OK. First, watch this…
Lemme start slowly here.
Honestly, I’m not trying to be a hater, here. I am on record as being a BIG fan of Sesame Street. I go waaaaaaaay back with the show. Pre-Elmo. I go way back to a black dude named David, to when there was a Mr. Hooper and he was alive, and back to when Cookie Monster ate cookies EVERY TIME, not just after he had a balanced meal.
So I am REEEEEALLY and HONESTLY not trying to hate on the above video.
It’s almost excellent. It is very nearly, completely and utterly excellent. But unfortunately it’s just short of excellent. and sadly for me, that makes it totally wrong.
When I first saw a link to this video, it was posted by a black woman that I follow on Twitter. And I clicked the link and read her blog about how Sesame Street had made a video celebrating black women’s hair in it’s natural state. and I immediately thought, “Way to go Sesame Street! You still got it!” And then I thought, “I should go post it on Martha’s Facebook page.” Martha is one of my best friends and she has a black daughter and she has often talked about the struggle to make sure that her daughter knows that her hair doesn’t need to be straightened or blonde-ed or flat ironed-ed-ed (Do people still flat iron?) So I thought to myself, “This video will be perfect ANNNNND I’ll get some very valuable ‘I’M A GOOD FRIEND!’ points.” I can always use more of those. Believe me. But first I thought, “Well, I should probably watch the video first…
Damn.
OK, it starts great. I love the Muppet of the little black girl. She’s adorable. (Yes, Muppets are real!) They didn’t do the Sesame Street thing where she’s a monster OR she’s a humanoid with like green skin and purple hair. It’s not a metaphor. It is an actual representation of a “young black girl.” Excellent! I also love the voice of the actor singing it. She is clearly sounds black, and the voice is awesome. No obvious Auto Tuning to take out the soul of the black folk.
And then for me personally, it quickly goes downhill. The song is ostensibly about a young black girl who accepts her hair and how it naturally is…
“Don’t need a trip to the beauty shop. Because I love what I got on top!”
And then what does Sesame Street have this happy, well adjusted, accepting, little black girl do immediately after she declares how much she loves her natural hair?
THEY HAVE HER CHANGE HER HAIR!!!?? SEVERAL TIMES!!!??
Now, again. I’m not a hater. I’m not saying that the message to black girls should be NEVER DO ANYTHING TO YOUR HAIR! No, I’m not saying that at all. But what I am saying is that there’s a big difference between THIS…
or THIS…
or THIS…
There’s a BIG DIFFERENCE between all of those hairstyles and THIS…
You like how they just snuck it into the middle of the clip without even really referring to it. The hair above may have not seen the inside of a beauty shop, but there is something in that hair that is not natural.
And then her hair turns into THIS…
Well, now Sesame Street, you dropped us off right where we started. We are back to the message that says…
“Black women, go ahead and love your hair, but sometimes you’re gonna want it to flow down your back and swing in the breeze. And if you want that then you had better sit down, because it’s gonna take hours and hours and require either synthetic or another human’s hair. And then technically, it’s not actually your own hair that you are loving. And no, it does not matter whether or not you have the receipt.”
I’m just saying at the very least it is a mixed message and a missed opportunity. And again, I’m not trying to be a hater. There is something to like here. I just wonder if there were any black people involved in the creation of this segment. Also I’m not saying that there is anything wrong with any of the hairstyles in this clip. In fact, I think their mistake had an easy fix. They could have had several different little black girl Muppets, each with a different hairstyle, in order to demonstrate that each of them loves the hair that they were born with. Wasn’t that the lesson they were trying to teach here anyway? Were they afraid that too many black Muppets on set would cause some ruckus? Like a Muppet version of the Source Awards?
Anyway, now it is impossible for me to post this clip on Martha’s page with the hopes of her sharing it with her daughter as a way of alleviating all that “black woman hair pressure.” I will send it to her, but now it’s gonna be one of those, “What do you think of THIS?” And of course, Martha may like it. And of course if she deems it appropriate, Martha may share it with her daughter anyway… Hell, she may even show it to her daughter even if she deems it to be inappropriate — They’re big on REAL, ACTUAL teaching moments over there in Oakland. But I can’t just post it on Martha’s Facebook page, like it’s not potentially radioactive. Her daughter is too important for that.
For the record, her daughter’s hair looks like THIS…
Tags: black david, black girl, black women, cookie monster wants cookies, elmo, hair, mr. hopper, not trying to be a dick, sesame street, too important to get wrong, w. e. b. dubois, w. kamau bell, yes I know elmo is black
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I think they meant she can do stuff naturally with her hair – not flatten it and make it like like a Blake LIvely Farrah Fawcett. I’m waiting for the puppet that will stop white guys from getting dreads.
Maybe you’re right. I believe that their Muppet hearts were in the right place.
Hooper, man. Mr. Hooper.
Hi, While I appreciate your coments. What about those Black girls that actually do have Non- Store Bought hair like that (I know its a stretch, but they’re actually are a few( though not me, btw))?
Thanks,
M. Brooks
I’m just now realizing that my take on the Sesame Street video is different from other people’s for 1 simple reason. I think Muppets are real. Seriously. They aren’t representations of people. They ARE individuals with rights and privileges. So when I watch that video, I’m feeling sorry for the little Muppet and all the time she had to spend in the chair getting her hair did for only seconds of screen time per style. WHERE ARE HER MUPPET PARENTS???
There are of course black women with all kinds of hair, from the straightest of straight to the tightest of curl. But again, I would have understood that message better if instead of one little Muppet girl, there had been several to represent that kind of follicle diversity. ROCK ON!
fixed. Sorry about that.
i heard its will smiths daughter willow smith that sang the song…..so black people were involved?
It’s always interesting when black men comment on black women’s hair….
What exactly is the issue with styling one’s hair over a period of hours or utilizing protective styling such as extensions (we’ve actually been doing that for centuries)?
Are you asking what my issue is or what society’s issue is? If you are asking me then I’m confused, because as I said in my blog…
“I’m not saying that the message to black girls should be NEVER DO ANYTHING TO YOUR HAIR! No, I’m not saying that at all.”
I was saying that I think the message of the video changed in the middle from my perspective. But obviously my perspective is not everyone else’s, and that’s what makes the world go ’round. Different perspectives.
YAY! As I said, I LOVE the song.
I think that the different looks were made to represent the different textures of hair that black women have. My sister and I have very different hair textures and both of us were represented in the video. I really enjoyed the video I think that it is a great tool that can be used engage black girls in healthy discussions about their hair and body image as a whole.
Maybe they could have used different girls to show different hair types but then complexion would probably come into play and that’s a whole ‘nother issue.
Kudos to Sesame street
[...] to the pressure that my blog put on Sesame Street’s “I Love My Hair” video (JOKE), ABC News investigates Sesame Street (HALF JOKE) and is vindicated. (NOT A [...]
no the voice was from a little black girl from the Lion King…forget her name. Willow Smith “whips her hair” back and forth) is another song, which now that you mention it, might be what this is parodying because there’s a scene that looks exactly like the wind-blowing extensions pic!