Afro-textured hair

years, the topic of Hair has been known to help portray how a person identifies with oneself. Black Americans have often been identified by their hair and the subject of black hair has seem to become an issue. Natural textured hair or the hairstyle called an “afro” were just a few types mentioned when the subject of hairstyles are discussed. In the black community hair became a political statement in the late 1970’s. There are articles noted with information suggesting the “Afro Hairstyle” to be considered

within the play as a character with straightened hair; this is a metaphor of her internalized white-supremacy, and unconscious rejection of her natural features, in lieu of chasing after eurocentric beauty standards in an effort to be seen as beautiful and accepted by society. Hair straightening is a much more involved and painful process for textured hair in contrast to what someone with “caucasian” hair may experience when trying to straighten their hair (X, 44). It involves smearing a rancid smelling

American history, black women have styled their hair in order to avoid shame and mortification and attempt to appear under American standards of beauty. For example, during slavery, slaves were required to change their hair to resemble white beauty standards. Changes in hairstyles varied between light-skinned and dark-skinned slaves due to their working positions. In the 1970s, during the Black Power movement, idealisms of black beauty changed and the afro was worn as an act of rebellion and a symbol

Black Hair: Physical or Psychological Protective Styles Chaunci Letang Much attention is given to the issue of the perfect body image among young girls and women in the United States; however, within this set of people, little attention is given towards black women and the topic of their hair. How are black women affected by these unrealistic standards for beauty, especially in a world that tends to favor the Eurocentric standards? This study discusses the phenomenon behind black women and their

(Synnott 1987). Hair can act as both a symbol of self and group identity as well as a form of self expression and communication. I was recently listening to India Arie’s “I Am Not My Hair” and it reminded me of several occasions where those around me in addition to my self have had our self confidence shaken due to the importance that our society puts on a woman’s hair. In Arie’s song she points out in her lyrics that in today’s world “Good hair means curls and waves” and that “Bad hair means [that]

associate blacks with wealth and is hostile when he first sees Ifemelu. In addition, the black women in the novel feel the need to relax their hair for job interviews, lest they suffer the consequences of feeding into the “wild” stereotypes with their natural hair. The fleeting relationship of an interview demands straight hair and Eurocentric features, and having hair

Do you have a hair bias? Take the Hair IAT to Find Out We know that the increasing visibility of black women’s natural hair and its growing popularity does not mean there isn’t still a bias against it. Most of us have had to deal with our own experiences of this bias or at the very least, are aware of someone who has. Whether it’s in the workplace or at school or going through security at the airport, we live this. Naturallycurly has also written about this study in an article entitled There's still

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

she was, applying her usually powder to blurred her textured skin, using a bold dark pencil to line her lips and finishing it off with her plum-colored lipstick. I never got tired of seeing my mother do her makeup routine. I wanted to be just like her, she gave me baby power to smooth out my baby skin and a cherry lip gloss top it off. At night, my father skimmed section by section through my mother’s layered shoulder length hair apply her hair serum as she sat on the weaved chair with her aloe vera

Throughout history, Black women in the U.S have been challenged with the Western standards of beauty that negated any natural beauty of blackness. During slavery, blacks with Caucasian features such as light skin and straight hair often received preferable treatment (Neal & Wilson, 1989). This behavior continued after slavery within the African American community. Light skinned black men continue to obtain higher status positions, receive better opportunities and higher educational advantages (Neal