I agree with those who hold that no woman should be told how to look or be comfortable by a total stranger, who knows nothing about her personal history.

I am an advocate of diversity, choice, and liberty, and I would never sacrifice those for enforced homogenity; but beyond this, I also hold that our choices ought best to be informed and really free. That is, our choices should be well-informed, uncoerced, uncoaxed, and personally suitable.”

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Op-ed pieces and contributions are the opinions of the writers only and do not represent the opinions of Y!/YNaija.