Entry · catalog no. 1056
good hair
/ /ɡʊd hɛr/ /good HAIR
phrase · Nationwide · 1900s
✓ 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.
1900s
Colorism standard in Black family speech
2009
Chris Rock's Good Hair documentary
Region of origin
West
Midwest
N.East
South
The South
Nationwide · 1900s
Spoken by
Black families nationwide
$GOODHAThe Record · cultural traction
▲ Steady126 yrs
ahead of the mainstream
68/100
peak cultural energy
Introduced to English by the culture — logged here before the mainstream caught on.
Cultural usage — the recordMainstream search interest
First used
1900
in the culture
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
@nolakid
New Orleans, LA
@htxdri
Houston, TX
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