Gabrielle Douglas was born December 31st, 1995 in Virginia Beach, Virginia with a dream in her heart and a twinkle in her eye..little did she know that she would go on to become an Olympic Gold Medalist at the tender age of 16..accomplishing more in a small time than many will accomplish in their entire lives, she became a public spectacle due to her hairstyle choice..let me be one of many to say I think that this is absolutely bogus...the American public have made her hair more of a topic of conversation than her exquisite, graceful abilities...this mode of thinking has plagued the media and overall viewpoints of society for ages...being that I made the choice to go natural a few years back I can understand the plight of being criticized by some for my hair choice...I personally believe that to perm your hair as a woman of color is to detach yourself from something that makes you who you are culturally...it destroys your hair texture and most importantly your sense of self image...society and media have brainwashed our young women of color to believe that their natural kinky hair texture is a monstrosity and can only be accepted when dare I say, it's 'fried,dyed, and laid to the side' or covered with weave and glue..THAT IS A MYTH...it is a way to keep us culturally divided within the black community by believing that there is a such thing as 'good hair' or 'bad hair'...in my opinion, 'good hair' is hair that is clean and well maintained regardless of texture or curl...they say if it's not bone straight that it's nappy and looks a mess and I totally disagree with that 100%...just because it's different, doesn't mean it's bad...hair is yet another medium for expressing how you feel about yourself and your pride in your culture regardless of color or creed...as a woman, my hair is my crowning glory and I refuse to allow anyone to convince me otherwise...it is a personal choice whether or not you decide to take the natural route, or perm your hair..I choose to be natural because it is indicative of my inner self nature....it is a shame we live in a society where the 'grade' of your hair defines your worth from a societal standpoint...India Arie said once in a song, "I am not my hair"...which I used to strongly believe, but I have to politely disagree and say that I AM MY HAIR..I am wild, unpredictable, soft yet sturdy and utterly beautiful in a way that no lye-filled creme could ever embody...they can never box or can the beauty that my natural hair holds in my eyes....with that being said, GABBY THE WORLD IS PROUD OF YOU, YOUR COMMUNITY IS PROUD OF YOU AND KEEP DOING YOUR THING -- One Love
