Good hair is manageable, pretty, and straight, or so I thought. My hair is not naturally manageable nor is it straight. My hair requires hours of work to achieve manageability. As a girl, my parents were the guardians to my natural hair. I remember lying on the kitchen counter with my head in the sink. My father was so gentle with my hair as he stroked his fingers through my wet curls. He caressed my hair as though it were the most precious thing he ever held. Each wash left a clean mound of kinky, thick, dark hair on top of my head. Following the wash, my mother sat me between her knees and took a comb to my head. The cornrows that followed and the beads that were sewn to the ends of each braid were my signature look up until age twelve. By …show more content…
Although I gained courage, there were still obstacles to overcome. Heat damage destroyed my curl pattern. Months went by before I saw evidence of a kinky strand. It was in the absence of my once thick and kinky hair that I began to understand the intrinsic value of black hair. It is precious because it is unique to my culture; however, natural hair is also resilient because it can endure years of abuse and carelessness and bounce back. Although I am a proponent of all hair types, I manipulated mine to hide my true self and conform to a false ideology of “good hair”. In a desperate attempt to save myself from judgment and humiliation, I allowed other’s opinions to dictate the beauty of my natural hair. The events that mark my journey sparked a period of personal growth. I fell back in love with my hair. I replaced my flat iron with a soft, bristled brush, and my straightening chemicals with coconut oil. I began to heal my hair, which also helped to heal the wounds of insecurity and fear within me. Although I began my journey in pursuit of “good hair,” I realized that I was born with it. Hair is a defining characteristic of any culture, it is a source of identity that impacts how a person perceives herself, which is why I was self-conscience. However, my black hair is an authentic symbol of my culture as well as individuality. Currently, my hair is braided into a crown that wraps around
This essay is concerned with issues of identity, body image and the politics of hair within African American culture. It discusses the lived experiences of a number of African American women and is no way generalizable to all African American women. Nonetheless, body image and hair politics are prominent features in African American culture because they have deep historical roots and still feature in present day. Body image is generally understood as a mental image of one’s body as it appears to others (Featherstone 2010). This mental image produces body consciousness, which Samantha Kwan describes as an amplified mindfulness that one’s body does not conform to hegemonic cultural standards (Kwan 2010). In today’s modern context, hegemonic cultural norms are reproduced and widely disseminated by the mass media with the help of new technologies. These new technologies Elliott’s discusses, with some in the form of satellite television and other widely utilized media, give viewers unprecedented opportunities to view and scrutinize their favorite celebrities in close proximity (Elliott 2010).
The existing literature on ethnic and racial studies among African-Americans has focused on issues pertaining to beauty and body politics especially on natural hair. Spellers and Moffitt assert that the body politics that one assumes, guides how one relates to a particular political ideology in a particular society. Black natural hair is considered as a way by which the true identity of African women can be understood (Jacobs-Huey). It is a symbol of power among black women; it influences how people are treated by others.
Feminism is an ideology that focuses on women being treated as equals to men in life. “Hairball”, by Margaret Atwood is a feminist story because it illustrates one woman in control of multiple aspects of her life that many women seem to struggle with or lose to a man. It demonstrates the reality of pride hindering success and consequentially suffer loses. In “Hairball” Kat, a middle aged woman, demonstrates control with her health, as she acquired treatment promptly for a health concern involving the female reproductive system. Intimacy, as she controlled her own sexual endeavors, her relationship as she had an upper hand and Identity, and lastly as she controlled her image. Let’s proceed to the first observation I’ve made while reading this short story of demonstrating the importance of health.
“Hair pressing was a ritual of black women’s culture” (Hooks 534). She stated this earlier in the article and changed her views moving into the depths of the article. With her claiming this quote, it has already set the tone that black women express their maturity and symbolism of growing into adulthood by straightening their hair. Then all of a sudden she changes her views. This change does not show the credibility of the author. The audience view that her facts are not accurate and people begins to doubt in her claim.
The kids I went to school with, the boys I had romantic relationships with, and even my family members, all made negative comments about my body hair. As a young kid, I believed my body hair was a personal problem. Experimenting with different hair removal procedures, some even painful. I wasted hours removing the hair on my body, in attempts to feel better about myself. My low self esteem became linked with the hair on my body. I believed I had too much body hair for a girl but according to Mills (1959) and the social imagination, I had too much body hair for society. My peers, as well as my family, had been socialized to believe that women’s body hair was gross, and unfeminine. Women had been taught to remove their body hair for decades now in the western world, and it was showcased or the lack there of hair was showcased in all forms of media. As a young girl, my mom bought me my first razor and paid for the electrolysis for the hair on my arm. It was in these actions, where the idea that it was my own problem started to form because it felt like I needed treatment for this problem of mine. I was perceiving a deep seated public issue as my own personal trouble. I can’t blame my mother or my peers because by the time my peers and even my parents were born, the western world had already determined that women should not have body hair. Christina Hope (1982) explains that in 1914 in America magazine’s had just begun
Something as seemingly simple as hair can be much more complex when we take the time to think about another person’s perspective, history, values, culture, and feelings. The interaction in Seminole, Texas wasn’t just about a haircut.
Thick, luscious locks are often associated with youth, health, success, and attractiveness. In fact, our society places great importance on hair and many individuals feel that it plays an important role in their identity. As a result, regardless of one’s age or gender, hair loss can have a significant impact on an individual’s self-esteem. Unfortunately, thinning hair is relatively common amongst both men and women as it is caused by several factors, such as hormonal changes, stress, poor diet, medications, medical conditions, and, most often, genetics. Since in most instances, hair loss is a progressive process, it is important to take action if you are troubled by thinning hair. If you are searching for a hair loss solution, you may come
“It’s my hair.” Says a growing and distinctly baritone chorus from all over the U.S.” and I can do what I want with it.” Thus in this age of revolt, springs one more rebellion-this one against the close-trimmed male haircut.
“Listen as your day unfolds. Challenge what the future holds. Try and keep your head up to the sky. Lovers may cause you tears. Go ahead, release your fears. Stand up and be counted. Don't be ashamed to try.”
In the short story ‘growing my hair again’, the author explains how women in the African traditions are held captive by the traditional culture and their struggles to trying to break away them using the main character Nneka. In Nigeria as well as in the other parts of Africa, culture was and still is given a lot of emphasizes especially when it comes to the traditional practices and beliefs. The culture however vary from one community to the other and ranges from the rights of passage, religious beliefs to other religious practices such as offering sacrifices and the role of women in the community .Nneka was married to a rich man in traditional Nigerian community and as in other areas, women had a role of being submissive to their husbands
Hooks, Bell. “Straightening Our hair”. Good Reasons. eds, Lester Faigley, Jack Selzer. Boston: Longman Publishers, 2001. 446-452.
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
During an interview with Channel 4, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie said that “hair is a political thing”. Indeed, the way people wear their hair tell something about them. As the author said, if a black woman wears braids, people will have a certain image of her, as a radical, an artist, a traditional African woman and so on. It opens the debate on what society consider as beautiful. Most of the time, straight hair would be considered as beautiful and professional. In Americanah, Ifemelu has an
When I was 18 years old, I made the decision to dye my hair. My natural hair color is brown, and I did not dye it black, blonde, or even red; no, I dyed my hair a bright, in-your-face purple. The decision to dye my hair purple was not made because I love punk or rock music, it was not made because I dislike my natural hair color, nor was it made because I wanted to rebel again a person, persons, or society. Despite these facts, I have been stereotyped as a hard-music genre loving outcast who dislikes society. This stereotype was not helped by the fact that, at the time of my first hair dye job, I wore a facial piercing.
I attempted to be as detailed as possible with the hair design. As a viewer, a few questions popped into my head as I studied the hair: why is the hairstyle asymmetrical, how is the hair designed created, and was this hairstyle meant to be in a three-dimensional view. These questions allowed me to become as detailed as possible to help the viewer discover details they may have missed from their cursory glance. I had a hard time finding why the hairstyle was created to look stiff and asymmetrical, so I merely focused on describing the hairstyle in a three-hundred and sixty degrees