#7 Blonde/dyed hair

The whole trend of Black women dyeing their hair blond or other colors goes back to the 1960s.  I remember seeing a movie with my aunt in which there was a Black nurse who had her hair dyed blond.  I was astonished to find out that Black people getting their hair dyed blond originally started back in those days, so I asked my aunt why on Earth did that Black woman in the movie have her hair dyed blond.  My aunt told me that it was a way for Black people back in those days to be like white people.  Another example of this trend is the fact that back in those days, many Black men were still getting their hair relaxed to straighten it out.

The trend of Black women dyeing their hair came back in full force in the late 1990s when many Black women in the music industry began to dye their hair blond.  Originally, this trend was more of a fashion statement than Black people trying to imitate white people; whereas, after the 90s, the trend began to get out of hand with many people making fun of certain Black celebrities who dyed their hair in colors that seemed to them to be outlandish.

Nowadays, it's very hard to walk or drive anywhere in America and not see a Black woman who has her hair dyed blond or some other colors.  In many ways, it is still a way for Black women to express themselves and a way to enhance their beauty in the eyes or opinions of others, but in other ways, it's a way for many Black women to pretend they are not "really" Black or 100% Black, which in fact many of them aren't as a result of years and years of interracial relationship dating all the way back to slavery.

Many Black women in the music industry of this new millennium have either caught flack for dyeing their hair certain colors or have simply just further accelerated many people's disdain or lack of respect for such artists.  Take the recording artist Nicki Minaj, for example, an artist who has a reputation for displays of outlandish or bizarre behavior that is a part of her persona as a recording artist.  She has been seen with her hair dyed in colors such as pink, red, or blue, hair colors that are not possible for any human being on Earth to have.  She even had portions of her hair dyed different colors of the entire rainbow all at the same time.  However, all of this behavior is acceptable on the part of Nicki Minaj because of the simple fact that she is a "successful" recording artist.  Kudos to you Nicki Minaj . . . I  mean she does come out with some nice singles every now and then.

When it comes to dyed hair, many Black women take great pains to get it or maintain it.  Take the example of Beyonce, she is not a natural blond.  No Black woman is a natural blond.  However, ever since she came out with the hit single "No, no, no, no," her first debut single when she was a part of the singing group Destiny's Child, she has had blond hair.  Has anyone ever noticed this or said anything about this?  No, they haven't.  Why hasn't anyone said anything about this?  Because we're talking about Beyonce.  That's why.  Also, did I mention the fact that she's always had her hair that way?  No one really ever cared about Beyonce's hair to begin with.