Essay about Dreadlocks and Individualism

There has been a notable amount of conversation on the internet on the rebirth of the natural hair movement. Cherise Luter (2014) states that despite afros and the natural hair movement not being a new concept (i.e. the Black Power Movement), it has gone under what she calls a “refreshing change”. Furthermore, what used to be “I’m black and I’m proud”, has been replaced with “I’m me and I’m proud” (Luter 2016). So, what is the natural hair movement? It is defined as a movement where black women decide to not conform to the social norms of chemically altering their hair and wearing it in its natural, kinky, or curled state (Joignot 2015). The movement could also be considered as an outlet for black women to display their racial and cultural pride or to articulate their “political position (Brown 2014:297). However, simply the terminology “movement” is something that should be shocking to many. There is a great amount of historical context behind the continuous influence Eurocentric beauty ideals have had on black women for centuries. According to Nadia Brown (2014), Black natural hair throughout history has proven to be recognized as “either unintended or intended personal and political statements” (298). the beauty standard in Western society which praises European hair textures, has influenced many black women to be critical of other black women who choose to chemically straighten their hair, accusing them of being subservient to the dominant and pervasive racist

In the article, "Black Students at Massachusetts charter school served detention, suspended from sports teams for wearing hair in braids," by Megan Cerullo discusses the issue of racism. Twin girls by the name of Mya Cook and Deanna Cook were punished because of the braid they wore. In the student handbook, at Mystic Valley Regional Charter School, there are hairstyles that are not allowed. Even though the school says that the hairstyles described are not allowed in Mystic Valley Regional Charter School are targeted towards everyone, the twin's mother and father seem to think differently, "Their parents say the school’s policy around how students are permitted to wear their hair is discriminatory, and unfairly targets black students." Because

Chris Rock’s documentary, Good Hair, investigates the notion of what good hair is. Dominant society views good hair as straight or essentially caucasian hair. This is not only problematic to the self-esteem and confidence of black women, but it can also cause black women to appropriate Asian culture. Black women unfortunately take advantage of Asian culture in search of what society believes is good hair. Many black women wear weaves in order to align to what society believes is good hair. However, when they buy this hair, they do not realize what Asians go through. Likewise, Asians who give up their hair do not know where or who this hair will be going to. Thus, this desire for good hair further perpetuates the lack of understanding that black

The researcher interview with African American women with natural hair and examination of social media. The researchers explain that in the natural hair community a curl texture is more attractive than kinky hair texture and lengthier hair more desirable than short hair; also having manageable hair is dynamic to African American women’s effective performances of Black femininity. This research expands the discourse in African American Studies that theorizes the experiences of African American women with natural hair compared to those of African American women with relaxed hair such as perms (Howard, 2015, p.

Pv2 Johnny. Correctional Essay on Importance of meeting the standards set by AR 670-1. A soldier is a professional and an expert at all times, Because of this his uniform haircut and general hygiene is held to a professional standard. AR 670-1 is the ruling of this standard in which every soldier must uphold to. A soldier is measured by his/her ability to do his job successfully, tactfully, and professionally. The key to doing a job as a professional is a professional appearance, none know this as much as the Army. In the Army, the regulation that dictates what to look like while on duty is the AR 670-1; this provides an SOP on what to wear and how to groom for both males and females alike. When a job is done for the Army, the soldier is

While Kylie Jenner’s faux dreadlocks for her ‘rebel-themed’ Teen Vogue photoshoot were described as beautiful, edgy, and raw by various style magazines, Zendaya Coleman’s dreadlocks she wore on the Oscars red carpet were described as making her look like she “smells like patchouli oil. Or, weed," by Fashion Police host Giuliana Rancic. America loves to appropriate black culture, even when black people themselves, don’t receive the same amount of love from America. From box braids to dashikis, black culture has been stolen by America and used for their own personal gain, disregarding the historical context and meaning of these traditions or blatantly perpetuating stereotypes.

Hair braids are sported by many who wish to make then look hip and look cool.   Tight ponytails are and African American hairstyle which make a mark because of the tight curls. These curls are style different in order to create various hairstyles. Curly hair is often styles in ponytails. Crimped hair is very common and are tied up into ponytails or even left loose. All the braids are pulled towards the back of the head and wrapped in a satin scarf. Dreadlocks: have significant stories linked to them and have different meaning for many people.   Dreadlocks are coils of hair that are interlocked and then form on there own. Dreadlocks rose in popularity with reggae music reaching new height. The Jheri Curl because very popular among the African American people. Jheri was given because the creator of this hairstyle was named Jheri Redding. This look was sporting a glossy look with loads of curls. There is certain chemical use with this hairstyle.   There was certain African clothing wore such as dashiki. The African American aesthetic encourages personal pride and political awareness. Some of the song was lift every voice and sing in addition to The Star Spangled Banner. This song was written by James Weldon Johnson and John Rosamond Johnson in 1900, to be performed for the birthday of Abraham Lincoln, the song was, and continues to be popular way for African Americans to recall past struggles and express ethnic solidarity, faith, and hope for the

African American culture has grown tremendously and has become more popular among all of the races. Not only has it become popular but it has also stirred up a lot of controversy. One aspect of African American culture that has become popular and is very controversial is Black women wearing their hair natural. Black women are really starting to embrace their natural hair and love the skin they are in but there are also a lot of people in society tearing them down. A lot of Black women and men have very curly natural hair and when the women do not feel like managing their hair they wear protective styles like braids or faux locks. Because of these styles, African Americans have been denied jobs and opportunities to prosper in society (Williams, 2015). It is offensive to tell Blacks how to wear their hair and that it is not acceptable. It is basically like telling her that she is unacceptable. There has been a great flow in the popularity of natural hair. In the early 1900’s since Black women were teased for their natural hair, straightened hair had become widely favored in the African-American community, but it lost its popularity to the Afro, which was seen as a symbol of black pride during the 1960s. Later on, Black women and even men returned to using chemical straightening treatments known as relaxers that loosened their naturally curly hair. Experts say that this method was often used as a means of meeting the white standard of beauty. The number of women using relaxers

The topic of beauty standards and body image is a pressing matter regularly discussed in today’s society. However, the concept of black beauty (those of African descent), both its internal and external components, has yet to be explored thoroughly. I aim to discover the motives of black women who wear protective styles—wigs, weaves, and braids. Do black women in the Syracuse area wear protective styles as a physical protective style to shield their natural hair from the harsh and sporadic environment or do they wear it for psychological reasons to shield their emotions from the harsh critics and scrutiny that black women face in a Eurocentric environment? This study is done with the purpose to bring to light the opinions of black women, whose feelings are frequently ignored and undermined in our society. In

Since the early 1900s, Black women have had a fascination with their hair. More explicitly, they have had a fascination with straightening their hair. The need to be accepted by the majority class has caused them to do so. Though the image of straight hair as being better than coarse hair still hasn’t left the Black community, there has been a surge of non straight hairstyles since the nineteen sixties. Wearing more natural hairstyles, which ironically enough include ‘weaves’ and ‘hair extensions’ has been considered to be more empowered and more enlightened. However, this image comes with a price, and though it appears the ‘natural’ hairstyle movement has advanced Black women, it has actually set

In today’s society, we live in a heavily social media world that blurs The lines between heritage and trends. The question often arises if someone is solely trying to imitate something without paying homage to other or stealing it without giving the entitled background of where it originated from. What caused these hairstyles that are rooted from Africa to somehow be manipulated and transition to America. The alteration affects the way we view appropriation and what is considered to be a personal identity of a specific background. Our personal identity is connected to the folkloric aspect of traditional customs that are passed on for generations to generation. Having the customs gives people a sense of roots to grow from and always have something to apply in their daily life. It’s important to have something to look onto for guidance having folkloric customs of tradition Africa hairstyles gives that to African American people.

Hair modification is a century old tradition for all ethnicities. The focus of this research paper will be the benefits of natural hair versus relaxed hair within the African American hair community. My position on this issue is that the natural state of hair is inherently better than the processed relaxed state of hair, even though African American women continue to relax their hair the outcome may be extreme.

Being a hairstylist, it is all about the skills: The artistic skills, the communication skills, also, the skill to be patient and respectful. Some people have a difficult time trying to obtain all of these skills. Hairstylists have a tough job. No one really understands what the stylist goes through. The pressure to get things right and to make the client happy is a complicated situation.

At some point in a woman's life, she is, if like most women, unhappy with her hair. A woman with straight hair wishes for curly ringlets. A woman with curly hair wants stick-straight locks. Thick and coarse desires to be fine and thinner. Fine and thin begs for thick hair.

At the moment I ask myself, why are these schools dictating these kids hairstyles? Why can’t a boy dye his hair pink or have his hair over his collar, there is no real reason for this. You should not be able to dictate these different hairstyles for the exact reason that we have our amendments and laws that give us the freedom we rightly deserve. Also, there are some boys who might have their hair long and you call that a violation, there is nothing wrong with a boy having his hair long. You, judging someone with long hair is like judging someone with curly hair, they both are just natural hairstyles.