Tampabay.com

OCTOBER 22, 2010

Black muppet sings 'I love my hair'

 Black women across the blogosphere are giving virtual high-fives to Sesame Street for the spunky muppet happily singing "I love my hair." It starts off with an empowering,  "Don't need a trip to the beauty shop, because I love what I got on top — it's curly and it's brown and it's right up there. You know what I love? My hair!""

The video went viral this week as women like Jenee Darden, journalist and blogger at CocoaFly.com, gushed that she's been dancing around her house to the tune. She is, after all,  "the same little black girl who wanted her kinky hair to blow in the wind like Marsha Brady's golden locks."

Chris Rock's movie Good Hair explored this same theme, how little girls need to hear it more that they are beautiful just as they are and not spend endless hours in the beauty parlor and thousands of dollars getting "good hair."  But the writer of this song, who readers may be surprised to find is a man and is white, shares something with Chris Rock. He has an Ethiopian daughter and like Rock had grown concerned that his daughter wanted to look like Barbie instead of like, well, herself.

That's certainly a universal message for all girls.

--Sharon Kennedy Wynne

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THE AUTHORS

Sharon Kennedy Wynne has sunscreen in her blood. She may have been born in Buffalo but she got here as fast as she could, in time for kindergarten. She grew up in St. Petersburg, graduated from the University of Florida journalism school, and even got married at Sunken Gardens. She's one of the few adults we know who actually loves taking her kids to the beach. She has two sons and with 10 years of parenting under her belt, she's starting to feel a little less out of her league. She comes from a large family and loves to debate, so brace yourself when the hot topics come up.

E-mail Sharon Kennedy Wynne:
wynne@tampabay.com

SP_255665_CROS_KATE.jpgAfter six long years of trying to have a baby, Kate Brassfield was finally able to have one. And then, two minutes later, another one. Suddenly the lady who had never been around babies before was juggling two! Just as Kate felt she was getting pretty good with babies, the girls became toddlers, and now Kate is back to Square One, learning about the care and feeding of these strange, wonderful creatures. She spends her days working part-time from home and trying to keep up with the Twinosaurus Wrecks.

E-mail Kate Brassfield:
katedaphne17@gmail.com

Freelance writer Courtney Cairns Pastor wasn’t so sure about having kids and how she would balance child-rearing with her journalism career. It turned out that her journalism training went to good use. As the mom to a funny, active toddler, she learned to handle him like she did her sources. Never ask yes or no questions (the answer will always be no), get him to be specific (are you crying because you’re wet or your tooth hurts?) and be prepared for anything because no two days are the same. When she’s not playing trucks, Courtney crams for her book club, trains for races and occasionally bursts into showtunes. E-mail her at courtneyblogs@gmail.com.

Suzannah DiMarzio has it bad for the Mouse. Although she grew up outside of Boston, she took her degree in tourism management down to Orlando just to work at Disney and the travel industry. Of course, when she married her high school sweetheart, the reception was at Disney. She’s now a seasoned stay-at-home mom to two tweens and a toddler – and yes, that is as crazy as it sounds. Suzannah has her own blog, ZannaLand.com , and she's a member of the Walt Disney World Moms Panel in addition to being addicted to Twitter, iced coffee, and watching way too much Yo, Gabba Gabba.

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