Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
Who invented the beauty myth
History of beauty standard
Beauty ideals in different cultures
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
The African American woman heading back to its natural roots: How has European beauty influence the African American women’s hair? Throughout centuries in the United States as well as across the globe African American women has been demoralized through European hair standards. Over centuries stereotypes has limited black women to be subject to follow the European beauty standards.. There has been comments and gestures made that black women’s hair are unmanageable, dirty and not appropriate sociably or professionally. This creates a negative outlook upon women that are people of color because judgement over the years found black women hair to be unacceptable. In different articles interviews and random sampling it is discussed from several …show more content…
The hair industry portrays black women to not be satisfied with their own hair, and Chris rocks tries to question the underlying root of why black women are not happy with their hair.Later on the film he explains that straightened chemical hair has been a burden that damages the black woman hair after a while in reality awhile there has been a decrease in chemical sales due to more black women going natural.
According to curlychic.com “In many cases If one chooses or is not able to access the resources to mimic this image of beauty, are they automatically not considered acceptable to the European standard”(curly chic.2016). Black women gives different segments of their hair that they do not seem happy that will make them feel as pretty.Black women initially have a hard time being accepted into society because of their fullness of lips and darker skin tone. Bountiful Hair conquered that, “natural hair has been viewed as a messy look which causes many women, who wear their hair in that manner, to feel poor and less desirable as their counterparts”(Kato Leonard,2015). Followed by “some scenarios those feelings of inadequacy causes women who posses natural hair to lash out at women with treated or straightened hair, and in turn lowers their self-esteem”(Leonard,
…show more content…
From that realization more and more are taking heed to their individualism which results in the natural hair movement for black women. This particular movement plays a part in demanding justice in being accepted for a feature we cannot change as a race. The natural hair movement has contributed to the black panthers movement in the saying “I'm Black and I'm Proud”, if Black panthers can realize the love they have of their features why can't women of the 2000s can
Black women have been the essence of style, originality all while receiving nothing but bad response from critics who secretly envy them. Natural hair tends to be another widespread trend. I think that some do the natural so they can connect with their African roots while I think others just like the look, or maybe it’s easier. No matter what grade of hair society has one marked term for black hair which is “nappy”. Besides pertaining to actions, the word ghetto is used to describe just about every aspect of a black girl's life. "Girl your hair look ghetto" and "You talk/sound ghetto" are two common phrases used around school. Colored hair, weaves, extensions, dyes and relaxers/perms are all things black girls have encountered. If your hair looks "too" nice, it's assumed that you're wearing weave or that you've gotten a fresh
The article Straightening My Hair by Bell Hooks makes her argument of finding the reason of why African American women straighten their hair. She first states that Black Americans straighten their hair because it is the stage of transformation; it closes the door of innocence and opens the door to adulthood. Slowly, she starts changing her views. She comes up with the statement that African Americans do not straighten their hair for reasonable reasons, but to imitate the characteristics of white women. She informs that black people repeat this process because they have low self-acceptance of their roots and background, and that they have lost beauty in themselves. My argument against this statement is that it is erroneous to claim that the straightening of African American hair is misinterpreted as their acceptance into the white community; straightening of hair is the symbolism of impending womanhood, closing the door of innocence, and sharing a time to meditate by relaxing your soul.
When it comes to African Americans, women have always been an imperative part of our culture and our history. Over the course of history, African American women were frequently hated and shunned not only by the color of their skin but for having “nappy” hair and/or a large buttocks which in a sense puts us at the bottom of that hierarchy. When it comes to other races, people with straight hair or without a big butt were more commonly accepted as beautiful or more likely to be accepted before African Americans. As African Americans continue to progress as a people, black women are becoming more powerful and learning to embrace their once shunned characteristics. Black women are growing to embrace their character so heavily other cultures are starting to emulate black culture.
African American women and Their Struggles with Beauty, Body Image, and Hair.” The article opens with a paragraph about African American challenges with beauty throughout history and present day. This article also compares beauty standards between African American and Euro American women. On page 26, Patton states, “During slavery, Black women who were lighter-skinned and had features that were associated with mixed progeny (e.g., wavy or straight hair, White/European facial features) tended to be house slaves and those Black women with darker-skin hues, kinky hair, and broader facial features tended to be field slaves. This statement shows how the physical features of Black women have always impacted them. On page 27, She also speaks about the state of African American women and the problems that surface when it refers to employment. She states, “When hair must be straightened for employment or for social mobility, it can be seen as assimilationist—subscribing to dominant cultural standards of
There have been musicals, documentaries, researches, panel discussions and even talk shows about hair, hair qualities and hairstyles, even Oprah Gail Winfrey chose hair for the magazine's September 2013 theme. According to Adlman (2013), Oprah Winfrey in a video interview said, Women, we have issues with our hair, [Black women's] hair represents the first thing anyone sees of them, or of ourselves, and so we identify with what our hair looks like. The History of Black Hair: Hair Story by Ayana Byrd and Lori Tharps (2002) is an entertaining, concise survey that follows a mostly sequential path which begins in Africa and ends in America. It details the roots of black hair care in America, from centuries ago to the modern day, outlining how much hair truly signifies much of African culture. “Ever since African civilisations bloomed, hairstyles have been used to indicate a person’s marital status, age, religion, ethnic identity, wealth and rank within the community” (2002:3)
In the recent past year or two, a woman’s natural hair has become a big thing. Before, African American women, to be specific, were so disgusted by their hair. They would do anything in their power to change the “nappy” aspect of their hair to “beautiful”. They would use relaxers very so often and hot combs.
African hair sculpture is what they call it and Africa and to them it is an art. Africans hardly ever leave their hair or their body plain or in the book, it says “natural” state. It says that they spend a lot of time and energy on grooming and self-admiration. Sounds like it’s the same way there as it is here because I love to “groom.” Ha ha. Anyway, it says they spend a lot of time on their hair and looks but special attention to their hair. The “art” of hairdressing was practiced mostly for women and male hairdressers can hardly be found. The book says that the skill of hairdressing has been handed down from generation to generation and requires artistry, manual dexterity, and patience because many of their styles are elaborate and time-consuming. For most African women hair is a medium for creative self-expression.
She always kept her hair natural and in intricate braided styles (Byrd & Tharps 2014: 179). Another example was show in television with Tracee Ellis Ross in the show Girlfriends. She wore her natural, big curls out in many of the episodes (Byrd & Tharps 2014: 180). Along with the celebrities embracing their natural hair, there was also a magazine out called Honey. The magazine often featured natural haired women on the cover (Byrd & Tharps 2014: 180). This seemed to be the boost of confidence that black women needed. They were back to embracing their hair because they saw many of their favorite icons doing so.
Blackness has more face value than just the amount of melanin in one's skin. The culmination of my people's songs, dances, hairstyles, clothes, slang, etc created a force that extends far beyond the domain of the favorable reception that it actually receives. Blackness, it seems, is a cultural phenomenon. It's "trendy." It's "cool." Cultural appropriation will never sit right with me. When I see Eurocentric models strutting down high fashion runways with cornrows in their hair, I grow more disheartened with society. Black hairstyles, like dreadlocks or cornrows, on the heads of Black people lead to no jobs and prejudiced stereotyping. Black hairstyles on the heads of white people lead to New York, Paris, and Milan Fashion Week. Why is my Blackness acceptable only for people who are not Black? Miley Cyrus dances provocatively and plunges the world into the era of dancing sexually, freely and carelessly. Nicki Minaj performs in a similar fashion and is condemned for her actions. Kylie Jenner receives lip fillers to achieve fuller, poutier lips; takes the world by storm. An internet trend is even created to mimic her borderline exasperating
The often pushed their male spouses into voting and standing up for their rights as citizens of the United States, and with the “Black is Beautiful” movement making headway through the late 1960s onward Black women were finally able to take control of their femaleness back to their African roots, most notably through their roots. In Hair Story, Ayana Byrd and Lori Tharps write “Blacks and Whites came to believe that the way Black people wore their hair said something about their politics. Hair came to symbolize either a continued move toward integration in in the American political system or a growing cry for Black power and nationalism.” Up until the “Black is Beautiful movement” black women wore their hair as straight as possible. With the advent of the hot comb and hair relaxer (aka “creamy crack”) Black women, and men alike would put themselves thorough rigorous processes to straighten, and make their hair look as white as possible by means of very literally burning their hair and scalps. Malcom X said “We hated our African characteristics. We hated our hair. We hated the shape of our nose, and the shape of our lips, the color of our skin. That is how [Whites] imprisoned us.” That is how white Americans normalized the popular
“Hollywood is an industry that gravitates toward trends, but the natural hair movement has gone unnoticed and unaddressed on small screens all across the country” (Gordon, 2015, para. 4). Recently, the shows that are rated high, black women are wearing weaves and wigs instead of their natural, unprocessed hair. When analyzing Olivia Pope from scandal or Gabrielle Union from Being Mary Jane we all see that they obviously wear weaves and wigs. Even though natural hair is missing from hit TV shows, some stars, such as Lupita Nyong’o, the 12 Years a Slave star has strutted the red carpet with their natural hair on display. Only time will tell when more roles will feature women like Tracee Ellis Ross; starring in ABC’s new comedy Black–ish, sporting the big natural hairstyles that more and more Black women have been embracing. I believe actresses have fear of being limited by their natural hairstyles and that’s why weaves and wigs continue to dominate the
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
Don’t touch my hair: this should be a sentiment simple enough to understand. However, for many black women this establishment of boundaries can be broken repeatedly and without any regard for personal space. Solange Knowles’ song “Don’t Touch My Hair” and accompanying music video takes this declaration of self and creates an anthem for the empowerment of black women and dismissal of microagressions, white beauty standards, jealousy and appropriation. Her lyrics emphasize the emotional connection that black women have to their hair. But, beyond this pride is an act of self-love militant and radical against white standards of beauty; or is this self-love subscribing to the notion that black women’s hair is an object detached from their personhood- objectifying themselves to other’s gazes and not subverting them? In order to answer this question, theories from Helen
Since the institution of slavery, the aim has been to tame the natural hair by subjecting it to alterations in order to disguise it. Ayana Byrd and Lori Tharps (2001) state that these processes were necessary not only to allow access to the American Dream but to calm white people. Post-emancipation black women found themselves with increasing time to dedicate to their appearance. Byrd and Tharps further state that the straightening of hair became an obsession to point where comb tests were used to determine membership to certain black churches. Straight hair in the early 1900s was a status symbol, it meant that one belonged to the middle class. Straightening one’s hair was a tool used to counter racist stereotypes of black appearance perpetuated by whites. Byrd and Tharps add that this aided the ‘new negro’ to gain acceptance into those areas of society to which they had been denied access. In essence straightened hair allowed for class mobility. This ushered a torrent of products aimed at providing quality straight hair such as Madame C.J. Walker’s products. By the 1920s, with the emergence of the Black nationalism in the 1920s, the process of hair straightening became a controversial topic. Marcus Garvey is famously quoted as saying “don’t remove the kinks from your hair! Remove them from your brain!” (Byrd and Tharps, 2001, p.38). Certain publications even
The United States Army had rules for how students at West Point and those serving in the R.O.T.C should appear. Black hair was against the rules. Having curly frizzy, black hair was a distraction, and putting cornrows, braids, twists or dreadlocks was not considered appropriate. “Enslaved and free blacks who had less kinky, more European-textured hair and lighter skin--often a result of plantation rape--received better treatment than those with more typically African features”( The Atlantic). Most black people had the idea that their natural hair was not accepted, so they would burn their hair or wear wigs. Women are being judged for the fact that they have to look professional, yet no matter what they do they are still are going to be