follow-up to biracial hair

a few of you asked about boys hair - and i'm no expert.  but you remember i mentioned my 'cultural consultant'?  really - this is just one of my friends.  we worked together at the children's non-profit.  i'll call her kay.  i love kay.  she is one of the most beautiful people inside and out that i know.  she was actually the only person in the room when i got 'the call' saying pea and purl had chosen us and she also happened to be in chicago visiting her family the same week we got z and she met her while there.  lovely woman.  she is black, her husband is mexican and chinese.  they model - of course they do - they're so beautiful.  anyhow - her son's hair is the way kay and i first even got on the subject of hair.  because his hair is astoundingly beautiful.  he has so much of it. 

because they model they have photos on the web that you all get to go see.  check them out here.  she is the only african american woman on the site and her son is the multiracial boy with the crazy curly hair.  the first page is the portfolio and if you scroll to the right, you'll see jay in a yellow shirt with a navy collar.  gorgeous, huh?  then go to the 'working' part of the page.  it'll bring up a video and you'll see a quick flash of kay with jay in her lap, floofing his hair (you can pause it to get a better look).  and another photo of jay at the end.  jay's the child on whom i learned to 'do' mixed-race hair. 

i linked to this for you because a lot of you have said that you keep your sons' hair short.  that seems to be the norm here in portland.  short, barely there shaven heads.  which is great - easy to maintain and keep neat-looking.  but personally, this is the look i'd go for with my son.  it's a lot more work (read previous post about z's freak outs with hair - jay does the same thing).  but it's just another example of an option for your boys' hair.  and i just thought i'd throw it into the mix because he's just so damn cute. 

Comments

[Andy]

So funny, I was just getting ready to post about our hair woes. Other than the prolematic baby mullet, I have no idea what to do with her curls. She has my texture with daddy's curl. It's getting frizzy and out of control. I think I need to find a consultant, but with her mix it's hard. Her hair is a true mix and it's beginning to baffle me.

[dawn]

I like little boys (white or black) with short-short hair. Noah's going through a long-hair stage and I'm keeping my mouth shut about it but love it better when he has a buzz.

[Briana]

How funny. I was looking at Mike's site the other day for a work-related task, and thought to myself... is that Jay, so and so's kid? And you just confirmed that it is. So cute.

[Moxie]

We're getting my 17-month-old's hair cut tomorrow. He's as white as they come, with blond hair with little curls at the back. But after reading your's and Dawn's posts about hair and perceptions, I've realized it always looks like we're having a "lazy day" and that I'm less attentive than I am just because he's a wild boy with wild hair. So he's getting his first cut tomorrow.

[bek]

My 2 month old daughter has a baby mullet right now...that is funny.

My 2 yr old son (black) has very short hair. Right now I just need a way to get the food and sand out of it, but when he is a bit older (and stops putting sand in his hair) I want to do big hair like that little boy. Although my son isn't biracial...there are cute styles (comb twist, mini locks) that can give the same effect. it is SO cute.

I have no idea what I am going to do w/ my baby mullet. :-)

[Jenna]

Okay, so I've been thinking about this for two days. I'm going to just talk from the hip so ignore anything offensive. It's not meant to be.

I understand that you want people in the AA community to accept Z: for who she is, for who your family is, etc and so on. I realize that some people aren't going to like your family no matter what. That goes for all families. But...

honey, your hair is pink. You don't care what white people think about your hair. You "stick it to the man" and sport whatever freaking hair color you want. Shouldn't you be raising your daughter to feel the same? If someone says something about her hair, shouldn't you either shrug it off, chalk it up to jealousy or say something about shoving it where the sun doesn't shine?

I understand wanting to try your hardest to care for her hair; it's different and needs different treatment. But worrying about the thoughts of others in your community seems to be taking it a step to far. If you want to do your daughter's hair one way, go for it. If they don't like it, they can fuck off. If they feel you're insulting them by making sure that her hair is healthy, that's their own damn problem. If she some day says, "Man ma, my hair looked like shit," chalk it up to kids hating everything that their parents do.

And hand her a bottle of pink hair dye. ;)

[cloudcome]

Thanks for talking about boys hair!! :) You are right, Jay is adorable. I had Punkin's hair long for the first year and I tried braids and/or loose curls. It was really cute but I didn't like the time and fuss. It's really short now and I think it might be too short. I am going to let it grow a little longer between cuts. But most of the black boys his age around here have it really short, like he does now. Silly thing though... his head isn't round. I mean it's not even symetrical - flat on one side in the back cause he had torticollis. I am embarassed to admit it bothers me a lot. The other kids are going to tease him about it I just know it! So he is going to want long hair. When I asked the Dr. and the chiropractor about his head shape they just shrug and say it's not a problem.. his hair will cover it. They don't think about how black boys usually have super short hair and it is really obvious! OK so this is my mama freak out over here...

[Like Your Hair]

It looks really cute when little boys have long hair - especially those with blond hair and long eyelashes. But shaved look more muscular! :)

[Lea]

I'm Mexican and Chinese too! how cool.

[generic viagra]

I bought a badger hair shaving brush for my Dad's birthday (he asked for one) and I thought, "Where do they get these badger hairs from?".Obviously from a badger. I haven't ever seen or heard of a badger farm or badger hunters and I wondered whether they might use road kill?!??!!!??!!? hmmmmmmm intriguing.

[Cheap Escorts]

somehow stumbled upon your blog while searching for a article for a class, but I have to say I'm happy I found it ...will definately subscribe sometime.

[Generic Viagra]

If I am not wrong. Chris Rock made a documentary about hair and it is called "Good Hair" and it is about how afroamerican women worry about their hair and the industry that it is behind.

[arizona marijuana]

That is what i thought. I never was wrong. Thanks for reminding us.

[GED]

He has the cutest curls!

[models in london]

It turns out to be very active at the moment.