I'm Italian and Yes, I Have Curly Hair.

So, you're probably asking right about now, why am I writing about curly hair? Just this week alone my blogs have been about politics and serious topics...well today I want to talk about curly hair. I get tons of emails all the time about yes, my hair.

I have to say, I am very lucky to have super curly hair that's somewhat manageable. There was a time when I didn't know how to style it and always felt like odd girl out..while all my friends had their gorgeous straight hair.

Growing up with curly, frizzy hair always made me feel like a bit of an outcast. During middle school, teasing and spraying hair was pretty big. I could never do that, because if I teased I ended up looking like a poodle who got electrocuted. It was hard.

Then, in my later years in high school, I started to get the hang of it. It isn't till now, that I really love my hair and can style it with super products available for curly, ethnic hair. Yes, whether we like it or not, its "ethnic." If you research the curly hair characteristics and cultures of where people have curly hair, well..you guessed it..I'm in that percentile.

I guess I am the owner of the fitting characteristics of a Southern Italian woman. To add to the curly hair, not only is it hard just to figure out what to do with it, but in a business world such I am in daily..its another job trying to figure out how to fit in with the business types without my hair going wild.

My hair is usually pulled back and combed straight...just not to scare off people who can't handle my curly. Its a proven fact that perceptions of people with curly hair differ greatly in the sense that there is evidence of discrimination. I can second that. I find that people will treat you differently with curly as opposed to straight hair. I'm not looking for issues or things to look up, but I had someone ask me this morning...and it just grew into this discussion about curly hair. My shout out to all the Mediterraneans with Curly Hair.!!!!

Here's an interesting study and article about people with curly hair:

http://www.allacademic.com//meta/p_mla_apa_research_citation/1/0/8/9/5/pages108957/p108957-3.php Tweet

Discrimation Against Italians...or Just Everyone?

Well, talking about curly hair and discrimination is one thing but when we talk about discrimination against Italians, then I say, "let's discuss." I have to share this story with you because it enrages me beyond belief. So, this time it involves my mother. Now, if you ever met my mother would you say.."oh my God, she's so sweet"...yada, yada, yada. Yes, its true..she's great and wouldn't harm a fly. Here she is having to deal with an official office this past week. ( I won't say which one.)

But anyway, she goes up to the desk where the receptionist is sitting and tells the woman her name and signs in. Of course, I am driving her because it was in a location she wasn't sure about so I volunteered to drive her. Then, the woman calls her back over to the desk and asks her to fill in paper work and such and then proceeds to ask her a bunch of questions. My mother has replied, and actually asked her a few questions too. With each question, this woman is getting more and more condescending with her, as if my mother doesn't understand her because she happens to have an accent.

I find that many people in this country are extremely discriminatory against others with accents..doesn't matter what accent you have. Anyhow, getting back to the story..I'm listening to this b**** talk down to my mother, so I calmly walked over to the desk next to my mother and say is there a problem..?? The woman says, "no, did you need help with something.? I said, no..she's with me and that's my mother and oh by the way..she understands and speaks English." I didn't say it with the nicest tone. So she got the message.

But, gee wouldn't you know it her attitude changed immediately toward my mother. That just proved to me how judgemental and jerky people are when they hear accents. I felt like saying to this woman, FYI-this whole country is about immigrants...what planet or country are you living in? Like I also said in a previous blog, I'm all about immigrants and giving everyone a chance, just as long as we all play fair. Tweet