My Childhood Memories Of Hair

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

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

tension has formulated the idea that larger lips and broader noses are more animalistic and unattractive. It has not been until more recently that fuller lips were sexualized and perceived to be more feminine. Due to this women and men began buying lip fillers and plumpers to help achieve a fuller lip. Facial features like the eyes have also been analyzed and categorized. People of Asian descent typically have slender eyes. Asians have often been mocked for their slender and sometimes slanted eye shape.

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.

I wanted to start of the event with this video. I made it a few weeks ago. When I started working on this project I really thought that this was a minority only problem and I wanted to focus on Hispanics because of my Colombian decent. I wanted to honor my roots while embracing my American life style. But it was Monday night, a slow day at a beautiful restaurant overlooking the ocean city somersault bridge and I was polishing glass for my side work and chit chatting with my coworkers. I was specifically talking to a co work. American. Blonde hair. Blue eyes. About 40 years old. I was telling her about my Tuesday plan that was handing out exit surveys at a polling location. She was confused. I said yes the primaries are tomorrow (this was Monday

The African-American culture includes many things such as clothing and music. However, the highest beauty standard for black people is hair. Kinky, curly in other words “nappy”, is an important aspect of the culture. It is as if it tells a story about where we came from and the troubles our ancestors faced on a day to day basis. Their hair is multicultural, meaning that there are several types varying from straight to extremely tight curls.

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

Have you ever been through a journey faced with complications that lead you through frequent steps that can occasionally make you want to give up? I decided to do my capstone project on The Journey of Natural Hair, mainly focusing on the selections of afro-textured portions throughout my project. A journey of natural hair is a route you take along with your hair as you encounter different changes and ideas pertaining to your hair. The Natural hair journey technically starts when you are born because everyone is born with different varieties of natural hair. My reason for choosing such a topic is because it is something I can relate to. I have also experienced many of the common stages along my natural hair journey. This topic stands out to me and is something I enjoy talking and learning about. I understand that many aren’t able to self-experience a journey of natural curls which varies with race and background. Exposures to chemicals such as hair relaxers can permanently change the texture of the relaxed portion of hair. As I research further into my subject I hope to learn how certain things can manipulate the hair. I also seek to learn new things the journey has prepared as it continues step by step. I can achieve this by gaining more knowledge about natural/afro-textured hair through others experiences and studies on it.

Here, there, everywhere, all I see is more hair. Wild and untamable like a jungle, running freely all over me. Dark as the night, contrasting with my porcelain skin. Sure, I did start the bold brows trend, but that was short lived. While I look like a wildebeest, my mother resembles a Sphynx cat. Sometimes, I wish I looked like her, not having to care about wearing shorts or going down to the beach.

The essay Hair written by Maria Alderich, is an analysis of women during the 1950’s need to conform, rebel, or fit in to societies social standards and the inner conflict it caused in women’s identity. The essay is Alderich’s firsthand account of the females in her immediate family and how they use their hair styles to define themselves and represent their self-identity.

This epidemic although current and recent is not new; for years and centuries it’s been

The renaissance was a very nice era especially for the hair and jewelry for men and women. Many older women didn’t like showing their hair off, but on the other hand young ladies did. Men wore hair to their shoulder length and wore a lot of hats.

As we discussed in the Get to Know Your Hair section, if your hair’s cuticle is damaged it will not lie flat, so hair will appear dull. The flatter the cuticle scale, the more light is easily reflected off of its surface causing the hair to have natural shine. Damaged hair has less natural shine. Damage to the cuticle will also cause hair to not have natural movement and body, so the hair appears lifeless and stiff.

Through the natural hair movement, I have accomplished the act to love my natural hair and to let it be known to any one who cares to listen. In fact, going natural has ended up being an extremely significant for me and I have met many naturals during the time I have spent growing my hair out. It feels great to have had the experience to share my story, to gain from other's stories, and to distribute this information so that more women can have acceptance of this information that can enable them and change their lives, as it has

Are you a coarse haired natural? I am and yes, I love my coarse hair. Do I ever get frustrated? Heck yeah. But after five years I’ve figured out how to take the good with the bad. Here’s my story.