Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
A good friend of mine had a "Black ladies hair salon" here in Niagara Falls Canada. A lot of non black ladies came in to her shop all the time. The reasons for it are, Some wanted dreads which she was expert at, some wanted hair extensions which she also was great at doing. Thirdly, she's a very nice and wonderful person and anyone would like to support her business.
Offensive? Really? It is in the category of blasian for me. Or mexi-pino. A play on words. We don't really like to categorize black people as Latino, if they look "black" and this is a way to reclaim your heritage beyond what people assume.
Blasian? And who exactly is "we"? I am a latino and one of my best friends who is Puertorrican just like me is black and I wouldn't dare call him blatino. He is a Puertorrican period. Black or not we don't see the need to emphasize the fact that he is black by labeling him with some name. This must be some young people's trend because I.have never heard such thing. But anyway back to the subject yes white women do go to black beauty shops and they can get a nice haircut or some other service.
And for salons, I would be willing to wager 99% of "a lot" of Asian hair cutting and styling experience is going to come from cutting and styling Asian hair that came into the shop in a bag.
Blasian? And who exactly is "we"? I am a latino and one of my best friends who is Puertorrican just like me is black and I wouldn't dare call him blatino. He is a Puertorrican period. Black or not we don't see the need to emphasize the fact that he is black by labeling him with some name. This must be some young people's trend because I.have never heard such thing. But anyway back to the subject yes white women do go to black beauty shops and they can get a nice haircut or some other service.
Yeah, because after all, Puerto Ricans are all one big happy family.
From singer Tego Calderon:
"I remember, too, when Celia Cruz died, a newscaster, thinking she was being smart, said Celia Cruz wasn’t black, she was Cuban. She was pretty even though she’s black. As if there is something wrong with being black, like the two things can’t exist simultaneously and be a majestic thing. There is ignorance and stupidity in Puerto Rico and Latin America when it comes to blackness."
cont.
"And the thing is that many white Puerto Ricans and Latinos don’t get it. They are immune to the subtle ways in which we are demeaned, disrespected. They have white privilege. And I’ve heard it said that we are on the defensive about race. Those things happen and it’s not because of color, Tego, but because of how you look, how you walk, what you wear, what credit card you have. Then, they spend a couple of days with me, sort of walk in my shoes, and say “Damn negro, you are right.” When I check into hotels and use my American Express they call the credit card company in front of me saying the machine is broken. This happens a lot in U.S. cities but it’s not because there is more racism there, it’s because they don’t know me. When I’m in Latin America, I am known, so it’s different. That is not to say that there is less racism. The reality for blacks in Latin America is severe, in Colombia, Venezuela, Peru, Honduras.....Puerto Rican (and Latin American) blacks are confused because we grow up side by side with non-blacks and we are lulled into believing that things are the same. But we are treated differently."
cont.
"Young black Latinos have to learn their story. We also need to start our own media, and forums and universities. We are treated like second class citizens. They tell blacks in Latin America that we are better off than U.S. blacks or Africans and that we have it better here, but it’s a false sense of being. Because here, it’s worse."
Sounds pretty doggone familiar. But I guess Tego doesn't know anything about Puerto Rico or black Puerto Ricans.
cont.
"They have raised us to be ashamed of our blackness. It’s in the language too. Take the word denigrate - denigrar - which is to be less than a negro. In Puerto Rico you get used it and don’t see it everyday. It takes a visitor to point out that all the dark skin sisters and brothers are in the service industry."
Maybe that's it. I don't know anything about Puerto Rico because I'm a visitor.
cont.
"Black Latinos are not respected in Latin America and we will have to get it by defending our rights, much like African Americans struggled in the U.S."
cont.
"This is not about rejecting whiteness rather; it’s about learning to love our blackness - to love ourselves. We have to say basta ya, it’s enough, and find a way to love our blackness. They have confused us - and taught us to hate each other - to self-hate and create divisions on shades and features.
Remember that during slavery, they took the light blacks to work the home, and left the dark ones to work the fields. There is a lot residue of self-hatred. And each of us has to put a grain in the sand to make it into a movement where we get respect, where we can celebrate our blackness without shame. It will be difficult but not impossible."
I'm a portrait photographer, and from a photographic viewpoint, black skin is actually much more photogenic than "clear" skin. Texture, eveness of tone, specularity...all are superior. Dark skin is much more pleasant to work with, much more interesting to light. Photographers know this but don't speak of it much.
The best hairstylist I have ever had was a white man. He trained in a department store salon that mostly catered to a black clientele, and became very knowledgeable about black hair, and skilled in working with it. When he and some colleagues opened their own salon, their clients followed them, and when I went there, the clientele was probably 90% black women. I was referred to him by someone whose hairstyle I complimented. When she told me where she had it styled, she mock-whispered to me that the stylist was white, in case I had any objection. As she and I both knew, many black women would not let a white person touch their hair.
The worst hairstylist I ever had was also a white man. I was caught in the rain without an umbrella the night before a special occasion, and had to find someone to restyle my hair, without an appointment, on a Saturday morning, in a city where I didn't live. I was desperate enough to walk into the hotel salon and ask the first person I saw if he worked on black hair. Perhaps he thought it was a trap, and was afraid there would be repercussions if he turned me away, because he LIED! After he shampooed my hair, he had no idea what to do with it. I had to guide him through every step, tell him which products he couldn't use, and eventually I just took the iron from his hand and finished the job, myself. He was gobsmacked...and relieved.
I recommended my white stylist (the good one) to several black acquaintances who liked his work, but had never had anyone who wasn't black style their hair, and only one ever made the leap. Black hair care requires different techniques and products, and if a stylist isn't experienced working with black hair beyond whatever was covered in cosmetology school (which used to be nothing at all, until relatively recently), it can be intimidating. One is far more likely to find a black stylist with white clients, than vice-versa.
Blasian? And who exactly is "we"? I am a latino and one of my best friends who is Puertorrican just like me is black and I wouldn't dare call him blatino. He is a Puertorrican period. Black or not we don't see the need to emphasize the fact that he is black by labeling him with some name. This must be some young people's trend because I.have never heard such thing.
Wake me up when I watch Latin and South American media, and the Latinos that look like me are newscasters or the romantic interests and in roles that aren't synonymous with maid/servant/help.
A lot of the time, if you don't look like J.Lo or Eva Mendes or Shakira, you are considered black till deemed otherwise. That's why the "kids" are owning it. They see the differences.
Colorism is global, unfortunately a lot of people are in denial.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Lucario
Yeah, because after all, Puerto Ricans are all one big happy family.
From singer Tego Calderon:
"I remember, too, when Celia Cruz died, a newscaster, thinking she was being smart, said Celia Cruz wasn’t black, she was Cuban. She was pretty even though she’s black. As if there is something wrong with being black, like the two things can’t exist simultaneously and be a majestic thing. There is ignorance and stupidity in Puerto Rico and Latin America when it comes to blackness."
cont.
"And the thing is that many white Puerto Ricans and Latinos don’t get it. They are immune to the subtle ways in which we are demeaned, disrespected. They have white privilege. And I’ve heard it said that we are on the defensive about race. Those things happen and it’s not because of color, Tego, but because of how you look, how you walk, what you wear, what credit card you have. Then, they spend a couple of days with me, sort of walk in my shoes, and say “Damn negro, you are right.” When I check into hotels and use my American Express they call the credit card company in front of me saying the machine is broken. This happens a lot in U.S. cities but it’s not because there is more racism there, it’s because they don’t know me. When I’m in Latin America, I am known, so it’s different. That is not to say that there is less racism. The reality for blacks in Latin America is severe, in Colombia, Venezuela, Peru, Honduras.....Puerto Rican (and Latin American) blacks are confused because we grow up side by side with non-blacks and we are lulled into believing that things are the same. But we are treated differently."
cont.
"Young black Latinos have to learn their story. We also need to start our own media, and forums and universities. We are treated like second class citizens. They tell blacks in Latin America that we are better off than U.S. blacks or Africans and that we have it better here, but it’s a false sense of being. Because here, it’s worse."
Sounds pretty doggone familiar. But I guess Tego doesn't know anything about Puerto Rico or black Puerto Ricans.
cont.
"They have raised us to be ashamed of our blackness. It’s in the language too. Take the word denigrate - denigrar - which is to be less than a negro. In Puerto Rico you get used it and don’t see it everyday. It takes a visitor to point out that all the dark skin sisters and brothers are in the service industry."
Maybe that's it. I don't know anything about Puerto Rico because I'm a visitor.
cont.
"Black Latinos are not respected in Latin America and we will have to get it by defending our rights, much like African Americans struggled in the U.S."
cont.
"This is not about rejecting whiteness rather; it’s about learning to love our blackness - to love ourselves. We have to say basta ya, it’s enough, and find a way to love our blackness. They have confused us - and taught us to hate each other - to self-hate and create divisions on shades and features.
Remember that during slavery, they took the light blacks to work the home, and left the dark ones to work the fields. There is a lot residue of self-hatred. And each of us has to put a grain in the sand to make it into a movement where we get respect, where we can celebrate our blackness without shame. It will be difficult but not impossible."
Basta ya.
Why is it that when we "picture" a "cuban" they all look like Eva Mendez and not more like Celia Cruz? When at least half of all the Cubans look more like Celia Cruz?
Wake me up when I watch Latin and South American media, and the Latinos that look like me are newscasters or the romantic interests and in roles that aren't synonymous with maid/servant/help.
A lot of the time, if you don't look like J.Lo or Eva Mendes or Shakira, you are considered black till deemed otherwise. That's why the "kids" are owning it. They see the differences.
Colorism is global, unfortunately a lot of people are in denial.
Why is it that when we "picture" a "cuban" they all look like Eva Mendez and not more like Celia Cruz? When at least half of all the Cubans look more like Celia Cruz?
I have relatives that look like they're from Africa - and all are Cuban.
I have relatives that look like they're from Africa - and all are Cuban.
Not that this really needs to go way beyond the hair care discussion, but that's probably because they are of African descent. African lineage is spread all across the Americas. But I think the same biases are at play in a number of places other than the US, which I suppose is where this conversation is driving towards.
Not that this really needs to go way beyond the hair care discussion, but that's probably because they are of African descent. African lineage is spread all across the Americas. But I think the same biases are at play in a number of places other than the US, which I suppose is where this conversation is driving towards.
Yes, I have been trying to get off the tangent. Of course we're of African descent. That goes without saying.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
