A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to see an interview with a young gymnast, Gabrielle (Gabby) “Flying Squirrel” Douglas, who was competing to qualify for the US Olympic team. Her story was beyond touching as she chose to live apart from her family in Virginia to train with a top coach in Iowa. During her interview, I could see the strength in her voice when she talked about being homesick but committed to what lied ahead . The interview showed how dedicated she was at an early age to perfecting her crafy despite the multiple injuries. Most of her practice was in their home until her sister noticed she had real talent. I love the fact she had a vision to pursue her passion. She was extremely articulate, respectful and highly devoted to her family especially her mother, a single parent of four children. Her personal challenge of her parents separating. Gabby was the only reason I felt compelled to watch a portion of the Olympics.
Fast forward to her qualifying for the US gymnastics team and the team winning the gold yesterday. Then I see a blog post on Facebook about the criticism of Gabby’s ponytail. I was thinking what in the world is in the universe this week. For some reason I was fired up after comments were made about my daughter’s thick, coarse and natural tresses that I think was driven by pure ignorance. Hair is the pinnacle of some women’s being, the time and money spent is not something I can relate to at this point in my life. My 5yo DD is a swimmer and she is not a swimcap wearing swimmer. When she swims at camp she puts on her safety vest and plunges into the pool without apprehension. I find myself constantly reiterating to my daughter how beautiful her hair is and the fact that length of hair does not define BEAUTY. It is a challenging situation so to have people interject their thoughts is disturbing to say the least. If you choose to wear a weave or wig more power to you, do you! When it comes to my DD I am raising her to have no limits as I find we as a race impose all the time. My daughter and I have our nightly hair ritual to keep her hair healthy as she continues to swim. I read the “excuses” on why some African American girls/women do not swim and guess what is at the top of the list —-HAIR and then I constantly see the reason some African American women have for not exercising and again —HAIR! I remember being in our local library and the gentlemen(who rocks long mixed gray locs) checking out our books told my DD how special our hair is and the benefits of its coarse and thick texture. He also said “your mother’s hair is beautifu” l after I revealed her little comment about her mommy’s short tresses. I say all of this to say what, well we need to appreciate the beauty we encompass and stop with the superficial nonsense that we continue to pass from generation to generation. WAKE UP!
In the case of Gabby Douglas, this is definitely what I call another What in the world? moment. This is all Ican say about this misguided way of thinking. I liberated myself from my hair in 2003 when I decided to chop off my hair, texturize and color. It was the best decision after going through years of relaxing, short cut, wrapped, weave (yuck), microbraids enough was enough! I want to raise my daughter to believe she is not bound by her hair especially if she plans to participate in athletic activities.
I am in awe of athletic women because their bodies are chiseled, toned and lean like a piece of majestic artwork. When I see Gabby mount or a photographer catches her midair, I am amazed with the level of perfection and grace she exhibits while competing. Her form is exquisite and muscle definition is FIERCE! Can we genuinely applaud the accomplishments of another African American teen? without the superficial comments that are irrelevant to the craft? When comments explode within CYBERSPACE it is obviously too late! How did we get here? Gabby is a shining star and an inspiration to younger African American girls who aspire to be the best athlete imaginable. The level of poise and grace she possesses has nothing to do with her ponytail. When companies approach her to represent their brands it will have nothing to do with her ponytail! When she gets invited to the White House to meet our POTUS and FLOTUS it will have nothing to do with her ponytail! If my DD aspires to pursue a sport I will definitely put Gabby Douglas’ story on my list. We need to spend more time and energy to EMPOWER one another!
Go Gabby Go!
This is the weekly prompt thanks to Rachée Fagg “It’s Too Hot…….” of Shades of Social Media
-CocoaMommy
I saw this all over Twitter. Really, people – it’s 2012 and the only thing we can talk about is her ponytail? I watched this young lady and was awed by her power and ability. Hair was an afterthought. No that’s a lie. I did think that she was sensible putting her hair back. Then I was refocused on her routines. We really need to refocus our priorities.
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Nice article! I enjoy this read. Thanks for sharing.
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I would really like to see what everyone’s hair looks like when they are participating in athletic activities. Come on now :/
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The most telling thing for me was that the people complaining about her hair were not her competition, but people sitting at home with no ability to do what she can do! I am glad that she has chosen a life above and beyond these “critics.”
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