Afro hair, piercings, obsession with abdomens, T-shirts talk, the beauty of henna, worry about fat

What San Diegans think of their clothes and their bodies

Author

By Laura McNeal, Cruz Medina, Dorothy Kronick, Robert Kumpel, Elizabeth Salaam

Publish Date

Sept. 21, 2020

Gavin Bogart

Customers at Milton’s barbershop joke, rib each other, and sometimes talk seriously. (Howie Rosen)

Afro Puffs

’Dos that don’t.

I’m overjoyed that my daughter loves her hair. I’m also afraid there will come a day when she tells me she wishes it were long, straight, and yellow.

By Elizabeth Salaam, July 11, 2012 | Read full article

More than 60,000 piercings have taken place in Dr. Jefe's tiny whitewashed room.

Show Me Your Tongue

“Dr. Jefe is quick to point out that you can always change your mind about a tongue piercing. Once the jewelry is removed, the hole closes up in 48 hours.”

“All of my clients are obsessed about their stomachs. I have very few clients who come in here without saying they want to get a six-pack or they want flat abs. And most of my clients are women. I have about 3 men and 25 women.”

By Robert Kumpel, Oct. 11, 2001 | Read the full article

Justin Roberts

When Shirts Talk

Clothes make a statement.

I have this shirt because my husband says that I'm the slowest mountain biker in the world. [The shirt] says, "Behold the Turtle."

By Cruz Medina, June 30, 2005 | Read full article

Decorated feet wrapped in toilet paper. “The beginning of diplomatic relations with the U.S.A. in 1883 destroyed the traditions of henna in Iran.” (Sandy Huffaker, Jr.)

My Skin is a Museum

To avoid bad henna, sniff it.

Because henna doesn’t dissolve easily in water, some hennaria mix it with gasoline, which yields a darker stain.

By Laura McNeal, May 15, 2003 | Read full article

Kindergarten school photo. During the second half of my kindergarten year at Webster Elementary, my dad would sneak and buy Twinkies for me.

Still fat

All I wanted to do was eat

She sat me on her bed and held my hands. “Joan, you already have two strikes against you. You’re black, and you’re female. You don’t need to be fat, too.”

By Joan Jackson, Dec. 5, 2012 | Read full article

Afro Puffs

Show Me Your Tongue

Belly

When Shirts Talk

My Skin is a Museum

Still fat