Good Hair: The Social Construction Of Gender

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

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.

“Janie ties her hair up in the store un- der her husband’s orders so that other men will not touch her. Hair is a tool for sexual desirability across races and ethnic groups; however, the issue within the African community is that the “type” of hair that is often de- sired. However, hair is a marker of femininity, so to restrict or demean one’s hair is a direct attack on women’s being. This implies that when the hair is covered—as it had to be on the plantation or other places where African women existed, they were deemed less feminine and thus less womanly”

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

Hair in the 1910s became more fitted to the head and it started to be cut shorter. The hair was also seen in a bun. Pin seen were long and held the larger hats in place. The pins would have flowers made from ivory, enamel, leather and jet on them and other gems were also seen. Pins were made from metals such as steal and gold. Over the sharp end of the pin, a cap would be put on to provide protection when they were in the hair. World War 1 led to women being viewed differently and in 1918 women were able to vote.

When I once decided to take out my protective style and wear my hair in its natural state, I received several negative remarks. As a young black female I was bothered and wondered why. I wondered why I was receiving so many negative remarks especially from my fellow Black women. An individual went as far to tell me “your hair looks nice but do not wear that to a job interview”. Hair and the styling of it has been a staple of the Black community for centuries. In African American culture, an individual’s hair spoke volumes about that person. By looking at a person’s hair, one could tell where that person was from, what tribe he or she was a member of and even the status within that tribe. As time progressed the influence and importance of hair

Black men are more likely to prefer dating and marrying people with light skin than women are. Black men also see lighter skinned black women as a “prize” due to the mentioned benefits of being a light skinned black woman. Since dark skinned women meet few, if any of the European beauty standards, they are more likely to “...experience self hate, distorted body image, depression, and eating disorders” (Bryant, 82-85) Seeing as how European beauty standards are impressed upon men as well, it is no surprise that Black men see straighter hair as better hair. This then leads to Black women choosing to permanently wear their hair straight. For these Black women, “...discrimination against their person can lie within the walls of their very homes.”

African American culture is quite distinct in America, especially when the people embrace the aspects they were born with. One of the features that highlights the African American culture is their hair in its natural state, that is hair which has not been treated by chemicals or heat. An African American's natural hair is thick, most often tight and curly and often times considered to be less attractive do to its nappy, tangled or matted appearance it could have. A vast majority of African Americans assimilate by changing their natural hair to straight, smoother hair which appeals more to the European culture. According to statistics, it was estimated that “75% of African American women chemically straightened or “perm”

The Natural Hair Movement has made such a huge impact on the lives of black women in society. More women are seen wearing their natural hair and no longer care about other people’s opinions. Black women are making a statement in society today that their hair belongs to them and they can no longer be shamed from wearing it in the ways they do. The racism and oppression that is inflicted upon the black race in today’s day and age is not going to let the women fully embrace themselves and have full acceptance into our society as a whole. Due to society’s standpoint on beauty, if a person’s hair is not straight, that person will face indifference and will often be shamefully pushed to straighten their hair. During times of slavery in America, black women and other women of color went through similar societal influences. Since the Natural Hair Movement have become such a widely known, positive trend, it has motivated many black women appreciate their natural states. Because of the oppression that still exists and the difference in black women, they have become easy targets for criticism. Those opinions have been known to be discriminative, and are racial stereotypes towards black women and their natural hair.

There is a very wide known issue on hair in America based on the dynamics of hair around presentation and first impressions. There is a present concern in the work environment as well as in the public sector, where racial biases are within communities and society as a whole. After watching the documentary by Chris Rock called “Black Hair” (inspired by his daughter’s inquiry on nappy hair) there were many famous characters, which stated they would much rather wear straight hair verses curly, kinky hair also permed hair forced straight by chemicals. In the article Edited by Lilly Caldwell 2004 “Look at Her Hair” with the song “THE NEGRA IN BRAZILIAN POPULAR CULTURE” Lilly say’s, this song provides a telling example of Black women 's portrayal in Brazilian popular culture. After my researched online. I found a news source with a case pending here in the US where a Black woman with “Locks”, was hired on a job, then told she must change her hairstyle, it was not acceptable, which was racist and degrading.

On her website, she shares different opinions and ideas on hair in black culture, beauty, style/ fashion, well-being, food and musing. Specifically, her segment on hair in black culture is helping uproot a cause black women has been facing since forever. Black hair is very different compared to others. It goes against perfection. In an interview with New York Times Jenna Worthman, believed Ross “pushes against a culture fixated on unnatural and unattainable perfection”. (New York Time) There are many conversation about how black hair is unprofessional and how it gets in the way. The ‘Good Hair’ study quotes that wearing natural hairstyles has deep political and social implications. Alexis McGill Johnson, co-founder and executive director of Perception Institute, a consortium of researchers, advocates research on race, gender, ethnic, and other identities into solutions that reduce bias and discrimination. “From the classroom to the workplace, bias against natural hair can undermine the ability of black women to be their full selves and affect their professional trajectory, social life, and self-esteem. This study also demonstrates how research with an intersectional lens can help us create new metrics, such as the Hair IAT, and drive new conversations.” “Black women experience more anxiety related to their hair and greater social and financial burden of hair maintenance than white women. Black women are twice as likely to report social pressure to straighten their hair at

Historically, the pinnacle of beauty was a woman’s hair. In cultures all around the world, hair was considered to be the keeper of the soul and an important symbol of womanhood and virginal state.

The notion that you must be of mixed heritage to have “good hair” or that if you are lighter skinned your hair was “good”, was all over North America. In 1997 Andre Walker, a hairstylist, developed a classification system for curl types/patterns that is heavily used today by naturalistas. Prior to this system black hair was seen as a “one size fits all” topic; either you perm it or straighten in some way to mimic the Caucasian women in the media. Unfortunately, that mentality has done lots of harm to the hair of the black community because there are so many different textures of hair. A relaxer was always encouraged because kinks or to many curls is not the look of the European standard of beauty but no one wanted to look into the cons or even educate themselves of what the relaxer is doing to their health. Walker’s Curl Typing System breaks curl patterns into four categories; Straight (Type 1), Wavy (Type 2), Curly (Type 3), and Kinky (Type 4) and three subcategories within each (a, b, and c). The system caters to al hair types but the system is highly used in the “naturalista” community. In an article on currlynikki.com they provide pictures and further explanations to help their readers understand what kind of curl pattern they have and why it is like that. For example they explain that type three and four curl patterns are both considered to be coarse, “but it is actually

It is becoming more common to see black women representing their natural hair who have a platform, but they are not acknowledge properly. In Chris Rock’s satirical film “Good Hair”, the realization that most famous black women spent immense amount of money and time on taking care of hair that is not their God given hair. Oprah, Michelle Obama, and Beyoncé are some of the women included in this phenomena (Stevens). If natural hair is so big then why is it not represented more on films? Natural hair slowly, but surely becoming more popular in film.