Men Love It Kinky Too!

Meet Jor-El, kinky curly extraordinaire! Joe-El recently started Mane Man, a space for men to talk hair…

NewNaturalista: Welcome! Tell us a little about what you do when you’re not blogging?

Jor-El: Thanks for having me. I’m originally from the South but relocated to New York to attend graduate school for counseling.  I’m currently working in a non-profit in the city as a mental health professional.

NewNaturalista: What are some things you’ve learned about yourself since growing your hair out?

Jor-El: That’s a tough one!  Well I would have to say that before growing my hair out I think I had a somewhat limited understanding of what confidence is all about. I have to say that taking the step to grow out my fro and cope with both the positive and negative responses has really helped me figure out what it means to be confident in one’s own skin.  With that being said, I’ve learned that I have a bit more courage than I thought I had.

When I first decided to grow my hair out a lot of people around me weren’t so quick to support my decision and I did it anyway.  I think I’ve definitely grown in the courage department.  I also never knew how obsessed I was with hair until I started to grow out my own.  I never really thought about how much I liked curly, kinky hair until I let my hair grow out.  Now, I can’t stop looking at other people’s curls. It’s bananas!

NewNaturalista: What inspired you to start a blog?

Jor-El: I started Mane Man to share a bit of my experience in growing out my hair and dealing with my fro but I also wanted to give boys and men a space where they could come and see guys with hair like theirs and maybe learn about some good products or techniques that I’ve learned from women in the natural hair community. I also wanted to promote positive things so whenever I feature someone whether it be a “celebrity” or otherwise, I want people to see that people are also doing meaningful or positive things out in the world. I think it’s important to share stuff like that too.

I also have to say that when I started to grow my hair out and was spending hours lurking on hair boards and forums I didn’t see a lot of guys commenting and reacting to the material out there.  It has been amazing to watch the great sense of community you see among women with natural hair.  I wanted to be a part of making a space like that available for guys too.  My personal philosophy is the more that women embrace their natural hair then maybe men can feel comfortable to follow suit and not get so caught up in having to look a certain way in order to be accepted or validated as men. I think it’s good to have a diversity of images out there because not everyone looks, or wants to look, the same.

NewNataturalista: How have men responded to your blog?

Jor-El: The blog is pretty new but I’ve definitely seen some growth in the attention that it’s getting and I’ve been reaching out to some guys to profile them about their experiences with their hair.  So we’re making good progress. I hope that more men see it everyday and I can only hope that the natural women out there are sharing it with the boys and men they know so we can keep the conversation going and get everyday guys to share their stories!

NewNaturalista: Many natural women hold an emphasis on length. How long do you plan to grow your hair?

Jor-El: It’s funny you ask that now because at the moment my fro is pretty big! It’s been about two years since I started growing it out and I’ve had trims here and there and a good cut about once or twice.  Right now it’s probably 6-7 inches long if you stretch it out and its getting more difficult to detangle.  I don’t do braids or twists or anything like that so sometimes it takes me a bit longer to detangle than I would like.  I’m up for a cut soon so maybe that will help me feel better about the length!

NewNaturalista: What’s been the response from family, friends, strangers about your hair?

Jor-El: After a bit of a slow start, the response has been really positive.  My friends love to hide things in there from time to time which is all in good fun (until it’s time to wash the next day lol).  I get stares quite often from strangers which used to make me uncomfortable but I’ve pretty much gotten used to that.  People say all sorts of off the wall things to me.  People have asked me if my hair was real before and were dead serious!  When I’m out at bars or clubs people want to touch it which is usually cool (as long as you ask politely!).  I’ve even gotten new nicknames from everything from “Party Rock” to “Afro Thunder” from random people when out LOL.

Overall, the response has been pretty positive and I’m definitely having a lot fun with it.

Do you have great skin, hair or a rocking work out routine? We’d love to feature you! Tell us a little about yourself here: info@newnaturalista.com