“But In A Solitary Life, There Are Rare Moments When Another Soul Dips Near Yours, As Stars Once A

due to personal reasons i will be disappearing into the fog

Stills from “Mia” (2021), shot on 16mm (dir. Mariana Dimitrova), Sitges, Spain

The Last Voyage of the Demeter (2023) | dir. André Øvredal

"Almost every woman I have ever met has a secret belief that she is just on the edge of madness, that there is some deep, crazy part within her, that she must be on guard constantly against losing control - of her temper, of her appetite, of her sexuality, of her feelings, of her ambition, of her secret fantasies, of her mind.”

Elana Dykewomon, "Notes for a Magazine," Sinister Wisdom #36 (Winter 1988/89).

“We were, the two of us, still fragmentary beings, just beginning to sense the presence of an unexpected, to-be-acquired reality that would fill us and make us whole.” ― Haruki Murakami, South of the Border, West of the Sun

In many cultures, ethnic groups, and nations around the world, hair is considered a source of power and prestige. African people brought these traditions and beliefs to the Americas and passed them down through the generations.

In my mother’s family (Black Americans from rural South Carolina) the women don’t cut their hair off unless absolutely necessary (i.e damage or routine trimming). Long hair is considered a symbol of beauty and power; my mother often told me that our hair holds our strength and power. Though my mother’s family has been American born for several generations, it is fascinating to see the beliefs and traditions of our African ancestors passed down. We are emotionally and spiritually attached to our hair, cutting it only with the knowledge that we are starting completely clean and removing stagnant energy.

Couple this with the forced removal and covering of our hair from the times of slavery and onward, and you can see why so many Black women and men alike take such pride and care in their natural hair and love to adorn our heads with wigs, weaves, braids, twists, accessories, and sharp designs.

Hair is not just hair in African diaspora cultures, and this is why the appropriation and stigma surrounding our hair is so harmful.

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The Girl King (2015) | dir. Mika Kaurismäki

mitski / tamino / trista mateer

ig: cottagehobbit