Mom Writes Book, ‘Bad Hair Does Not Exist!’ For Daughters
The discussion of “bad hair” versus “good hair” has plagued people from the African diaspora since slavery. “Bad hair” is anything considered “nappy” or difficult to comb and style; more African in nature. “Good hair” appears to be straighter and easy to style; more European. However, there is no such thing as bad hair or good hair. Hair is hair.
Sulma Arzu-Brown, a Garifuna woman (Afro-Latino people from Honduras) wrote Bad Hair Does Not Exist!/¡Pelo Malo No Existe! to expel the myth that one hair type is better than another. The bilingual book was inspired by an incident where Arzu-Brown’s babysitter commented that her client’s daughter, Bella Victoria, had “bad hair.”
“The book is a tool of cultural solidarity and a tool of empowerment for all of our little girls,” said Arzu-Brown whose daughters are now 4 and 11. “The term ‘Bad hair’ or ‘Pelo Malo’ is divisive to both community and family, and can contribute to low self-esteem.”
Sulma Arzu-Brown hopes to have the book translated into Portuguese so she can reach Afro-Brazilians. Although the creation of the book was spurred by an unfortunate incident, much good has come out of its production.
Click here to read more about the book and to learn about the app sponsored by Majora Carter’s StartUp Box and Verizon.
ABOUT BAD HAIR DOES NOT EXIST!/¡PELO MALO NO EXISTE!
Bad Hair Does Not Exist!
Written by Sulma Arzu-Brown
Illustrated by Isidra Sabio
Bad Hair Does Not Exist is a tool of empowerment for all little girls who are black, afro-descendent, afro-Latinas, and Garifuna. It’s to enhance the confidence of girls who are beautiful, intelligent, savvy, witty, and have extraordinary hair. The book is intended to teach little girls how to define and describe their hair so that they don’t identify with the term “bad hair.” It gives you cool illustrations of gorgeous girls with examples of each type of hair. The book serves to educate and calls for all of us to work as equal partners to build our girls up by using proper terminology to describe their hair because it is directly linked to their essence.
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