Black Women Don’t Swim?

This evening, my daughter will be taking her third swimming lesson. I've expressed to her how important it is to me that she learns because I never did, although I do plan to. However in conversations, I've heard it said more often than not that Black women don't swim.

Of course, this piqued my curiosity. So, I asked around a bit more. Honestly, I've come across about an equal number of Black women who don't swim as I have the number that do. There is a belief that we don't swim because we don't want to mess up out hair. However, there is probably just as many that never learned not because of a hair concern but because their parents were afraid for them to learn, thinking they could possibly drown in the learning process.

With that being said, for those that can't swim, why not? Is it a matter of not being allowed and losing the desire, having the desire but being ashamed of your body for whatever reason, a bad experience in a pool or natural body of water, or is it really because you don't want to mess up your hair?