Quick Thought

I just realized, after watching a commercial for ReGrow, that you never see women with natural hair on commercials for damaged hair such as ReGrow. And they say natural hAir is bad hair. But I believe this is testimony to the harmful affects of chemical relaxers and women fail to realize that straightening their hair using chemical relaxers is what stunts black hair growth and black hair is healthiest in its natral state.

Natural Type I & Type II

I knocked out 2(!) interviews today and I have 2 more planned tonight, give me a handclap because I'm on a roll:) While gathering my list of interviewees, I've been stressing over finding enough "naturals" to interview. Both of my interviews today were with women who are "natural", but not in the sense I usually think of. Both women have what would be considered "good" hair by most members of the African-American community. My project is centered around the notion of good hair, and yet I ignored what good hair is defined as in the black community. The women I interviewed are natural, in the sense that they have never had relaxers, but they aren't considered natural in the "traditional" sense. Most of the time when women have to declare "I am natural" it is because they have coarse, kinky hair. Women who are natural because they have "good" hair are not usually considered natural. This "revelation" has caused me to recognize how my "preconceived" ideas may limit research. This new found information has caused me to wonder how I can define this new category into my research because Type I natural, or good hair, is not stigmatized in African-American community. African-Americans come in many flavors with an array of ethnic heritages, which is often evident in the variety of hair textures seen within the African-American community. Good hair is celebrated in the African-American community, and the premise of my research is that natural hair is stigmatized among members of the African-American community and even society as a whole. This development adds an interesting twist to my research question and has opened a new area for exploration.

Once you go natural you can't go back???

Recently I told a friend I am considering straightening my hair, but not with chemicals just a simple flat iron. She told me she doesn't think this would be a good idea because it goes against everything I believe in. This statement suggests that how you wear your hair reflects a person's worldview and is also a lifestyle choice. I agree that a person's hairstyle preference may also relate to their lifestyle choice. For instance, some African-American women don't leave the house on rainy days because of water's threat of returning their relaxed hair to its natural state. But, I don't consider my choice to wear my hair natural as a worldview. I think my friend's statement implies that if I wear my hair straight I will be saying that "I want to look white" and by wearing my hair natural I am rebelling against the system. BUT SHE WEARS HER HAIR STRAIGHT... I guess she's letting me know we believe in different things also:) I think my intentions have been misunderstood by a lot of people. I do not think there is anything wrong with a person choosing to wear their hair straight, because as India Arie sang "I AM NOT MY HAIR." A reiteration my initial purpose: Black hair should not be stigmatized. I believe the stigmatization of black hair makes black hair political. Telling little girls that they need straight hair in order to succeed in the world and that their "nappy" hair is inferior to straight flowing hair is what makes hair political. The history of denying black women the right to even reveal their natural hair, being forced to conceal their "naps" beneath "Aunt Jemima scarves" is what makes hair political. Choosing to straighten my hair one day for "something different" in no way goes against the idea that black hair is JUST BLACK HAIR, nothing more nothing less. By using a flat iron in order to wear my hair straight for a couple of days is like deciding to wear a tank top over a graphic tee, just another way to accessorize for the day.

Interviews

I'm still scheduling people for interviews. I had two interviews lined up for last week, but one person dropped at the last minute but I was still able to interview one person. Now, I just have to transcribe the interview and compare it to my previous interviews. With the exception of one person, all of my interviews thus far have been with women in their early 20's. I realize that I need to find more age ranges to gain a better understanding of how beauty ideas vary with age. I have an interview lined up for Thursday and hopely I can schedule more between now and tomorrow. So far, I have interviewed two women who wear their hair natural and two women who wear their hair relaxed. The responses have been somewhat similiar, although the women wear their hair differently. I think my interviews will be more telling once I have more of a variety.

Updates

It has been a while since I last blogged, but there has been a lot of work in the background. I attempted to organize a focus group, with young college aged African-American women and older career oriented women, but I was not able to compliment everyone's schedule. I have decided to revert to the individual interview format because it will be easy to work around people's schedule. I have an interview scheduled for today and Friday and I am in the process of scheduling more for the weekend. I have also read more literature on the topic of beauty and hair in the African-American community. The authors who I have read contribute the stigmatization of African features to slavery. I will explore this more in depth in a seperate blog, but I realize it will be a fundamental part of my final paper. I have also been searching for statistics related to African-Americans spending habits compared to other ethnicities. I believe this will be a good link for establishing the issue of beauty among the African-American community.

Selling Beauty...

I've started reading a new book Style and Beauty... So far, the discussion is about the impact of advertising on the African-American community in the early 20's. An interesting fact is that white owned companies made up fictious characters and fronts to suggest they were black owned and influence black patronage. As I read this I thought about the Dr. Miracle commercials and I did some research into the company. Dr. Miracle commercials and products state they are black owned and used by Dr. Miracle's family, but actually the company is owned by a successful white businessman. Interesting to see that the marketing techniques from the early 20's are still present today. I have also been working on a focus group for next week with black female Centenary College students.

Hair debate explored in new york times

But why???

Research shows, and I know I'll have to provide, that eating disorders are less prevalent in the Black community than in the White community. Researchers suggest this is because the black community has a curvier body ideal and "plumpness" has been accepted in the black community as beautiful and also as a status symbol. Since the white "thin" beauty idea is seen as unrealstic among women of the black community, black women are able to disconnect from this idea and are less susceptible to eating disorders than white woman. My question is why do black women become victims of chemical relaxers and develop a dislike for kinky hair and dark skin?

Cost of Beauty

A good way of vaidating my claims is the price of African-American haircare. I need statistics for how much African-Americans spend on haircare products and maintainence compared to other ethnicities. I also need to figure how much of women's income is spent on hair upkeep.

Sheila's Shop

I finished Sheila's Shop and it was an interesting read. The author's purpose was to give working class African-American women a voice. She conducted her interviews in a beauty shop, and led a variety of discussions ranging from racisim to faith. The author even proposed a new theory based on her findings, which I somewhat disagree with. Even though Battle-Waters study had a different focus than my own, the beauty shop setting and Battle-Water's findings provide an understanding of how beauty shops function in the African-American community to transmit ideas and as a supportive "sisterhood." Maybe the prevalence of beauty shops in the African-American community, and the perpetuation of eurocentric beauty standards through their use, causes the stigma associated with black hair to proceed. Battle-Waters racial and gender victorization theory reasserted my question, even though she did not address it, If black women realize stereotypes held about them and reject them, why does natural hair have negative connotations within the African-American community? I will explore Battle-Waters theory more in my lit review. Next, I'll be reading Style and Status Selling Beauty to African-American Women 1920-1975.

Lit Review

I am still working on my lit review and considering people to interview. I am going to schedule some interviews during Mardi Gras break and finish my lit review. The lit review has me bogged down, but I appreciate reading the articles because it provides different perspectives on the issues I want to understand. My lit review also inspires new ideas. I will also set up a natural hair gathering over the break. If the meetup is a success,the meeting can add a lot of insight to my research. I will also incorporate the new question from out last meeting into my interviews, and I'm guessing it will spark interesting conversations.

Randomness

I'm still adding to my lit review, reading articles. I've been considering people to interview. I kind of feel like selecting people would introduce a bias, but then this is sociological research, not psychological research. I need the right blend of people though, a variety of ages and a variety of hair preferences. Hopefully, I can get a lot of participants through word of mouth, maybe once people hear the blog they will be lining up to be interviewed :) It'll come together though. The focus as of now is having a thorough lit review, my main priority.

So What??? Why is this important

I don't want people to think I'm a "straight hair hater." My position is not to persuade every black female to become natural. I simply want to remove the negative connatations from natural hair. I hope black woman can come to appreciate our hair in its natural state and stop denying its beauty. Many woman who I know and have meet allow the state of their hair to dictate their happiness. Sometimes if a woman misses her weekend hair appointment it ruins her entire week. She feels embarassed to be seen in public because of the incoming naps around her edges or the nappy state of her "kitchen." Many woman also avoid certain activities such as sweaty clubs and even swimming because of the threat of their hair "going back." I have nothing against woman wearing their hair straight and I realize it is a matter of opinion on whether to roc' straight hair or kinky hair. What I do not agree with is that black hair is "bad" or not good enough. The implications of black hair as BAD suggests that there is something physical and BIOLOGICAL that makes being black a weakness or a shortcoming.

Randomness

I just finished my rounds in YouTube's natural hair community. Women are prospering from this exposure. One of the ladies I follow is writing a nautral hair book and starting a website, WOW. It's good to see such a positive group of women working together to explore a subject that has been ignored for sometime now, NATURAL black hair care. For years I thought the only options for natural hair was braids. The communities in the blogs and YouTube have enlightened me about the many options available to natural hair. I think a big obstacle for women considering wearing their hair natural is that for years black women have not been taught how to maintain their natural hair. Many women state that they relax their hair because it is easier to manage, but with effort and time it is quite easy to learn to care for natural hair. I did and I think it is worth every black woman learning.

catching up

I haven't blogged in a couple of days, it's hard while trying to catch up on my lit review. I found a book that has really caught my attention, Sheila's Shop. It relates to my interest, but Battle-Walters focuses on how a community develops among working-class black women in the beauty shop setting. Through discussions with these women she also gains some insight into black women's views on relationshiops, politics, and the state of the black community. I have been brainstorming how to make my inquiry novel. I've learned from Battle-Walters reasearch that there is alot of work concerning hair in the black community. I feel like natural hair is making "a comeback" in the African-American community. More people are rockin' locs and natural hair communities are growing like crazy over the web. Women even have meet up's with other napturals to talk about hair. I wish there was a group like that in the area, it would be a GREAT resource for my research. I've been thinking about orgainizing a group, but even though I only have 13 hours this semester is crazy with an Independent study( on a different but related topic) and this Senior Sem. But it would be good to find the time to meet up with other naturals. WHO KNOWS...

Youtube and natural Hair

There is a natural community that dominates Youtube. This community helps support many black women who transition to natural, myself being one of them. The community continues to grow and the more I explore Youtube's natural hair community the more I begin to view women who go natural as a subculture. The subculture of natural hair is interesting, there are blogs and videos that instruct black women how to take care of their hair, with everything from concoting your own hair materials to advice on the best hair care products. Their are videos of women explaining their natural hair journey, with the downfalls and the lessons learn and the obstacles they had to endure from peers. This phenomenon is fascinating to me. I am not aware of any other groups who have formed a community around the care of their hair. It will be informative and enlightening to explore this phenomenon among women of the African-American community more. I have also realized that the natural hair subculture has even developed their own language with terms such as TWA (teeny weeny afro) to BC( big chop) and even the term transitioning. I am interesting in understanding how black women formulate their ideas of beauty, but it I have become most intrigued about the role of hair in the black community. I have to get a better grasp of why natural hair instructional videos are popular among women of the african-american community.

Sources

ALL OF THESE SUMMARIES ARE FROM AMAZON


"Hair Raising: Beauty, Culture, and African-American Women"
Noliwe M. Rooks
Rooks takes an interesting look at the social and political implications that hair has held for African American women. The six chapters discuss hair and its connection to black pride, race, advertising, gender, and women's magazines. She has used advertisements from different periods to trace representations of hair, which she then analyzes to show the political implications for women. She notes that discussions of hair in a political context have taken place in the mainstream press; however, the similarities and differences between the hair of women from the dominant culture and the hair of women of African American descent have never been fully explored. Rooks digs deep to describe how beauty and culture have politicized African American women and demonstrates that Western definitions of beauty are often not endorsed by African American women. Although Rooks' work is written in an academic style, the content is so compelling, readers will be intrigued by the quotes and footnotes rather than overwhelmed. Lillian Lewis --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

"Hair Story"
Ayana D. Byrd and Lori L. Tharps
Whether it's hip-hop diva Lil' Kim's "weave of the week" or activist Angela Davis's Afro, black hair evinces the power to set trends and define icons. In this entertaining and concise survey, Byrd (a research chief for Vibe) and Tharps (a reporter for Entertainment Weekly) revel in the social, cultural and economic significance of African-American hair from 1400 to the present. The opening chapter chronicles the rise of the slave trade, revealing intriguing facts about the significance of hair in African cultureAsuch as that only royalty donned hats or hairpieces, and recently widowed Wolof women stopped maintaining their hair as a sign of their mourning. The authors contextualize issues familiar to African-Americans while explaining black hair culture to the uninformed, so readers who don't already know what "the kitchen" refers to (hair at the nape of the neck, usually the "nappiest") will soon find out. Photos and illustrations are put to effective use, though amusing charts such as "Five Famous Men with Equally Famous Hair" and the "Black Hair Glossary" are out of sync with the text. Meanwhile, significant figures, like Madame C.J. Walker and Nathaniel "The Bush Doctor" Mathis, are revisited in detail in various chapters, resulting in unnecessary repetition. But these are small quibbles with a book that successfully balances popular appeal with historical accuracy, adeptly exploring the roots of pervasive intraracial discrimination while explaining, for example, how the much-maligned Jheri Curl ever became a fad. Agent, Marie Brown. (Feb.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

"Tenderheaded: A Comb-Bending Collection of Hair Stories"
edited by Juilette Harris and Pamela Johnson

Ranging from the shaving of newborns to the coiffing of the dead, from the anecdotal to the scholarly, and from antebellum America to contemporary Africa, this remarkable array of writings and images illuminates black women's hair and its cultural meaning. Embracing all types of hair whether it's relaxed, worn in an Afro, has extensions woven in, is twisted into dreads or shaven off altogether the authors urge readers to respond to their own particular hair without judgment and to view it as an essential part of their personal space. They urge readers to be "tenderheaded" and complain when their scalp hurts, instead of stoically acting like a "strongblackwoman." While entries from famous authors such as Henry Louis Gates Jr., Lucille Clifton and Toni Morrison are often excerpted from previously published works, they gain new dimensions in this context. Yet it's the less well-known contributors who steal the show. Halima Taha, now a Muslim who covers her head, recalls being shunned as a teenager when she got her first Afro. Annabelle Baker explains how her undergraduate career at Hampton College in the 1940s was cut short the day she decided not to process her hair anymore. Yvonne Durant glorifies her grey hair, noting that it seems to have "upped" her I.Q. considerably "at least that's how I'm treated." Beyond the variety of contributors and the provocative quotes and historical tidbits sprinkled between the entries, it's the wealth of feeling rooted in hair that makes this volume so compelling. With its (s)nappy jacket and generous helpings of art and photos, this mini-encyclopedia should attract an avid audience.

Ain't I a Woman: Black Women and Feminism
bell hooks
In this classic study, cultural critic Bell Hooks examines how black women, from the seventeenth century to the present day, were and are oppressed by both white men and black men and by white women. Illustrating her analysis with moving personal accounts, "Ain't I a Woman" is deeply critical of the racism inherent in the thought of many middle-class white feminists who have failed to address issues of race and class. While acknowledging the conflict of loyalty to race or sex is still a dilemma, Hooks challenges the view that race and gender are two separate phenomena, insisting that the struggles to end racism and sexism are inextricably intertwined.

My Hair Story

It took me a while before I actually "went natural." During my sophmore year, Fall 2007, a friend told me she was going natural. When she first said it I did not know what she meant. She went on to explain that she would stop getting relaxers and let her hair revert to its natural state. At first I was confused, "How would she be able to manage her hair in its natural state?" Through our conversation I learned that our hair is very versatile, which I already knew but had never considered. But, by relaxing our hair monthly we limit the range of hair. It had never occured to me that I could always press, or straighten, my hair in its natural state if that was a style I desired. After our conversation I was excited and inspired. The afro look was popular at the time, but many people were achieving this look by sewing artifical hair onto their natural hair. I decided that day that I would not get any more perms and I would allow my hair to grow out in its natural state. At the time I did not realize what I was getting myself into. I did not know how to take care of my hair in its natural state, so as months passed without a relaxer my hair became unmanageable. My friends and family also noticed my transition and were not supportive. I was teased because my edges were "nappy" and there were many times when I was told I needed to "do something to my hair." I went four months without a relaxer and my cousin's wedding was quickly approaching. I was completely out of touch with maintaining my hair, so I felt the only option I had for the wedding was to get a sew-in. The sew-in reminded my of how easy it is to maintain straightened hair and after the wedding I relaxed my hair:( This was the last time I would relax my hair though. I started to research natural hair care and I became more knowledgeable of how to take care of my own hair. This is a sad fact that many African-American women have to face, we have denied our hair for so long that few African-American women understand how to care for black hair. Those who do understand black hair are reserved for the hair salon, which perpetuates our dependency on beauty shops and relaxers. The more I learned about natural hair the more excited I became about transitioning. During my transition I read that natural hair is stronger than relaxer hair and better supports coloring. I decided that I would dye my hair, a huge mistake! My hair begin to break and shed because the straighten ends were weak without the relaxer and also weak compared to my new growth. The breakage became so bad that July 17 I decided to cut my hair to the "new growth." I felt so liberated, but my family was fuming. This is when I started to realize how important hair is in the African-American community. My father even told me my "head looked like a raggedy mop." But I didn't care, I embrace my natural hair through it all. I have been natural for 18 months and I couldn't be happier. This journey is helping me better understand myself and I recognize a lot of growth from this experience. The daily feedback I receive from my hair journey motivates me to understand how beauty is defined by other African-American women. I feel that our current beauty standards are restrictive and harmful. Judge Milan made a great statement that has stuck with me for years. She had a case with a black mother suing a white salon because they relaxed her daughter's hair and made it fall out. Judge Milan sent the child out of the courtroom and went in for the mother. She asked the mother how could she tell her daughter that what God gave her was not good enough. As I watched the show, I was in shock. How could Judge Milan tell us how to take care of our hair. She doesn't understand how hard it is to manage our "nappy hair." We HAVE to get relaxers, it's a MUST. I even told friends about the episode and they all stated the same points. After I went natural, I gained a lot more respect for Judge Milan. She made a valid point that many black mothers need to consider.

Statement of Purpose

So, what is my objective? This will be my second semester working on this project, and I am just beginning grasp what I want to know. Initially, I was interested in understanding why black women reject their hair in its natural state. I never realized the role HAIR plays in the African-American community until I decided to go natural myself. The responses to my transition prompted to me to learn how HAIR has become a defining aspect of African-American culture. As I researched the history of hair in the African-American community I begin to wonder how did we "Black women" develop our conceptualization of hair. I have become passionate about the development of beauty standards in the African-American community because I feel that our negative connotations for natural black hair and some of the skin complexes we develop manifests into self-hatred. This is only a hypothesis and thus I have begun a research project to understand how African-American women develop beauty standards and the implications of our beauty standards.