Are Black Women Missing Out?

Today I was talking with a friend of mine who said she was going swimming but she wasn't going into the water because she had a perm.

This got me thinking about all the things black females are missing out on because of one aspect of their blackness or another.

My own swimming experience: During college, all students were required to pass a swim test. One of my first weeks on campus, I took the test and failed so miserably, I had to crawl out of the pool and slink away wet, tired, and embarrassed. Needless to say, I ended up in a swim course with waay too many black females.
I don't know if it's because we don't want to ruin our hair(actually, I'm pretty sure that's the reason) that we never learn how to swim or what, but that's just dangerous...you never know when or if you might have to tread water for hours until a rescue team arrives(these things happen).

Basically, my point is swimming is actually a lot of fun and all women should feel they have the option to enjoy the cool refreshing feeling of a dip in the pool, no matter what their hair texture. So, just jump.