Black women have been wading the turbulent waters of beauty for centuries. In a society where beauty is narrowly defined as white, skinny and tall, it is a powerful thing when a black woman can proudly declare she loves her skin, nose and even hair. In addition, this generation is seeing the emergence of natural hair, where black women are ditching relaxers and texturizers for their "naps", "locs", “kinks" and “curls”. Black women choosing to wear their hair naturally, should not be met with a shrug of the shoulders but seen as a powerful symbol. This is because their actions challenge Eurocentric standards of beauty, help repair identity that's been distorted through the slave trade and colonization and encourage self-love in women.
When black women wear their hair naturally it is a revolutionary gesture. Likewise, it is defying what society tells people is beautiful. For example, only black women who choose to wear their hair straight such as Beyonce, Nicki Minaj and Rihanna are deemed beautiful by the media. Media is a powerful conditioning tool that tells people what they should aspire to be. It is then a grand gesture to embrace one's natural hair despite the limited representation of that on television. As well, going natural allows black women to regain power. Black American women spend an estimated 4 billion dollars a year on wigs, weaves and extensions, with most of the market being controlled by non-black communities. However, with the emergence of the natural hair movement there has been a decline in the sale of relaxers and texturizers. Black women are becoming aware of the financial consequences and are more selective with where they decide to spend their money. This demonstrates that when black women embrace themselves it gives them power- power to define beauty and even financial freedom to invest in important matters such as education and self-development. The natural hair journey forces black women to address distorted ideals that were propagated during the slave trade and colonization. Likewise, it is impossible for women to navigate their natural hair journey without confronting internalized anti-blackness. For example, Ijeoma Oluo, editor and writer of the Establishment, echoed the sentiment of many, when she said going natural made her confront the disdain she had for her hair when she was a child. Black women (and men), must unravel their personal notions about "good hair" vs "bad hair" and understand “good hair” is not determined by texture but by health. Similarly, the increase of black women wearing their hair naturally puts pressure on the black community to address views on hair. For example, in India Aires song, "I am Not my Hair she says " good hair means curls and wave, bad hair means you look like slave, at the turn of the century its time to redefine who we be". This song calls out problematic views some community members have about the natural texture of other people's hair. It is important to realize that before the slave trade, hair was often a sense of pride, creativity and even a marker of status for many ethnic groups across the African continent. It’s about time people recapture their former glory and love the uniqueness that is Afro-textured hair. Moreover, the embrace of natural hair can begin a domino effect with other issues such as colourism. Women such as Lauryn Hill and Lupita N'yongo are cultural icons who force people to deal with their notions of beauty. Hair is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to disqualifying people from being beautiful. Factors such as skin tone, nose shape and size are included on the beauty checklist. The natural hair movement is a catalyst to begin having these conversations on beauty and unpacking the historical baggage that comes with racial trauma. Lastly, going naturally encourages black women to love themselves. Regular interaction with their hair through combing, twisting and washing allows black women to love their unique curl pattern. This is important because a positive body image and high regard for oneself is needed to navigate the world. Therefore, black women wearing their hair proudly begins them on that trajectory to high self-esteem. Finally, when a black women wears her hair naturally she helps redefine the beauty standard altogether. For example, Nina Simone, singer and songwriter boldly proclaimed how beautiful she was despite the fact that she fell short of the beauty standard. This demonstrates that once a person accepts one feature they have naturally it makes it easier to accept other features. It is even safe to say, people will turn up their noses at a beauty standard that seeks to undermine the very features they have naturally. Hence, black women wearing their hair naturally is one step closer to loving themselves. In conclusion, it is important to not shrug off the natural hair movement as a trend but to acknowledge it as a challenge to an exclusive beauty culture , the catalyst to community healing, and self-love.
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AuthorMy name is Akua B and I'm a lover of all things Africa, natural hair and poetry... Archives
March 2017
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