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American beauty standards FOR AFRICAN AMERICAN WOMAN
Essays about beauty standards with black women
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Natural Hair Discrimination This paper will argue that to be a Black woman with natural hair, is deviant in the eyes of white culture. Natural hair is regarded as unkempt, unclean, and unprofessional (Thompson 2009). American society seeks to demonize the hair of Black women because natural hair disregards Eurocentric beauty standards (Robinson 2011). To rebel and wear one’s hair naturally comes with a price - especially in the workplace and school environment - because there are discriminatory dress-codes that prevent Black women from meeting institutional requirements (Klein 2013). Black women face discrimination for their natural hair due to the power imbalance of white men in work and educational structures. Discrimination in the Media …show more content…
It also recognizes that despite the fact that race is socially constructed, the effects of race and racism are real (Dixson, 2007). Almost 250 years of slavery and anti-blackness within the United States has created a divide in what type of hair is acceptable. According to Cynthia L. Robinson, “Black hair texture is graded” (Robinson 2011). Precisely, this means that a Black woman has either good hair or bad hair. Good hair has a resemblance of European hair texture, meaning straight and wavy curls. Good hair also diminishes the look of African ancestry. Bad is the complete opposite. The texture is kinky, coiled, and thick, giving the appearance of short hair (Robinson 2011). Hair that bears a resemblance to Eurocentric beauty standards is more beautiful and makes the individual with that hair type more beautiful as well (Robinson …show more content…
Lee revealed that she once had a manager tell her that he loved everything about her and was considering hiring her, but her hair would be an issue. The manager, who worked for a Sacramento news station told her that her hair was “too aggressive” for his viewers (Starr 2014). Statements such as the one Lee received about her hair being too aggressive are the primary reason why some Black women feel the need to straighten and alter their hair. The counter-story of Tiana Parker was not told by Parker, but by her supporters. In accordance of the school’s policy book, dreadlocks and afros are faddish and not to be worn by students. The book, however states that girls are allowed to wear weaves. Commentators in support of Tiana pointed out that weaves are an expensive and sometimes painful method of altering Black hair (Klein 2013). Weaves worn by Black women are commonly straight, wavy, and have loose curl patterns, all of which give a Eurocentric appearance (Robinson
Since the beginning of time, privilege has existed. Privilege, specifically white privilege, is written all over American history. Unfortunately, it still exists till this day, till this very moment. Henry Louis Gates, Jr., is the W.E.B Du Bois Professor of Humanities at Harvard and director of the W.E.B Du Bois Institute for Afro-American Research. In his essay “In the Kitchen” he uses his childhood memories to show how African Americans do not see hair as just hair. Gates figurative use of hair shows us how far the unprivileged are willing to go in order to get a sense of acceptance by the privileged. White privilege is difficult to see for those
Alice Walker’s short creative nonfiction, Dreads uses imagery to convey her narrative about a hairstyle that was inspired by singer, Bob Marley. Dreads are defined as a “hairstyle in which the hair is washed, but not combed, and twisted while wet into braids or ringlets hanging down on all sides”, according to howtogetdreads.com. Imagery was chosen for this paper by the depth of Walker’s illustration of beauty that natural hair has that might seem to be abonnement or not professional by society standards. This reading sparks interests just by the title a lone. That people have mixed feeling about dreads, some might see it as being spiritual; or as a political statement. However, Walker loves the way her natural hair is supposed to form without
Where did the ideology come from that if one’s hair is soft with looser curls that it is “good hair” in the Black community. People were made different and imperfect. That is why we all don’t have the same texture of hair and types. So what if we all don’t have the same hair, it’s perfectly normal. It’s what makes that individual different from someone else. The saying you have “good hair” is quite disrespectful actually. Why? Well to those who don’t have that soft hair with loose curls your implying that their hair texture is bad. This all on a whole is thinking of each other
African American hair looks gorgeous, attractive and beautiful. Your hair is extremely fragile and needs proper care and gentle touch so that it doesn’t break or get loose. Here are the top African American hair cares FAQs.
The ideal female beauty in American culture is predominately white (Bankhead & Johnson, 2014). Throughout U.S history, women’s mainstream beauty ideal has been historically based on white standards such as having blonde hair, blue eyes, fair skin, a thin ideal body, straight hair, and thin lips (West, 1995; Yamamiya, Cash, Melynk, Posavac, & Posavac, 2005; Leslie, 1995). Therefore, the features of African American women tend to be viewed as undesirable and unattractive compared to the European standards of beauty (Awad, Norwood, Taylor, Martinez, McClain, Jones, Holman, & Hilliard, 2014). According to Ashe (1995), “African beauty, body and hair have been racialized, with slim/”keen” European features being the accepted standard of beauty since enslaved Africans was forcefully brought to the Americas.” The physical characteristics of Black women such as having broad noses, brown skin, full lips, large buttocks and course hair has been looked down upon throughout United States history (Byrd & Tharps, 2001). In effect, the standard of beauty of European features that were forced on slaves are internalized and currently seen in the standard of beauty of African Americans (A.A) (Chapman, 2007). These standards include African Americans perceiving light-skinned as being more favorable than dark-skinned (Maddox & Gray, 2002; Perdue, Young, Balam,
Indeed, African Americans would try and transform their hair, going from kinky to strait. In Henry Louis Gates, an American Literary critic, short story “In the Kitchen” (1994), informs the reader the politics of “good hair which is straight and bad hair which is kinky (314),” The title “In the Kitchen” is ambiguous meaning it has a double meaning. One meaning it is being in a three dimensional room, and the other meaning doing hair. Gates uses process analysis to give reader a vivid picture on how the African Americans endure on the difficult process of straightening their kinks, just to fit in with the white society. Given details on how African Americans would change their appearance just to try fit in with the white culture. According to Alice walker, she gives examples on how no matter what African Americans do to change their appearance as far as hair, African Americans will still be compared and objectified to animals.
The origin of the controversy surrounding African American hair dates back to slavery. It was a major phenotypic characteristic used to classify African Americans’ racial identity, intelligence and attractiveness (Guthrie, 1998). European culture was used as the reference group of comparison. Whiteness became identified with all that is civilized, virtuous and beautiful, whereas Blackness was deemed as inferior, rebellious, and inadequate. Guthrie (1998) reported that the hair of the black man was wool, not hair. Subsequently, this racist ideology was internalized by many African Americans, which resulted in what Jones and Shorter-G...
In the documentary “Good Hair”, Chris Rock covers a lot about different hair types and what women would do to their hair just to feel beautiful. He first decided to do this questionnaire because one day his daughter asked “how come I don’t have good hair?” Chris was very curious as to how she came up with that question so he sat out to find out. He went in salons, barber shops, and beauty supply stores to find out all the information he needed to know.
With more women wearing their hair natural, black women have begun to accept their unaltered appearances while redefining their perception of beauty. The natural hair movement has provided a shift in history for black women to free themselves from the oppression of the dominant white society and increase their self-acceptance. This shift in the perception of black hair has allowed black women to appreciate the complexities of their identities, and their pride in being black. Although black women still are often ridiculed for their puffs and locs, many women seem to be invincible to society’s negative connotation to the natural woman’s hair. With this negative perception comes the concept of cultural appropriation because non-black individuals have begun to appropriate themselves with black culture through tanning methods to achieve darker skin and obtaining natural hairstyles such as bantu knots, afros, cornrows, baby hair, and more because society views it as “high fashion.” Hairstyles that have been deeply rooted within African culture are now being deemed as highly attractive because of the white skin color of those who wear them and attempt to mimimic these hairstyles as if they are the original creators. To women of African descent, it is a slap in the face that white women can wear natural styles with no backlash and be praised for creating “new trends” while black women are often ridiculed for their natural hairstyles. According to Michael Omi and Howard Winant, to understand the concept of racial formation we must first look at the cultural resistance, discrimination and prejudices among race that is presented within identity (Omi and Winant 91). For the black woman her race is deeply rooted within her identity, that masks the oppression she has had to
Tracy Patton's explanatory article, ''Hey Girl I am More Than My Hair?'', is centered on the close examination of the negative impact Euro-American standards of beauty has on African American women. Patton critically analyzes beauty from its historical context to help determine whether or not modern day interpretations of beauty are continually being determined by the hegemonic role of white supremacy. The main objective of her article is to bring to light the economic, physical, and psychological impact women of color face when they adhere to beauty standards that advocate the suppression of their culturally distinct features. By refusing to assimilate, black women forgo employment opportunities, experience heightened stress, and risk social
Madame C.J. Walker rejected the idea of Black is Beautiful, and in her opinion the pressing comb and chemical relaxers are oppressive since they symbolize the shame associated with black hair in its natural state. Straightening of the hair also became representational of the self-hatred theory in the Black Panther movement, since wearing natural hair was deemed as a decision to challenge mainstream descriptions of beauty.
For years in the African American Community, there has always been a debate over the distinction between light skin and dark skin, good hair and bad hair, what's hot and what's not. About two years ago, I remember watching a reality show called love and hip-hop; when a rapper said, “light skin is the right skin” on TV. I was quite intrigued about it and I figured I would write about this when I was thinking of a topic. This paper is not aimed at proving what skin looks better but to discuss this issue.
Can we hold slavery accountable for the beauty standards that we may experience in America today? Eurocentric standards of beauty travel farther than we may even be able to see.
On the plantation, having hair that was more loosely curled or straight was indicative of being the slave master’s offspring and resulted in a slightly easier life enslaved. Unfortunately, giving your child hair that more closely resembles that of a white or non black person is still thought to make their lives easier, and arguably it still does in American society. The present respite from the societal burden of “natural hair”for those who have the aforementioned “good hair’ is alluded to on pages three and four of Americanah, “The few Black students Ifemelu saw at Princeton were so light skinned and lank haired she could not imagine them wearing braids, but she could not see why she had to travel twelve miles to get her hair braided. By having more ‘mainstream hair’ the “lank haired’ students are relieved of the social anxiety and financial burden of having to inconvenience themselves for the appearance of ‘groomed hair’. Relaxed hair remains a sign of upward mobility in the Black community, natural hair is to be abandoned when one can afford to do so. The novel also uses the symbol of hair to explore the tropes of the “delicate” White woman and the “animal” Black woman. Ifemelu’s White boyfriend Curt thinks her afro is “cool”and their sexual escapades include him sucking her finger and wanting her to pretend to be Foxy Brown. It is hinted earlier in the
Allegedly, the managers tried to actually FIX her hair. With their hands. "It was very humiliating... it was unprofessional," she said.