As I came home one day, I noticed the unhappy sound of my little sister's voice coming from upstairs. My mother kept saying "you look beautiful there is nothing you should be crying about." My sister, however, disagreed. As I went upstairs to greet her, I saw her large curly Afro framing her beautiful, brown skin. She looked disgusted. "I don't like my hair!" she said behind tears. What caused such a beautiful little girl to have this view of her natural hair? Could it be the same reason why she so desperately wants straight hair? Or why she lights up in the mirror when, on special occasion, our mom straightens her hair for her?For a long while, hair straightening has been something women do all over the globe, but why? What makes this trend so popular and why would one spend thousands of dollars, risk damaging their hair, or possibly even burning their scalp for a straighter look?
Much of this idea that straight hair is superior and more beautiful dates back to times of slavery. It was drilled into every one's mind that anything white was better. This included their European style, straight hair. This style was seen as more beautiful, while kinky, curly African hair was seen as ugly and repelling. While curly hair now seems to be more accepted, countless women still straighten their hair to feel more beautiful or to "fit in."
Every day, much like the thin, slender look we have talked about in class, women are exposed to other women on billboards flaunting their long, flowing, straight, hair. From magazines, to hair commercials, to celebrities, all promote this idea of the intelligible body. That one must be skinny with smooth, straight hair and light skin. If I asked you now to quickly think of a celebrity who consistently sports their natural, curly, hair could you name one? If you can, how about five? This, for many I have encountered, is very difficult to do. This demonstrates that although we have come very far today in accepting natural beauty, the European look still dominates the market and women, including my little sister, are ashamed of their "kinky Afros."
Straight hair for some, gives confidence as they embrace the idea of the docile body. Going along everyday, fitting in with the social norm. Others are afraid of losing credibility if their hair is not straight, like many Dominican women believe. Whatever the belief, when will one be able to abandon this idea of the docile body and simply embrace themselves for who they truly are, straight hair or not?
I have attached a video clip from the Tyra Banks show. Tyra, goes on to explore how little girls view their hair and what they believe is "good hair." She explores what the causes of their views are as well as societal and parental views.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D0DgVijM7Z8&feature=related
It was very interesting to watch the Tyra Banks clip. I think that everyone as some point wishes their hair was different. I think it is part of experimenting with different looks. I think often girls with curly hair wish they had straight hair, and girls with straight hair wish they could have curly hair. Personally, I have straight hair, and sometimes I wish it could at least be wavy if not curly. My hair just frizzes up, but stays pretty straight.
ReplyDeleteBut I know so many girls, including myself, who have burnt themselves trying to curl or straighten their hair. Its interesting that we don't mind the pain or expense of achieving the 'perfect' hair look.
People always want what they can't have. I think it's interesting that anyone in shows or magazines who have curly hair very rarely have natural looking curly hair. It's always the barrel curl hair from curling irons. Straight hair on models is from a straightener-very rarely does naturally straight hair get that straight. I don't know if our culture values straight hair that much higher than curly but it definitely doesn't appreciate natural hair.
ReplyDeleteThis is such a good example of a "pursuit without a terminus." It doesn't matter how much you curl, straighten, or perm your hair, you're going to have to keep repeating these processes in order to obtain your ideal of "perfect" hair. Not to mention, there's a 80% chance you're not going to absolutely love the final product of it all anyway. You'll probably end up finding a piece you missed, or it'll look good for about five minutes, and then turn to crap again.
ReplyDeleteTo me, it's not worth all of the time, money, and energy spent. Don't get me wrong, I definitely love looking good every once in a while... I mean, who doesn't? It's just so shocking to see five year old girls spending hours a day primping and prepping themselves, just so someone else doesn't tell them they're ugly.
It's even more interesting knowing that the amount of damage done to hair through all these processes is out of control, yet that still doesn't stop us, and I don't think it ever will.
I'm so glad someone posted about this because it reminds me exactly of my sister who has naturally curly hair. She hasn't gone one day without wishing she had straight hair. It all goes back to what everyone has said about "always wanting what we can't have". The only reason we want those things is because society tells us we will be happier with them. Like in the Tyra Banks clip the little girls thought people liked them better when they had their long pretty hair wigs on. It just goes to show that we are drilled into thinking that conformity is going to make us happier.
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