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Kinky Vs. Corporate: The Debate Continues

As much as I would love to lie to you and tell you that I have been proudly wearing my hair natural from birth until present, I won't. The truth is that I had been nagging my mother to slather the creamy crack on my hair from about the age of eight. My mother, being a strict West Indian woman who never permed her hair in all of her sixty-plus years refused to oblige my pleas for a relaxer. Instead she would pacify me with blowouts and press and curls. It was never enough. One day of rambunctious play and my curls were no more than fuzzy has-been's, anchored by moist nappy roots, oh, and hair grease.
By the time I was in eighth grade my incessant nagging finally paid off and my mother sat me down in the kitchen and applied my first relaxer. To say I was elated would have been an understatement. I felt I was finally going to be able to experience the wind blowing through my hair. I imagined my tresses trailing behind me as I ran about with my friends. The sad realization of breakage, thinning, and the expense of the upkeep of relaxed hair occurred to me soon after it was applied to my head.
Years down the line, much like many women who had fallen into the chemical addiction of relaxing their hair, I decided to do away with relaxing my hair and transition to it's natural state. So, I sat down in my bedroom and cut. all. of. my. hair. OFF. My first thought? Sinead O'Conner was a pioneer. My second thought was how in the world was I going to get a job. With no experience in a corporate setting I hadn't a clue how I was going to land an interview, nail the interview and start a career with the wooly crop that sat atop my head.
Luckily, I had experience with hair and I grew it out about two inches and braided it. By the time I was done I had long sleek braids that I could easily manuever into a business appropriate coif. Ten years later as I sit here with auburn locs, I wonder what that truly means? What is a business appropriate hair style? Are locs appropriate? What about locs that are in the beginning stages, all frizzed and unruly? Are braids appropriate? Where do you draw the line? One person may have corn rows and bother may have micro braids. Which is a hit and which is a miss in Corporate America? One must wonder if being natural should provoke so much thought. Afterall, I've seen plenty of awful weaves, wigs and relaxed hair that functions just fine in the workplace.
So is your hairdo really what determines whether or not you'll get that job? Perhaps, or maybe it has far more to do with what's in your head rather than what's on it.

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