JOY BRYANT NOT INSPIRED BY TYRA BANKS NATURAL MOVEMENT…WEAVE-A-HOLIC 4 LIFE!

LexAve — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 16:03:07 +0000

Check out Joy Bryant’s Essence.com blog “Bohemian Rhapsody” and in her most recent post in what appears to be a letter to Tyra about her “National Real Hair Day”. Joy makes it clear that though she may be insecure and dare I say brainwashed, she’s a weave-a-holic for LIFE!

Ouch! My tailbone really hurts when I sit on hard surfaces or slouched down in a chair for too long. That’s what I get from busting my butt from too much snowboarding. It makes it really hard to sit in a salon chair for hours on end getting my weave hooked up.

But oh, how we suffer for beauty…I must bring a pillow next time.

As the threads of the grown-out tracks were being snipped, I broke out my laptop and began my ritualistic daily web search. I go from news of the day to articles/blogs about the news of the day, ending up on entertainment/gossip/fashion stuff.
But that day, something caught my attention and trumped all of the glowing reviews of President Obama’s health care speech:

It was Tyra’s hair.

National Real Hair Day? I missed that one…In fact, on National Real Hair Day, I was calling Extensions Plus in L.A. to make sure they had enough of the 20” “relaxed roots” texture hair that I love oh so much (and that keeps selling out like crazy!), and making an appointment to get my hair, I mean, my weave, hooked up.

So Tyra, while I didn’t take part in your observance, I just want to say: “WOW!” You are such a brave woman for breaking the chains that bound you since your teenage years! What courage that took, for you to expose yourself to millions of people! Such fearlessness!

Oh, how I wish I had the guts to do that. I guess I’m much too much of an insecure, self-loathing Negro for all that self-acceptance foolishness.
I’m glad we got down to solving the mystery of what’s under your lace-front, though. I mean seriously, it was “THE” question that has perplexed the world over. And now we see that there’s a beautiful head of hair underneath it all, hair that was surprisingly relaxed and ready for the world. Whodathunkit?! If I had the same length and fullness of hair that you have, I might take my weave out too.

Ha!!!! I’m just playing! Even if I DID have your “real” hair, I’d still be wearing a few tracks or clip-ons up in there.

Why?

Because I’m straight weave fo life, kid!!!

Ima ride ride wit this weave, die die with this weave!!

Let me break it down for you:
See, I loooooove taking new hair out of the bag, combing through it with my fingers, holding it up with my two hands, and burying my face in it. Mmmm, mmmm, mmm! Nothing like a new batch of zig-zag curly to get your self esteem out of the dumps!

The feeling of getting my hair, I mean, my weave done over. I feel human again. I feel sexy. I feel powerful. It makes me feel…it makes me feel…it makes feel like a natural woman!!!

I can be whatever, whoever I want to be with the stroke of a sewing needle…

With long brown tresses and a tan, I’m Pocahontas, ’cause I got Indian in my family. With easy waves, I AM bohemian rhapsody goddess personified. And now that I got blond highlights! What!? I know I look like Beyonce! You can’t tell me nothing! Uh oh, uh oh…

And then I looked up from my computer, and caught a glimpse in the mirror of my head minus the long weavy locks. I looked crazy! Awww hell naw! I looked over at the new batch of hair sitting off to the side waiting to join forces with me. Damnit, I’m trapped, I thought to myself. I can’t let it go. I am powerless over it. Just when I think I’m done, it pulls me back in!

Now I guess I can get help for my self-loathing addiction.
I can learn to accept myself in my entirety. I can emancipate myself from that which keeps me locked-up. I can embrace the natural state of things.

Yup, I can do all of that…

But don’t hold your breath!

Hi, my name is Joy, and I’m a weave-a-holic.

Whatever suits you, natural, braided, relaxed, weave’d-up…it’s all good, if it works for you. All I’m saying is why is that her weave looks busted everytime I see her! Countless times either my boo and/or I run into Joy in SoHo and in the subway and her weave looks a HAM…what gives?!

KERRY WASHINGTON & JOY BRYANT GIVE BACK TO THEIR HOMETOWN, THE BRONX!

LexAve — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 22:20:46 +0000

Hollywood ladies, Kerry Washington and Joy Bryant team up to give back to their community of The Bronx in NYC through the Uptown Girl Power Benefit, which will raise funds for mural art projects that portray positive images for young women and girls. People don’t be fooled by the rocks that they got…they still come back to the block. ESSENCE.com caught up with the ladies to talk about her affinity for hip-hop, why women of color always have to fight harder, and what the B-X has to offer. Yes, it’s not always about the BK.
ESSENCE.COM: So, Uptown Girl, is this your first trip back to the Boogie Down?
KERRY WASHINGTON: Well, this is my first official event with Uptown Girls but I’ve been friends with [environmental community leader] Majora [Carter] and Joy [Bryant] for many years, so it’s nice to be working together. I’m just really proud to be from the Bronx, and I always tell folks I’m the twin sister of hip-hop because we were both born in 1977.

ESSENCE.COM: We love that you’re a hip-hop baby! Why did you choose to become involved with UG?
WASHINGTON: When you look at the statistics young women of color are up against, so many odds, including a lack of health education or growing up in poverty. We’re up against a lot and those of us who have had enough velocity and have been lucky enough to move beyond those statistics should not be thought of as the exception. Joy and I don’t want to be the exception, and we’re not when you look at amazing women like Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor! We want our successes to become the norm.
ESSENCE.COM: We know that young women in the Bronx and other urban communities face teen pregnancy, high dropout rates and issues of domestic abuse. How did you subside all of that and how do you teach these girls to do the same?
BRYANT: It helped that I had my grandmother. I grew up not very far from where the event will be taking place, but my grandmother always stressed to me that, regardless of the fact that I was a poor, Black child from the Bronx, I was never to use that as an excuse for me not to dream big and go out and get the things that I really wanted in life. In order for me to change the circumstance of which I was born into, I had to do well in school because that was the thing that was going to liberate me. That’s how I was able to get in the A Better Chance program, which led me to get a scholarship to the Westminster school, graduated, went to Yale for two years and here I am. It all goes back to having that positive influence in your life.

As Bronx girl myself, it’s frustrating seeing all these young women in the hood with no direction and negative images…it’s beautiful and refreshing to hear someone who’s made it out successful, come back and help.
READ MORE OF THE INTERVIEW AND THEIR EFFORTS AT ESSENCE.COM

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JOY BRYANT NOT INSPIRED BY TYRA BANKS NATURAL MOVEMENT…WEAVE-A-HOLIC 4 LIFE!

KERRY WASHINGTON & JOY BRYANT GIVE BACK TO THEIR HOMETOWN, THE BRONX!