Hairball A solitary woman sits in conversation with a benign tumour that had just recently been removed from her ovary. As the woman speaks, the inanimate tumour, which she has named Hairball, looks on from its glass encased perch atop the fireplace. The scene is macabre and certainly unusual, but such is the life of Kat, the main character in Margaret Atwood’s short story, Hairball. Kat’s life is filled with the unusual and the shocking, a lifestyle that has been self-imposed. Throughout the years, Kat, an "avant garde" fashion photographer, has altered her image, even her name, to suit the circumstances and the era. Over time Kat has fashioned a seemingly strong and impenetrable exterior, but as Kat’s life begins to disintegrate …show more content…
Finally, when she found her way to England, she became Kat, “[the name Kat] was economical, street-feline, and pointed as a nail.” The short, hard name was a reflection of her hard demeanor. Kat constantly tried to separate herself from the commonality of her environment. When she was told that her tumor was fairly common her reply was that, “She would have preferred uniqueness.” Kat wanted to stand out; she did not want to be another “Clarissa, Meliassa or Penelope,” but she understood that conformity, to the values of her society, would be a requirement if she wanted to succeed in her personal and professional life. With this in mind, Kat chose to integrate those values into her own personal approach.
She’d shaved off most of her hair, worked on the drop-dead stare, perfected a certain turn of the neck that conveyed an aloof inner authority. What you had to you had to make them believe was that you knew something they didn’t know yet. (p.17)
As the conflict between Kat and her society, she finds herself losing the fight. Despite accolades she received while working on the razor’s edge, Kat’s life is less than successful. Her relationships with competitive men and left her broken and hurt. “Twice she had abortions, because the men in question were not up for the alternative” (pp.17). Kat’s choice to
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
Being in the army, means you are part of a team. Being part of a team means you have to rely on other people, and other people have to rely on you. If you aren't being a team player then you can let the team and your battle buddies down. By not shaving, you are letting your battle buddies and team down. The army is based on uniformity and cleanliness. When you don't shave you begin to expire that idea.
A bowling pin can be a stubborn opponent. A slight wrong turn of the wrist at the moment of launch can tip the odds in the pin’s favor. Yet the pin makes not one move. The pin realizes this, and knows that by remaining stone-faced, the bowler’s nerves will be shaken and bullets of sweat will come pouring like a cascade of water. The pin gloats at its incessant victory which only agitates the extraordinarily captivated bowler. However, the bowler’s focus causes him to fail every time he sends the ball like a message in a bullet towards that pin. The simple reality is that by remaining in a state of tranquility, success will be achieved, the bowler will emerge victorious, and the pin defeated.
This novel “is a book that truly speaks to adolescents in contemporary language and with teenage characters about adolescent sexuality” (Kaplan 27). Katherine is learning about her sexuality in the novel.
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
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
Cornrows updo with a weave ponytail is basically two hair styles in one. The cornrows are generally small in size, and the weave is usually sewn or wrapped around the ponytail. The weave ponytail is usually done with curly or weave hair. Cornrows updo with a weave ponytail usually last two to four weeks. This process generally takes 1½ to 2 hours depending on the desired size of cornrows.
The political game is a dog eat dog world, there are several factors that determined weather a politician will be successful or not. Having alliances, enemies, and deals is all part of it. In the book “Hardball: How Politics is Played” written by Chris Mathews explains what it takes to get ahead in politics and how to avoid disasters techniques previously used by others.
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.
Although a light read, her experience is heart-breaking as she is abused at home, institutionalized, and instead of being treated for her depression, doctor’s attempt to “feminize” her with eye shadow and lipstick. She is the type of advocate that makes noise in a silence because she tells a tale that would otherwise be unknown.
When it comes to facial hair in our school, for some reasoning outside the realm of even our principal, the issue is a heinous act punishable to the fullest extent. Facial hair is a form of self expression and self identification in a young man’s life. When we see half the male population, and the ones we look up to have facial hair. It becomes a social construct in our lives that in essence affects how we see ourselves. It can create a self confidence in one who before had none. With this in mind our school has enforced holistic regulations upon the male gender that take away self-expression and infract upon our God given right to present ourselves as we see fit. When a school takes this away from you it turns from being unethical to an
After flipping off the switch to my cheap, red Revlon hair dryer, I took one glance in the mirror and noticed my hair looked exactly as expected: terrible. My dark brown curls were separated, flattened, and all the volume had been suctioned out. My once-voluptuous locks were now dry and brittle noodles. I have never had great experiences with hair dryers. Honestly, how could I? I have fine, curly hair that frizzes at the very touch of my fingers. Some days it looks like a rat’s nest, other days it looks like five rat’s nests all got into a fight over whose nest could look the dirtiest. So let me explain to you the extent of a mess in which I deal with on the daily.
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.
Hair loss is a condition affecting both men and women. There are several causes of hair loss. In men, hereditary factors play an important role in hair loss. Such a condition is termed as male pattern baldness or androgenetic alopecia. This is linked to elevated levels of DHT in the scalp. This is characterized by hair loss in the temples and top regions of head and presence of thinning hairs elsewhere.