The Myth Of The Mullet Species

5. Once we were done analyzing the bones and organizing them into groups, we cleaned everything up and put our tools back were they belonged and how we originally found them.

It was a symbol of how white oppression had made blacks think that in order to be beautiful, in order to be handsome, they had to straighten and flatten their natural hair into something a white man or woman would appreciate. In doing so, the black community was simply pleasing those who wished to oppress them, while thinking that the pain, the burning flesh, everything, was worth it. The conk, to Malcolm X, represents “the emblem of [people’s] shame that [they are] black” (Malcolm X 208). It is the ultimate symbol of the loss of black self-identity. It portrays the willingness blacks have to throw away their heritage, and to embrace the hairstyle that represents self-degradation so wholly and eagerly. In the end, Malcolm X concludes that he, as a past conk-wearer himself, believes that any black man or woman who “gave the brains in their head just half as much attention as they do their hair, they would be a thousand times better off,” perfectly summing up his feelings of discrimination and self-hatred within the black community (Malcolm X 208). Without subjecting themselves to the indignity and pain of the conk, and focusing on what they have been naturally blessed with, they can truly become a better person in the process.

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

African American women have different types of hair. For example hair can either be course, fine, and medium textures. The way hair is determined its by circumference and the condition of the cuticle. Fine texture has a small circumference and closed cuticle. Coarse hair it has much larger circumference and the cuticle is much more open. They are often broken down into different types of hair such as African Caribbean, Asian, and Caucasian (European). African Caribbean is usually displayed as a tightly curled and often very dark. “African Caribbean hair is almost kidney shaped when seen in cross section.” (Anoymous, 2013) This type of is usual damage easily. Asian hair is usually “often straight and has a tendency to be lank.” They come in variety of colors for example a dark to medium brown. It usually is thick and strong. Then you have Caucasian or European which can be straight, wavy or curly. They are usually from a dark to medium brown and it also can be thick and strong. “The texture of hair can be vary significantly according to hair color and racial type” (Anoymous, 2013, p. 1)

One hairstyle, known simply as “the bob,” would be at the center of this great debate. First introduced during the Great War, the bob haircut would eventually cause a revolution in the way women would wear the bob forevermore. It all started in 1915 with the introduction of the Castle Bob, named after the acclaimed ballroom dancer Irene Castle. While cutting her hair for convenience, little would she know that she would forever be linked with triggering a revolution in 20th-century hair fashion. The Castle Bob would be the first indication of the rage of short hair. The bob haircut was simply a hair cut leveling with the bottom of the ears all around the head. It was worn either with bangs or with the hair brushed off the side of the forehead. It was a simple look but an oppressive departure from the long feminine looks created by Gibson and Marcel. http://www.hairarchives.com/private/1920s.htm

A “bob” hat advertisement similar to this one would be a familiar sight to many women during the 1920s. During this time period, the bob hat or cloche became a classic. The cloche was bell shaped at the top and had decorative additions such as feathers, geometric shapes, and flowers, which would showcase a woman’s demeanor. As said on vintagedancer.com, there were other accessories that women wore on their heads such as wrapped turbans, short crown straw hats, and an array of different headbands. These hair accessories became popular during the 1920s because of the way it worked with new hairstyles such as the bob. A cloche’s structure would frame the face of the women who wore them. In many cases women would not leave a store without ensuring

As an African American hair plays a vital role in our society. The ideal of Black hair is one that allows you to explore your inner feelings, attitudes and sense of style through the facet of hair. However, this freedom of expression becomes questioned as you try to pursue a professional career. As an African American woman pursuing a career in the field of broadcast journalism, your freedom of expression through hair is often limited by corporate policy. By pursuing a career in this field and attaining my first internship in a top 10 market. I have already faced some challenges. Due to the fact that I was only an intern, I did not receive pressure from corporate level to change my look. However, I placed internal pressure on myself to assimilate to white culture standard of “professionalism” by straightening my hair for an intern newscast. I decided to elongate my naturally, kinky curly hair in order to fit the bill of a typical news anchor. Who declared black hair of any style to be unprofessional?

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.

The facts of this issues is that there has been in some cases of hairstyle based discrimination within the work place. Looking at the case of EEOC v. Mims Distributing Company, Inc., in regards to Christopher Alston, an African American man. This case was a hairstyle based discrimination, however it was based on the company not having a policy to addressed hairstyle as a religious practice. The outcome of this case ended with Mims Distributing Company paying $50,000 and adopting a formal religious accommodation policy that will address future issues (Lally, 2015). Another case based on hairstyle discrimination would be Farryn Johnson v. Hooters. Ms. Johnson, an African American was awarded more than $250,000 after an arbitrator found that racial discrimination did in fact contributed to her getting fired (CHUCK, 2015). Hooters prohibits only African-American Hooters Girls from wearing blond highlights in their hair, other women were allowed to wear blond highlight in their hair (CHUCK, 2015). Johnson was told by the manager that blond streaks didn 't look natural on African Americans (CHUCK, 2015). However, on the other hand cases that are similar to Chasity Jones, an African American woman, who was initially hired to work for Catastrophe Management Systems but notified later that the job was withdrawn because of her hairstyle, which were dreadlocks, was not found guilty of discrimination (Wellington, 2016). However, every case is not like the other case because

Hairstyles for the period 1750-1900 cover the Georgian era, Regency, and Romantic period hairstyles, as well as Victorian and Edwardian period hairstyles. These Era’s note not only hairstyles on men, women, and children, but also wigs and hats as part of the hairstyles of those times. When plays began being performed, even from Shakespearean times, there were never props, backdrops, or other decorations to show the audience where the play was taking place; the only visual concept was through costumes that helped the audience understand what type of stature the character had, what nationality and religion they were, and even the kind of personality they revealed. Various elements were highlighted via costumes, to include make- up, wigs, shoes, and accessories. Typically, costumes reflected what was fashionable at that time including hairstyles. Interestingly, there have been cases where theatre costumes had an effect on what people wore. Period hairstyles helped depict various times in history and wigs often help display the hairstyles of past eras for theatrical productions.

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

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

Within the African American community, there exists a notion of “good hair” and “bad hair”. This topic has historically ignited a great debate within the culture that has entrenched the community drawing no lines between gender, socioeconomic status, or age. To understand some of the dynamics of the hair debate it is important to comprehend the cultural relativism of the social facts and the belief held by the African America Diaspora. Cultural relativism is the idea that “something can be understood and judged only in relation to the cultural context in which it appears” (Andersen & Taylor, 2011, pg. 41). Social facts were described by Emile

As well as celebrities giving it much negative attention, it is attention all in all. The most relevant and viral instance, Miley Cyrus, was her appearance on the red carpet attempting to rock dreadlock extensions. Case in point: When actress Zendaya wore the same style, she was infamously described as smelling like "patchouli oil and weed" on the red carpet, but on Miley, and in the past, on Kylie Jenner, dreadlocks have been described as, "amazing" and "edgy”. You could be the type of person who’d think, why the hell do I care about what some teenager does with her hair? This conversation isn’t just about hair. And it’s not just about Miley Cyrus, or Kylie Jenner. Their latest, constant repetition of cultural appropriation is just a drop in the bucket that’s been filling up for too many ages.