![[personal profile]](http://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ysabetwordsmith"The Girl with the Hair That Would Not Be Tamed"
Once there was a girl with
hair that would not be tamed.
It was beautiful and black and nappy
no matter what anyone did to it.
The hair that would not be tamed
broke combs and untied braids.
It snagged things and dropped them,
opened and closed doors in passing,
flicked people who tried to touch it.
A whole jar of gel would not hold it down
for more than an hour before -- sproing! --
it made a break for freedom.
Texra Alexander was the girl beneath
the hair that would not be tamed.
Her mother and grandmother and aunts
were always trying to get her hair under control,
to get Texra under control. "Wile chile,"
they would say, "we got to get a handle on this."
They were always trying, but it never worked.
The hair would not be tamed,
and Texra came with the hair.
It's not that she was a bad girl
or that she had bad hair.
She just wasn't the kind of
good girl with good hair
that people really wanted.
They thought she was young enough
to be shaped, to be trained, but
it never quite worked out that way.
For Texra's sixteenth birthday,
her grandmother put on sweet jazz,
her aunts baked a pink lemonade cake,
and her mother filled the kitchen with balloons.
After the party, they all wanted
to take Texra to a hairdresser uptown
who they were sure could work some magic.
Texra didn't want to go,
and neither did her hair.
What had started as a party
ended with flung silverware
and popped balloons.
That day Texra realized
that she and her hair were exactly
what people had been saying for years:
wile chile.
So she left home,
left behind the pink barrettes
that never stayed put anyhow
and the pretty yellow dresses with
shoulder buttons that always snagged.
Wile Chile wore t-shirts and tank tops,
soft scarves with nothing to catch on her hair,
and she let her hair do precisely as it pleased.
Sometimes the hair that would not be tamed
got her in trouble, but it always got her out again.
Wile Chile learned how to work with her hair,
and soon she could pick up things and throw them
on purpose, not just on accident.
She could punch people with it, too,
if they tried to hurt her.
The hair was impossible to cut;
it was like wearing armor of black wire-wool.
It caught a bullet once. That was cool.
Wile Chile worked out
until she got strong enough
to hang from her hair, and later,
to swing by it like a monkey
moving through the treetops.
She learned that anything
she hid inside her hair
was hid real good --
nobody could see it,
even other soups,
even security scanners.
Wile Chile turned into
a darn good thief,
but she never took from
nobody who couldn't spare it.
It didn't matter to her that
the world only wanted to make a place
for good girls with good hair done up in a tidy 'do.
Wile Chile would make a place for herself
and the hair that would not be tamed.
* * *
Notes:
Wile Chile (Texra Alexander) -- She has brown skin, brown eyes, and intensely nappy black hair. She comes from a large gregarious family with lots of aunts and uncles and cousins. She had a reasonably happy childhood but just never fit in with people who wanted her to "be good."
Prehensile hair behaves differently depending on its texture and ethnic origin. This is not the flossy blonde or red stuff of Rapunzel-esque European background. It is black and wiry and extremely durable. It can serve as Armor, and it is Invulnerable (although the rest of her body is not). It works as a weapon to attack targets within arm's reach. It can pick things up, throw them, break combs or other objects (including "unbreakable" things, and it gets a roll even against other Invulnerable things to determine which is stronger). Objects hidden in it have Concealment against ordinary, technological, or even superpowered detection. Wile Chile can hang from her hair, even brachiate with it, although she had to work out to develop her neck and shoulder muscles enough to take that much strain.
Origin: Everyone in her family has a different theory. She was just born that way. It grew in slowly as she got older. No, it got a lot worse when she became a woman. It must have been on account of all the different gunk they put on her hair trying to tame it down.
Uniform: Street clothes.
Qualities: Expert (+4) Strength, Good (+2) Street Smart, Good (+2) Stubborn, Good (+2) Thief
Powers: Master (+6) Prehensile Hair
Motivation: To be free.
* * *
In African-American culture, hair is intensely political, and it's about control. You can see this in the children's book Nappy Hair, which has sparked a lot of controversy.
Nappy hair can indeed break combs and other hair accessories, raising the question of whether or not to comb it at all. There are other ways to care for it.
Enjoy a recipe for Pink Lemonade Cake.
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/
Prehensility is the ability of a body part to grasp and hold. Brachiation entails travel by swinging from the arms, and some primates also use a prehensile tail to move through the treetops. This appears as the entertainment trope Prehensile Hair and the superpower Hair Manipulation, but notice that it almost always applies to long flowing European hair.
"Wile Chile" is a term with dual meaning: a willful young person, or the early stage of forming dreadlocks when they just look messy.
![[identity profile]](http://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
LOVE THIS
Date: 2014-10-14 12:56 am (UTC)I remember reading "Nappy Hair" to my boys in part because it /had/ been challenged locally. Sigh. Politics even in /hair care/? I wonder when our society will be emotionally older than five.
Re: LOVE THIS
Date: 2014-10-14 01:22 am (UTC)Yes. Not every soup hates their power, not every girl hates her body, even if other people gripe about it. But it can still impact people's life choices.
>> I remember reading "Nappy Hair" to my boys in part because it /had/ been challenged locally. <<
Good for you!
>> Sigh. Politics even in /hair care/? <<
Women's hair is political. Black hair is political. Black women's hair is so political that there is no unmarked case -- absolutely every choice conveys a message whether you want it to or not.
So I try to be careful with hairstyles for my afro-ethnic characters, and those run the whole gamut. Fairly conventional women like Hannah have straightened their hair. Danso's is naturally nappy but very short. Skateordie has dreadlocks. Various others have fancier hairstyles with cornrows or puffs. Over in The Steamsmith, Maryam Smith wears hers in bantu knots. I love the variety so it's a lot of fun to go looking for hairstyles that will suit someone's personality.
>> I wonder when our society will be emotionally older than five. <<
After this unbelievable bullshit, I don't see that happening any time soon. There is not enough W in TF for this.
Re: LOVE THIS
Date: 2014-10-14 01:34 am (UTC)Mine... not so much... By the way, those child-safe scissors who claim not to cut hair? Lies, all lies.
Re: LOVE THIS
Date: 2014-10-14 02:07 am (UTC)Awww!!! *HUGS* I have the best audience in the history of ever.
Saraphina seems to favor wearing hers in a lot of twists or braids, which is adorable in the pictures. That's cool, because those need to be redone anywhere from every 2-3 days to once a week, and take considerable time to put up. So it's a very good bonding exercise for her and Aidan, who is plenty patient and probably has experience with textured hair.
>> Not because it's political, but because it's incredibly jarring to go from a familiar style to an unfamiliar one, especially for toddlers, who can be terrified for WEEKS after their first haircut. <<
Yes, that's true. Some children are easily scared by new things. To Saraphina, almost everything is unfamiliar and intimidating right now, because she has lost so much.
Huh, you know what would really help? Baby-wearing. Given Aidan's age, he almost certainly has experience with this, and it's still practiced in a lot of third-world countries today.
>> Mine... not so much... By the way, those child-safe scissors who claim not to cut hair? Lies, all lies. <<
Probably depends on the hair and the brand of scissors. Mine has broken more than one pair of metal scissors. Cutting it requires either real hairdresser scissors, or sturdy craft scissors.
I have notes for a poem about Lakia and Hannah arguing over Lakia's hair, because she's spent so much time half-wild that it's a mop. Hannah isn't picky about the style but insists that hair be well cared for, because in African-American culture that's a primary marker for how loved and tended a child is. Hannah refuses to have anyone thinking the kids aren't treasured and taken care of. But Lakia is soft-headed and it just turns into a major fucking battle.
Re: LOVE THIS
Date: 2014-10-14 02:13 am (UTC)Re: LOVE THIS
Date: 2014-10-14 03:20 am (UTC)Re: LOVE THIS
Date: 2014-10-14 06:30 am (UTC)Yay!
>> even though she's big enough to sit on his hip in a sling, rather than a front-carry.<<
Many people do that with toddlers, and even children up to 5-6 years old. Child slings are becoming more available.
>> She needs contact more than language at first, just as if she were a newborn, though the cycle would move at a different pace, determined by her skills, needs, and any damage incurred. <<
Sooth. Most of the damage is separation trauma from losing her entire family, plus culture shock. Saraphina is terrified of being abandoned again, which makes her clingy -- the same problem Rosita has. (Contrast that with Lakia, who was ignored or shuffled off to the side so much that she's often indifferent to whether anyone else is even around.) It's likely to take several years before Saraphina will really feel secure again. Her soul powers mean that she can quickly identify people who are safe, loving, and compatible; but she had that before and lost it, which makes her anxious. Just having a parent who will let her cling as much as she needs to will help. So will adding other people to the family circle; she'll probably always need a high number of contacts in her support network to be comfortable. There are 6 in Danso's family plus another 4 in Amada's (not counting Faramundo who has his head up his ass right now), and however many of Aidan's friends want to get involved.
Re: LOVE THIS
Date: 2014-10-14 07:29 am (UTC)Re: LOVE THIS
Date: 2014-10-14 07:43 am (UTC)Faramundo is the breadwinner, and he's very attached to that. He's got a good job that he doesn't want to leave and can't stay away from for much longer. His family is very important to him too, but he'd feel worthless if he couldn't provide for them. His identity is substantially bound up in his job. Not sure what it is though.
Re: LOVE THIS
Date: 2014-10-14 01:41 am (UTC)Re: LOVE THIS
Date: 2014-10-14 01:56 am (UTC)A great big FUCK YOU to that.
Here, have a poem about gloriously wild hair.
Re: LOVE THIS
Date: 2014-10-14 03:21 am (UTC)I'm still angry.
Re: LOVE THIS
Date: 2014-10-14 03:39 am (UTC)Bummer.
>> To /trivialize/ this person's accomplishment just because she's not ANGLO? <<
I think it's half her race, and half her sex. I could honestly see them pulling some similar shit with any woman, because people do that kind of thing all the time. They asked Hillary Clinton about her hair and clothes, and she said, "Would you ever ask a man that?" "No ... probably not." World class politician and they wanted to know about her fucking fashion.
>> I'm still angry. <<
Me too.
Re: LOVE THIS
Date: 2014-10-14 07:13 am (UTC)Hillary isn't a narcissist, but for all that people love her, her ruthlessness takes her off the ticket for me. I'd rather vote for the Green candidate, who spends her time and money being an activist for several causes I like.
Hair? They're politicians. As long as they aren't flat-out ugly, who really ought to care? And if they understand what the nation needs and fight for it, I'll vote for em!
Re: LOVE THIS
Date: 2014-10-14 07:38 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2014-10-14 01:50 am (UTC)Yay!
Date: 2014-10-14 01:53 am (UTC)I was kind of surprised that so many people gravitated to this poem, when there were several from the most popular threads also up and folks could vote for more than one. I guess I did a good job of making it intriguing!
(no subject)
Date: 2014-10-14 04:05 am (UTC)Yay!
Date: 2014-10-14 04:12 am (UTC)I love that character concept.
>> It's awesome someone else thought awesome hair powers was a cool concept. <<
To be fair, it is partially autobiographical. My family has been cool about my hair, but it does throw things, untie itself from knots, break combs, and escape from gel.
Re: Yay!
Date: 2014-10-14 07:18 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2014-10-14 05:15 am (UTC)My own hair is an Irish/German mare's mane; it can snag on things, and it definitely smarts when someone gets it across the face (so say fifteen or more years of people sitting behind me in classes) but it's not nearly so gloriously untamable as Wile Chile's. To her, I say rock on, sister.
Thank you!
Date: 2014-10-14 06:17 am (UTC)You can always ask for more about her in any relevant prompt call. Next up is "paradigm shifting without a clutch" this weekend in the Creative Jam.
>> My own hair is an Irish/German mare's mane; it can snag on things, and it definitely smarts when someone gets it across the face (so say fifteen or more years of people sitting behind me in classes) but it's not nearly so gloriously untamable as Wile Chile's. To her, I say rock on, sister. <<
That's really cool.
(no subject)
Date: 2014-10-14 09:03 am (UTC)Thank you!
Date: 2014-10-14 09:23 am (UTC)Wow, that is awesome hair.