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My hair, my choice.



Solange Knowles’ famous “Don’t Touch My Hair” has a lot of meanings. Whether you do not comment on my hair or you literally do not touch my hair. Black women have been creating and innovating different styles since the dawn of time. However, things are a little different when it comes to the media. A black woman wearing her natural hair causes an uproar. There are people telling her it looks unprofessional, and there are some scenarios where they are asked to change it. Stacey Abrams, a political figure, wears her natural hair and felt a little uneasy about it when starting her campaign for governor. Straight hair on African American women is seen as professional. There is nothing wrong with it, but it should not be the standard. NBC’s article about the Crown act being passed talked about everything going into this. Representative Cori Bush stated, “As a Black woman who loves my braids, I know what it's like to feel isolated because of how I wear my hair. This is the last time we say no more to Black people being made to feel like we have to straighten our hair to be deemed professional." (Paragraph 13) There were certain officials that felt like there were bigger issues at hand which proves the point. Another representative said that her previous employer deemed her hair an embarrassment. The Crown Act was passed on March 18th, 2022. It has almost been a year since this accomplishment and I couldn’t be more proud.

Citations:

“House Passes Crown Act Banning Discrimination against Black Hairstyles.” NBCNews.com, NBCUniversal News Group, 18 Mar. 2022, https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/house-passes-crown-act-banning-discrimination-black-hairstyles-rcna20617.



Comments

  1. Jailyn HarrisJanuary 30, 2023 at 8:47 AM

    I connect heavily with the central theme of your blog post as I am a Black woman who has experienced several awkward and outright scrutinies when it comes to the topic of my hair. The debate of it all started when I was in middle school when I transferred from a primarily Black school to a majority White private school. Here I was met with many discussions centering my hair including whether it was real, why I don’t wash it every day, or why I wear a bonnet to bed. These questions were tiresome to answer and at times they weren’t even questions, just another ignorant comment with the goal of mocking me for being different. Social media was beginning to be on the rise during my late-middle school/early highschool journey and it was from there that I saw other children being treated at odds due to the hair that grows out of their scalp. One example was when highschool wrestler, Andrew Johnson, was forced to cut off his dreadlocks for the continuation of his match. This was a clear abuse of power and an outright act of racism. The Crown Act, as you mentioned, is a great thing for the future of not only the school environment, but the workplace as well. Ethnic hair is still misunderstood by White America and seen as a defiance against Eurocentric beauty standards. With the act banning the discrimination of Black hairstyles, there is more space for Black people to do tasks comfortably in society.

    Sources:

    Lee, D. (2022, March 19). House passes Crown Act which bans discrimination against African American hairstyles. https://www.wtoc.com. Retrieved January 30, 2023, from https://www.wtoc.com/2022/03/19/house-passes-crown-act-which-bans-discrimination-against-african-american-hairstyles/

    Stubbs, R. (2019, April 18). A wrestler was forced to cut his dreadlocks before a match. his town is still looking for answers. The Washington Post. Retrieved January 30, 2023, from https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2019/04/17/wrestler-was-forced-cut-his-dreadlocks-before-match-his-town-is-still-looking-answers/

    ReplyDelete
  2. Political EmpowHERmentFebruary 5, 2023 at 4:33 PM

    I think the attention that other people give to Black women's hair is so interesting.To have admiration or harmless curiosity is one thing, but to claim it is unprofessional and distracting is another. I have found that if my hair is braided and i go on vacation outside of the country, women want to know about or touch my hair. I feel like when it comes to that they are genuinely curious so I do not mind answering the questions they have.I think Society has swayed the minds of so many Black women and girls that natural hair is not the most desirable. Not only is natural hair seen as undesirable, but any type of braids are not that much better in some eyes either. Black women should be able to wear their hair however they please and not feel like society has such a looming hand in choice of style.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Keenan M. TaylorFebruary 20, 2023 at 1:48 PM

    As a Black man, I have had my fair share of interactions due to my natural hair. Growing up, I wasn't given the freedom to try out new hairstyles, as I would always get an all-around low and even also known as a skint head. As I grew older and had more control over my head, I experimented with multiple Black hairstyles such as mohawks, afros, braids, twists, cornrows, and, most recently, locs. When my brother was interning with the Disney College Program, he experienced unjust treatment cause of the hair that grows naturally from our scalps. Now, Disney offers the Disney College Program HBCU Cohart, allowing participants to be themselves.

    ReplyDelete

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