been so brainwashed they equate beauty with long straight hair. Yet I feel beautiful when I am not in character but I am me, with my dreadlocks. The African hair issue is deep. And I get upset when Africans do not seem to realise it. Black women worldwide are not just weaving for a bit of fun. They are wearing weaves because that is their self-image. I once watched a reality show in which a black female judge said to a contestant with natural hair “when I look at you, I see a nubian”. This got me asking myself, “so when she (the black judge) sees herself in the mirror, with her long weave and blue contact lenses, what does she see?” When Africans gladly accept globalisation, it frightens me. For
example, all across Africa, we have specific traditions by which we name our children. Until I lived in Ghana and became a mother, I really did not know this. But now I know that the naming of an African child is determined by so many factors. For example, in Ghana, twins in the Akan ethnic group are
named Ataa (for a female twin) and Ata (male twin). Again, in the Yoruba tradition in Nigeria, twins are named Taiyewa and Kehinde. Africans name their children depending on the circum- stances of their birth. Circumstances such as family names, royal background, whether you are born after the death of another child, etc, all play a part in determining what name to give to a new African baby. Now thanks to globalisation, we may well forget this and con-
Naomi Campbell, the black goddess of the weave-on
believe me in all that time, I have found a variety of ways in which to wear it (and yes, even in my picture here, my hair is in locks). Ask any young child, black or white, to draw a picture of a
black woman and her hair will be long, shiny and straight. Yet biologically and genetically, God did not create black women with this type of hair. So yes, there is globalisation and there is brain- washing. And it is especially scary when Africans do not see this. Again I will refer you to the reader from Rwanda, Mikhalia
Cupido: “Wearing Brazilian hair is not an African phenomenon, it is a global one,” she says. “Most people just like long hair, they appreciate how it makes them feel and on a personal level it contributes to their perception of beauty.” My point exactly. Africans, and the world at large, have been so brainwashed
they do not even realise it. Just because black women worldwide are choosing weaves over their natural God-given hair does not make it alright. People have been so “globalised” they believe beauty means long straight hair. Yet if the world were truly global, people would be made to accept all forms of hair. Where do you see the image of African hair on the global playing field? How many black women are confident enough to wear their natural hair to a job interview? How about the black man who chooses to wear dreadlocks? Is he not often labelled “radical”, “trouble- maker, “controversial”, “Afro-centric” or “drug dealer”?! (unless of course he is an artiste or sportsman!) I do stand-up comedy and my character mocks falseness
by wearing a long shiny wig and acrylic nails. The irony is that people tell me I am beautiful with the wig. You see, they have
tinue to think it is okay to name our children Peter, Mary, Pablo, Juanita etc – names that have no traditional value but which we may be brainwashed to think sound better, prettier and sexier than our own African names. Yes we live in a “globalised” world and I can appreciate some Africans may find beauty in a name such as Jasmine, but for an African, this name tells you nothing about me. As an African and in the spirit of Pan-Africanism, I can handle parents deciding to give their children names from other African countries, for example a Malawian having a Sudanese name, if that name aptly describes the circumstance of their birth. Going back to the Cambridge Advanced Learner’s Dictionary
definition of globalisation, I find it interesting that it talks about the “influence of large multinational companies”. Who owns these multinational companies? Certainly not Africans. The owners of these multinational companies will most likely force their beliefs, traditions, cultures, way of life etc, down other people’s throats. It becomes a game of our way or no way. You with us or against us (apologies to George W. Bush). So you see, globalisation can be very dangerous to the African way of life. It is because of globalisation that people in Africa eat more
imported rice from America and Thailand than home-grown rice or even local (often healthier) dishes. It is because of globalisation that, worldwide, Africans who
wear Western-style suits are considered more “serious” than those in “African clothes”. It is because of globalisation that the boys of Africa walk around with their jeans falling halfway off so we see their boxer shorts. It is because of globalisation that whether I’m in Japan, Aus-
tralia or Mozambique, the youth are all speaking with American accents and trying to be Jay-Z! Indeed, by the looks of things I would say globalisation is a great tool for brainwashing and a close friend of colonialism. But hey, these are just the reflections of an ordinary African woman. gNA
New African June 2011 | 71
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