I have to admit that of all of the chapters we have read up to this point, "fighting natural" was my least favorite. I think it was because it was written by an older woman, and I just could not relate at all because of that. however, after reading through everyone's postings, i thought about the point that kristen made about how we don't notice our flaws until someone else does it for us. a while ago in chat in class we were discussing how we couldnt believe that some people have the balls to make comments about weight to an overweight person's face. why do people think they have the right to judge another's physical appearance? everything is relative, and a matter of opinion for the most part anyways.

I had mixed reactions to "Fighting Natural". I understand the painful transformation she was craving and the idea of torture. In psychology, she would have been diagnosed as having a mutilation disorder. Instead of cutting her arms, she mutilated her hair and scalp. I've let people dye and curl my hair as well as put makeup on my face and it does seem torturous to achieve a higher state of "beauty". If we work hard at something, we feel better. The more we sacrifice, the more we gain later. But different qualities are beautiful to different people. And I say whatever you decide to do to your body, if it makes you feel beautiful, do it. But if you decide that the sacrifices are not worth the results, then don't. People will still find you beautiful whether or not you dye your hair or anything else you can think of to augment your body.

I can personally relate to "Fighting Natural." She spent a good chunk of the essay describing her desire to reinvent herself, first at the school dance, later by trying out for flagswingers and even when she moved out to California to reinvent herself as a California girl. I remember feeling that way many times while growing up. I was teased and made fun of a lot in elementary school and middle school, and a lot of the comments centered around my clothing and my hair. I remember getting haircuts or buying a new outfit hoping that maybe it would help me reinvent myself and convince the other kids I wasn't what they thought I was. I definitely feel that the ending line sums up what I used to feel (but have since gotten past for the most part) with each new "improvement" I always hoped that change would be the one to reinvent me.

Many people seen to like the "fighting natural" story very much. It is easy for many of us to connect with. I also liked it very much and was able to see where the author was coming from. Debbie said she thought hair dying "has to do with the fact that many women like to be noticed, and if we are only as daring as to dye our hair then that's what we'll do." I very much agree with that. Wether or not some of us realize that we are doing it for that reason or not, I think we are. After reading the essay I started thinking about when I dye/highlight my hair and how come? The conclusion I came to was that I like a change and I like others reactions. Every time I come back from the hair dressers someone always notices and it's always a positive compliment that I get from them. It makes a person feel good. My question is, am I dying my hair for me or for everyone else? I'm really not sure. If it's not for me then is that a bad thing? I guess in the end it kind of is for me no matter what, if I'm doing it cause I like it or because I like the compliments, which make me feel good. If I'm doing it (for the compliments) to make me feel good, it's still for me, isn't it? I don't know how all of this sounds but who doesn't like when they are told they are pretty? Everyone does, it makes people feel good about themselves and that can't be such a bad thing. Having a good self esteem is a positive thing not negative. I guess it's a matter of opinion wether it's all worth it or not, the pain from getting your hair done, the money it costs to buy makeup. Some think it is and some think it's not.

I agree that most women can relate to the story "Fighting the Natural." I guess I never realized it before, but the majority of women seem to highlight/dye their hair. I admit that I do it as well. I've been highlighting my hair since the seventh grade. Once you start you can't seem to stop. Kim brought up an interesting point...do we do it for other people or for ourselves? In a way I think it's kind of both. We do it for ourselves because other people like it and then it makes us feel good, like she said. Maybe it's a cruel cycle. Because if you don't do it, you've got these nasty looking roots! And no one likes that. But I guess it's just a part of the whole image-based society we live in.

As for Judith Ortiz Cofer's essay, I really liked the style in which it was written. She seems to be a very talented writer. I liked the way she mantained a satirical tone throughout her essay (esp. when she was talking about her doll, Susie, saying how her fingers were clean enough to run them "through Susie's fine gold hair" when she finally got the doll). I also liked how she divided the essay into sections labeled "color", "size", "skin", and "looks".

A lot of her memories are heartbreaking, and I'm glad I got to read them. It's hard trying to understand what it may be like being a minority. It almost seems as though she triumphed in the end though. I guess I thought she sounded a little too bitter in the end when she was talking about how men desired her in college and called her "exotic". Isn't this acceptance what she was craving and trying to attain all along? I guess this goes to show that all that craving really isn't worth it in the end?

Well, I have to admit, going to a salon and getting a new haircut is invigorating and fun. I've never dyed my hair though. I (**maybe**) get a haircut twice a year, simply because I can't afford it. Thank God my hair doesn't grow fast.

I loved the title of this essay - "Fighting Natural". I think it perfectly defines the major theme of the essay. It's funny - who would have thought that anyone could analyze the hair dying process? On one hand, I thought this essay was a little silly, namely when she was expressing how EXTREMELY conscious she was about her hair. It sounded slightly obsessive. But at least she's aware of that, I guess. On the other hand, she had some pretty good points about self image and how conscious some women are of what they are wearing, how people perceive them, and how pressured women can feel at young ages.

When some women feel down, what do they do? They do a make-over. How popular are those wonderful talk shows for doing those? I think that the woman from 'Fighting Natural' felt that by changing her hair color she was changing herself. It disturbs me a little because it makes me wonder if she feels like a new better person just by making her hair over. I do agree with Claire in that some of it quasi-narsicistic(prob. sp.) I think that it leads into her creating a new image for herself. A new clean slate to start on. Is that what women in general think when they put on their faces or do their hair. I am not saying that it is wrong, to each his own. However, i know several girls who will not leave the house without mascara. Do they feel so ugly without painting crap on their faces? What happens when you wake up the next morning and the make-up has smeared off? Are you less of a person, a level more ugly? I can understand the obsession by getting in a routine of doing it, but what happens if the routine gets interrupted? It just makes me sad to think that in some way a woman feels so much better about herself as a person by temporarily altering her appearance. Maybe that is what the author was contemplating as she addressed the young girls at the end.

I agree with Allison's comments on hair dying. I've dyed my hair every color imaginable, and there are always amazing differences in the way you are treated in society, just based on the color of your hair -- natural or not. Some people might not realize it, but there are statistics out there about women with dyed hair and people's reactions to them... like most people are more open and friendly with blondes than with brunettes or redheads. I also wanted to bring up the point of how people define others by the shade of their hair... a woman with blonde or red hair is described by her hair color (IE: a blonde, a redhead) rather than by another aspect of her appearance (IE: tall, slender, etc) as a brunette might be. It seems to me to be yet another way in which women are generally unhappy with their appearance and the way in which others perceive them. Like Kim said, it's almost a form of makeup.

I liked the fighting natural story too. It just seems weird to me that someone could think that the way their hair is could change their whole life. What you are isnt in your hair color or anything like that. It just seems like this woman thinks that everything including her own personality changes with the way her hair is colored or the way she looks. I think that that is a sad way to live. I couldnt understand why she was so preoccupied with everyone looking at her. it almost seemed like a mental illness to a degree. Sometimes it just makes me wonder why someone would think that. I mean what is so wrong with yourself that you must constantly change it? I have never dyed my hair and i have never thought of dyeing my hair. I just dont worry about it. I dont really worry about the way i dress either. as long as it is warm and not too expensive. This type of trying to change yourself is new to me and i think it is kind of weird.

I also liked the of my body story. It sounded like she had a not so good childhood. I think it was neat how she divided up the essay into sections. I think that that made it easier to read and it also had more of an impact on the reader, as if pointing each of these things out. I think that this essay wasnt complaining or anything, it was just her life. how her skin was, how her color was, how her looks were. the funny thing is that she never talked that much about her, as in her personality or anything like that. once again she seemed concentrated on the physical things of the human body. it just makes me wonder why everyone is so worried about physical characterisitics presented to the world. I mean who cares if everyone liked you, who cares if 50 people like you, who cares if 15 people like you. as long as the people you are closest to like you then you are fine.

The way the author divides each aspect of her body up in the Story of my Body is very effective, I agree. I feel like it makes her essay flow very smoothly and it really gives you a great overall impression of how her personality is. In dissecting each aspect such as color and size it emphasizes different ways we each could feel about our body as a whole. It shows how each part makes a difference and I don't think most of us think about it that way. In being a white woman I don't honestly have to think about how my skin color affects me, but to the author it has shaped a small portion of how she feels about society. I think a lot of people tend to dwell on that one thing that is making them feel so bad about themselves instead of focuing on the whole. To the people who are completely happy with themselves than I believe that they have reached a much different level in where they can be clear headed and worry about more important issues or at least issues other than physical appearance.

I liked "Fighting Natural" because I feel many women have a similar struggle to change a part of themselves. Some women exercise a lot and diet often to control their weight. Other women wear more makeup to change part of the look of their face. Some women get piercings or tatoos. And many other women change their hair color or style.
I think this is to make up for the control they are lacking somewhere else in their life. Maybe Lynne feels uncomfortable in her job setting or that her love life is incomplete. She doesn't really talk about that. But by dying her hair, she was making up for the lack of substance in another area of her life.
Also, many popular women are blondes. Many cartoon characters are blonde, which we discover very young. Many pop stars are blonde. And many other people in our media are blonde. This would lead brunettes and red heads to want to dye their hair. Lynne's hair was a darker blonde and she didn't feel it was light enough. This is based largely on what we see everywhere else.
Maybe eventually she can go gray and then the white that follows will be close enough to platinum that she can enjoy it.

Charles' question about asking if anyone else dyes their hair to get them out of a funk put a lot of ideas into my head. I have to agree with that. Every time that I've dyed my hair it has been to change my perception and give me a boost -- the "new you" appeal I guess. But at the same time I don't agree with the rest of the post. It's often far too difficult to take charge of your life and to be comfortable with everything in it. A lot of things can seep below the surface and effect someone for the rest of their lives. "Fighting Natural" seemed to be just that -- a way to duck away from the barrage of reality and be someone else -- even if you're just the same person in a different wardrobe. I don't entirely agree with the ability of haircolor to change your life; just like any other physical aspect, people aren't going to love you or hate you just because your hair is blue. But I do think dying hair and wearing makeup and buying new clothes, or whatnot, is beneficial purely to yourself and your self esteem. I don't believe that it is to impress anyone else, even though it does tend to have that effect.

I liked the 'story of my body.' I really appreciated the style in which it was written, how she broke up her different body parts into different sections. It made it a very easy read and I liked that. I also thought it was interesting as to the differences in countries and how they look at appearance. In one place in the world a certain thing is considered beautiful and somewhere else that is thought of as ugly. It just goes to show how truly insignificant outward beauty is. Overall, I thought that this was another good story in this book.

Out of the two essays, I liked "The Story of my Body" better. I could relate to it more. Although my skin is not as dark as a hispanic woman, I do have darker skin. And, it has gotten noticed by people throughout my life. Working with children now, has reinforced this difference. I have been in a kindergarten class for 2 years now and we talk about ourselves in social studies. My students always ask me why my skin is darker than theirs.
When I meet an adult my grandparents age, they comment on my darker features and ask me what nationality I am. Some even go as far as saying I look "exotic", which is used in the essay.
My nationality is simply Italian, Russian, and Luthuanian. Then I tell them I'm jewish and it throws them even further off. This is the part of me that can be considered a minority. I don't feel I have been treated badly as a result of being jewish, but I would say people look at me differently.
I felt terrible when the manager of the supermarket scared Judith off and told her she was dirty. This is something that should never be said to an innocent child. My heart really went out to her when she said that no one would pick her in gym class and the teacher would even say "Alright, well someone's got to take her". I think everyone's been picked last at least once. This feeling of rejection can scar a person for a lifetime, especially when it's repeated as many times as it was.
Yet, the worst situation was when Ted asked her to go to the dance with him and his father said he wasn't allowed because she was hispanic. She described how much she liked this boy and was so excited to go out with him and then the father's pigheadedness ruined everything.
The story doesn't really end happy because Judith never really appreciates her body for what it is. She looks at herself as someone who's smart and intellectual instead of beautiful and unique.