Don't Touch My Hair

Such a fantastic read! I couldn’t put it down! I will definitely read it again, and it’s earning a special place on my bookshelf.

As a black European woman I always had the understanding that our hair was a vital part of being who we are, this book helped me understand the importance of empowering our roots as well as understanding them, as a result since having read this great book, I have conducted extensive e research to reconnect with my origins and spirituality.

I bought this book after seeing its impressive author on television. I was looking for an explanation of why today there is 'a generally more acceptable culture of bigging yourself up'. The BBC carries a disproportionate number of black and American accents on its radio channels, and much of it seems to be feeding the addiction to identity. Emma explores some of this: the modern tyranny of time-keeping, for 'time is money' to our ruling accountants, which does not serve well the needs of slow-dressing coiled African hair - like that by evolution, for cooling. She claims that 'black women are taught (they're) strong' in a patriarchal world, but does that justify the fact that the majority (57%) in the US are obese, with huge consequences for healthcare costs? What will today's Kardashian curvy girls look like at 50 years old? Are 'big-bum, tree-trunk thighs' nowadays really a female dominance issue, or just for sexual attraction? I too was born and raised in Ireland and discovered 'black culture' in my 1960s teens, having encountered the exceptional work of James Baldwin and John Coltrane, and spending much time with three Nigerian students at university. My first next-door Jamaican neighbour in London and I used to sit and listen to jazz and drink whiskey. I have lived in Nairobi and played saxophone with local musicians at venues where I was the only white person. That was not acceptable to 'Keenyans' of once-privileged English families, nor I suspect to 'Home Counties' ones. Go to it, sister, but don't expect your true 'peace and contentment' to exist outside a nunnery!

I did enjoy reading this book. It was eye opening in the ways Emma spoke about cultural appropriation as well as how our black culture views our hair. It was also interesting hearing about Emma's experiences with her natural hair growing up.

Emma has produced an interesting and authorative summary of the history and styles of black hair. In some areas the detail makes the text difficult to penetrate.