produced by Rissa Papillion; edited by Rissa Papillion.
Fact: All natural hair is not created equal. Black women come with curls in different, lengths, shapes, sizes, and textures. From 2B to 4C, every woman's curls are unique, but are some textures better than others? That'd be a hard no. Texturism fosters the idea that certain types of natural hair patterns are more desirable or beautiful than others. "I believe that texturism is real in the Black community. While it wasn't created by us, we have maintained it," says Rachael Edward in the latest episode of Go Off, Sis.
In the video above, five women of color discuss their experiences with texturism, and how they came to embrace their coils and kinks, despite the fact that the idea of "good hair" still casts a shadow over the natural hair community. "Because I was so confused about my hair texture, I permed it," Raven Baker says. "I'm comfortable with my hair texture now, but I still have days where I scroll through Instagram and see a girl with looser curls and feel like her hair obeys and it listens," she says.
It doesn't help that certain curl types are still underrepresented in mainstream media. "When you think about all the tutorials that people are doing with their hair, you do see more of the 'perfect' ringlets which, honestly, isn't very helpful," says Everlena Tenn. Click play to hear more of what Tenn, and other Black women, have to say about being judged for their hair types. Then, tell us about your experiences with texturism in the comments.