Entry · catalog no. 1056
good hair
/ /
phrase · Nationwide ·
✓ Verified
1.
Hair that is loose-curled or straight enough to be praised — a colorism standard that ranks Black hair by how close it comes to white hair.
“Grandma would say the baby had good hair and everybody knew exactly what she meant.”
Origin & Attribution
A phrase from inside Black families, carrying a hierarchy imposed from outside them. Documented in Black literature and family speech across the twentieth century; Chris Rock's 2009 documentary put the phrase and its cost in front of a national audience.
Region of origin
West
Midwest
N.East
South
Nationwide / diaspora
Nationwide ·
Spoken by
$GOODHAThe Record · cultural traction
▲ 26 yrs
ahead of the mainstream
60/100
peak cultural energy
Introduced to English by the culture — logged here before the mainstream caught on.
Cultural usage — the recordMainstream search interest
Cultural energy indexed from documented usage, search interest, and citation frequency. The recorded date is the archive’s permanent point of record.
Hear it spoken
By region — how it actually sounds
@auntiereg
Atlanta, GA
@deltasoul
Memphis, TN
Contribute your pronunciation
Citations & Sources
■
Good Hair, Chris Rock — documentary film · 2009
submitted
■
Ayana Byrd and Lori Tharps, Hair Story — book · 2001
submitted
■
+ Cite a sourceToni Morrison, The Bluest Eye — novel · 1970
submitted
See also