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| Why do I call myself a 'Natural British Rose'? |
Well, the deep red velvet rose is very popular in the UK - and I totally adore those flowers.
But there is actually some more depth to my answer....
Let me break it down in 2 parts:
1. English Rose > British Rose
This originated from the idea of the 'English Rose'. This is a traditional an almost vintage idea of how a lady ought to be. An English Rose is described as a pretty English (white) girl who tends to wear little or no makeup, no tattoos, has pale rosy cheeks, natural hair and is well-spoken and ladylike. The young Princess Diana (Lady Diana Spencer) was a typical English Rose.
Adding to this, it seems that this type of lady is fading from popular culture.
I call myself a 'British' rose as some of these characteristics and behaviours are important to me and being ladylike (sometimes) means a lot to me personally. Obviously I am from Caribbean descent - and over the past decades there has been a lot of migrants from different parts of the world growing up in the UK - notably they are referred to as 'British' not English.
And despite racial tensions, prejudice and differentiations over time I still enjoy aspects of British culture.
I like to think I have assimilated into Britishness, but without losing my Nubianess.
This leads me onto part 2 nicely...
2. Natural Girl
So yes, I like the idea of the ladylike rosey woman. But I have no intention of trying to change what was given to me naturally. For example, I do not desire to go blonder, change my eye colour or (dare I say it) skin colour. I love playing with my natural hair and doing hairstyles reminicent of an earlier era.
At the moment I'm on a mission to keep my hair healthy and see how big and long it will get over time.
I also love black culture in general: from the caribbean to africa to america etc... As my blog develops this will be prevalent.
A Natural British Rose - A label I'm comfortable with
In conclusion, I'm not the only 'Natural British Rose' - This all originated from a discussion I was having with a close friend. We see that although the conventional 'English Rose' is disappearing there are a ladys from ethnic origins picking up the pieces and carrying on the tradition of being friendly. positive and natural women.
You may come across a natural british rose - she may be caribbean/african/chinese/indian/etc but at least now you may understand her with more ease.
