Again, plenty of things that the Kardashians do are debatable — but Kim letting North get a ponytail for her party doesn't seem like a huge deal in comparison. It's a Black girl rite of passage, if anything. When I was a kid, my mum always took me to the hair salon for a birthday press and curl, so that my hair would look nice for class cupcakes and pictures the next day. The same thing went for Easter Sunday and graduation ceremonies, too. That didn't mean that my natural hair wasn't as pretty... straight hair was just a treat to switch it up on special occasions. And when I got cornrows or braids for protective styling, my mother would allow me to get shoulder-length extensions, too.