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A review by sc0rpianna
Don't Touch My Hair by Emma Dabiri
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
3.0
This book took me ages to read. If I could compare it to another piece of literature, it would be Hood Feminism. It just felt like a lot of information at once. I needed a break. On the other hand, I loved the balance between Emma Dabiri's life stories and historical/political information. Her connections created a smooth transition and aided me to learn about historical black figures and cultural traditions across the Black Atlantic. At times, it felt like she was rambling on (the section where she was talking about Madame CJ Walker's life and then her daughters... and then her foster daughter's marriage to an old man. Like, I didn't need to know that! Due to this, I don't know if I can recall much about the book.
Anyways, I loved the delve into cultural traditions and perceptions across the world, especially Brazil's colourism and Dominican Republic's texturism. Everyday it wows me when I discover different black terminology in other languages. But, the Dominican Republic's perception of "jaibaos" and "triguenos" really shocked me because I didn't know texturism was so serious that people were nicknamed after their hair texture, the looser curly pattern being the most preferred. Towards the end, I loved the discussion of the Koroba hairstyle, its purpose and meaning, then the smooth link to Colombia's continuation and rendition of this hairstyle. I thought it was really beautiful and I loved reading/hearing about African Diaspora traditions being continued across different nations, as this isn't really talked about enough.
Anyways, I loved the delve into cultural traditions and perceptions across the world, especially Brazil's colourism and Dominican Republic's texturism. Everyday it wows me when I discover different black terminology in other languages. But, the Dominican Republic's perception of "jaibaos" and "triguenos" really shocked me because I didn't know texturism was so serious that people were nicknamed after their hair texture, the looser curly pattern being the most preferred. Towards the end, I loved the discussion of the Koroba hairstyle, its purpose and meaning, then the smooth link to Colombia's continuation and rendition of this hairstyle. I thought it was really beautiful and I loved reading/hearing about African Diaspora traditions being continued across different nations, as this isn't really talked about enough.