I am not my hair, but…

Last week in my post on the new movie “The Women,” I wrote that the chick flick was actually the inspiration for my next column in Velocity Weekly, which is the paper I write for to pay the bills.

The column, “Our curls are a part of who we are,” is in this week’s issue of Velocity and I hope you all check it out. I decided to write this column after reading “Curl, Interrupted: Do Curly Coifs Equal Frazzled Psyches,” an article published earlier this month in the New York Observer. In it writer Sara Vilkomerson explores Hollywood’s tendency to straighten out a female character’s hair to show that she’s straightened out her life. And “The Women” was no exception because we know Meg Ryan’s character, Mary, has finally pulled it all together when she emerges with her big blond curls smoothed out.

But this is nothing new. We saw it in “The Princess Diaries” and we see it constantly on makeover shows. To make the curly-haired girls look better, you have to get rid of those rebellious waves.

Enough already! I’m a curly girl and proud of it. And while curls don’t necessarily mean frazzled (I hope) I do feel my curls are a part of who I am. When I do occasionally wear my hair straight folks who never speak to me approach me and to say, “I like your hair better like that,” or “You should wear your hair straight more often.” I always want to scream, “Did I ask you what you like?!” But my Southern Belle manners won’t allow me. Even my mother tells me she prefers my hair straight.

But as Louisville-based singer-songwriter Brigid Kaelin, one of the women I interviewed for my column, said, “This is natural. Deal with it. I don’t really care if you think I need a makeover.”

So I’ve decided that I want to celebrate all women who proudly rock their hair the way it naturally is, whether it’s curly, straight or something in between. If you mostly wear your hair in its natural state (yes, anti-frizz creams are allowed) send me a photo to javacia@soulinstereo.com. In a few weeks I’ll post a little hair pride photo gallery. I want to see curly coifs, afros, dreadlocks and more.

So break out your cameras or comb through your Facebook photo albums and send me a favorite picture. Be sure to include a sentence or two on why your love your mane.

I can’t wait to see your lovely locks!