For my documentary the Going Natural Video Diaries, I interview (Black) men about their hair experience. This week: Dreadlocked Model/Student

            Cisco Clervois’s photo shoot in Hong Kong.

1. Introduce yourself as in My name is Cisco Clervoix and I’m a master’s degree student at the University of Heidelberg in Heidelberg, Germany. I’m majoring in English Literature. I am from Naples, Florida with a 6 year stint in Central Ohio.

2.   As a model I aspire to prove that I too belong on the cover of magazines and posters. More often than not, visual media is whitewashed and often features lighter skin individuals when people of color do have an opportunity. I’m a firm believer that with my combination of dark skin, athletic body and long hair, I could change the perception on what a person in a shirt and tie can represent.

I’ve had many shoot in various parts of the world but the one that I’ll always remember was shooting with Leo, a Chinese photographer in Hong Kong. He was so easy going and fun to be around that it was a joy to shoot with him. I
In the next 5 years I see myself reminiscing about all my travels I’ve done in the past. Oh and debt free from student loans 🙂 

 
3.    My hair has become part of my identity. I feel empowered when I think about the hard work I’ve put in to get this far and it allows me to separate myself from others. I’ve never relaxed my hair, locking my hair was the most ideal thing I could have ever done. I’ll always remember hating getting a hair cut as a kid, yet I have never had the most manageable texture so growing it out was the best thing I could have ever done.

4.    As I’ve mentioned above, my hair helps me to feel empowered. I know that dreadlocks have a long history of symbolic meaning and such but for me it means, freedom. Traditionally, dreadlocks meant going through a struggle and locking ones hair but I view it different, I see my hair as locking my hair and embracing the world my own way. My hair is a symbol of maturation and freedom.

5.   As a kid I was a shamed of my hair cause it was rough to manage. I’ve broken many combs with my curls but again, locking it helped that go out of the window.

6.    I’d prefer a woman with more of a natural hair style. As a Libra, I’m all about balance and I like things that are a bit different than mine. So ironically, I prefer women with short hair. Something about a woman with short hair seems to always catch my attention. Something near the shoulder, or even a little lower would be fine. It also looks great as it grown in, almost masking as a new look every so often as it gets a little longer.

7.   I would prefer a softer texture but if her natural hair isn’t so soft then we’ll make the best of the situation. I’d prefer a rough texture than weaved hair. And of course, short hair is awesome 🙂

8.    Two thoughts: Black guys aren’t always educated on the concepts of women’s hair so don’t really know how to access the situation. Men are always thought how to handle their own hair, cut it every two weeks and call it a day. Secondly, the media is heavily whitewashed so that means people who are mixed and aren’t dealing with challenging hair issues. Men then internalize what they see as beautiful and think that’s the ideal for hair. Women and particularly black women are trying to keep up with these standards of beauty and wear a weave. Social constructs have dictated women wear long hair.

9.    I’ve always been an advocate for non-weave wearing women. When a man wants to feel intimate in a non-sexual way with his woman, he wants to play with her hair and hold her close. He doesn’t want to have her shut him down because he’s going to mess up her weave. I’m just sayin….lol

10.    Yes, because we’ve been psychologically conditioned into thinking it’s horrible. It’s all about educating ourselves with ways to enhance the hair’s quality like every other race needs to do as well. 

11.    I think it’s a great opportunity for people to feel empowered by their hair and not ashamed of it’s length, texture or deficiencies. My message to the beautiful black ladies would be to educate yourselves with ways to take good care of your own hair. It’s often said, love the skin you’re in, well we need to care for our hair with no despair. The ideas of what beauty is has been misleading and it’s make smarter decisions.

 

  This was fun 🙂 
—

“If I didn’t define myself for myself, I would be crunched into other people’s fantasies for me and eaten alive.”
                                              — Audre Lorde

 

Contributor: Toni-Ann Myrie
Toni-Ann is a budding freelance writer whose greatest passions are reading and writing. Toni-Ann is also in love with the idea of traveling but is kept grounded by her bank account. In the meantime she travels around her island home and captures her most unforgettable moments in her writing.
You can see more of her writings on her blog Petite’s World. 

More about Cisco Clervoix

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/greatnes5/

For my documentary the Going Natural Video Diaries, a documentary that pictures the Natural Hair Movement in motion, I interview (Black) men about their hair experience. What are their issues, are they the same as Black women’s, how do they differ, what is our shared experience, can we as women relate but most of all; can we (re)connect?

Please share this interview if you’ve enjoyed it and If you are or know a brother who wants to be interviewed or has to say a thing or two about Black hair, please get in touch.