Talkin' 'bout Good and Bad Hair: Understanding the Historical Implications
The most discoursed topic of Black hair is good versus bad hair. What is bad hair and what is good hair? Generally speaking from a stereotypical standpoint, bad hair is considered coarse, kinky, short, tightly coiled, or nappy hair; good hair is long wavy, curly, silky hair. The notion that long and silky hair is considered the better hair type for Black women is deeply rooted in Black women’s perception of beauty and the influence of European ideals of beauty on Black society. “Competing mythologies on something as deceptively insignificant as hair still haunt and complicate African-Americans’ self-identities, and their ideals of beauty, thus revealing broad and complex social, historical, and political realities” (Lester 203). The standards of European beauty shape Black women’s standards and ultimately become a part of self identification, where the grade, texture and length of a woman’s hair can build or diminish her self-esteem.
In order to understand the ramifications of Black ideals of hair and self worth, one must understand the history of African-Americans and the implications of beauty. Much of it is based on the racism and the history of the United States. “During slavery, Black women who were lighter-skin and had features that were associated with white progeny (e.g. wavy or straight hair, White/European facial features) tended to be house slaves and those women with darker-skin hues, kinky hair and broader facial features tended to be field slaves” (Patton 26). Thus, the concept of light-skin with good hair being better than dark-skin with kinky hair was established. The American Anglo-Saxon opinion of kinky/nappy hair was undesirable and straighter hair was favored and rewarded. For Black people, hair type became a defining institution of self-worth and importance in American society.
Stereotypical Good Hair 
Stereotypical Bad HairSpike Lee’s 1988 film, School Daze, highlights some of the intricacies of Black hair and skin color in one of the scenes in the movie. The group of light-skin girls with long, wavy or straight hair are the wanna-bes (the wanna-be whites) and the group of dark-skin girls are the jiggaboos (an offensive term for a dark skin person). The groups are against each other because the wanna-bes think they are better than everyone else because of their hair texture and skin color. The dark-skin girls are attempting to prove their self-worth through the insults they throw at the light-skin girls. This scene is a satirical view into the shallowness of some Black women’s identity; her identity is surrounded by what she perceives is the beauty of her hair.
Straighten out that Kitchen! : The Evolution and Revolution of Black Hair Care Products and Hairstyles
“The hair on the back of the head is notoriously recalcitrant. It’s called the ‘kitchen’ […] No one knows why, but in the old days hair was greased and hot combed bone-straight next to the kitchen stove where the hot-comb got heated” (Monroe 518). For some, hair is straightened or manipulated for easier to manage, day to day styling and/or for aesthetic reasons. And for this reason Madame C.J. Walker, the first African-American self-made woman millionaire, made a fortune with her invention of the hot-comb and other black hair care products in 1905. Later in 1909, Garrett A. Morgan, the inventor of the gas mask and the traffic light, stumbled upon the invention of the hair relaxer. As the years progressed, relaxed, permed, and processed hair, along with the uniqueness of cornrows, braids, and weaved hair became an element of the norm for Black culture.
Hair being Hot Combed
Over the Years…
During the 1940s, the conk became a popular hairstyle amongst African-American men, where a cream, lotion, or pomade would chemically straighten a man’s naturally kinky hair. “[…] The element of straightening suggested resemblance to white people’s hair, but the nuances, inflections and accentuations introduced by artificial means of stylization emphasized difference” (Mercer 47). Although, Black people were chemically straightening their hair in order to be compared to the naturally straight hair of whites, the styles that evolved from chemically straightened hair created a difference in cultural hairstyles.
Conk Hairstyle
In the 1960s, the slogan “Black is Beautiful”, influenced many African-Americans to embrace the naturalness of their physical appearance. This mantra was a self-affirmation that was opposing to the idea of Black as dark, ugly, unworthy and monstrous. It was slogan of self-empowerment that inspired African-Americans to not be influenced by the standards of beauty in European culture. Natural hairstyles, like Afros and dreadlocks became popular in the Black is Beautiful movement(Mercer 33).
“The Afro, popularized in the United States in the period of Black Power, has been displaced through the 1970s by a new range of black hair-styles, of which the curly-perm is just one of the most popular” (Mercer 34). This trend of the curly perm, later branded as the Jheri Curl became a hit amongst African-Americans in the early 1980s. In Robert Mark Silverman’s article, “Black Business, Group Resources, and the Economic Detour”, a black manufacturer comments on the popularity of the Jheri Curl in the United States in the 1980s. “We were riding on a fad, the curly hair thing. Then, the comedians started jumping on it, and teasing Black folks about the grease, and the this, and the that. So that thing started to go down” (Silverman 242).
The Jheri Curl
From then on, African-American culture saw a balance between chemically treated hair and natural hair: Afros, dreads, braids, and also false hair like wigs, weave and/or extensions. There has however been a reemergence of natural hair or unrelaxed, non-chemically treated hairstyles that have become popular in recent years. Black women are becoming more cautious about the chemicals and products used in their hair, and as a result some chose not to damage their hair with harsh chemicals. It is important to understand that natural hair is not necessarily better or worse than relaxed hair, it is just about a woman’s personal preference.
Relaxed Hair
Natural HairIt Ain't Even Real: Images of Black Hair in the Media
“In the media, many of the African American women who are glorified for their beauty tend to be lighter-skinned women who have long, wavy hair. However, this reification of the beauty standard does not come solely from the African American community but also from the Euro American community, which promotes the acceptable standard of beauty”(Patton 39). Patton’s theory is evident in some of the most popular Black celebrities in America in the 21st century. R&B/ pop singers like Beyonce, Cassie, Amerie, just to name a few, are very successful Black women who happened to be lighter-skin with long hair. Coincidence? While Cassie and Amerie are of mixed heritage (Black and Asian), their long and wavy are genetic. However Beyonce, has dyed her hair several shades of blonde and brunette along with different wigs, weaves, and hair pieces for each public appearance she makes. Of course, there is nothing wrong with experimenting with one’s appearance and viewing hairstyles as an accessory; but images of Beyonce can become one of the only standards of beauty for young black women. Would Beyonce be as successful, global, and one of the top crossover artists of our generation if she were just as beautiful and talented but with dark-skin and natural kinky hair? This question doesn’t infer that being light-skin with beautiful hair (hers or otherwise) is the only standard for being a grand slam success in the entertainment industry, but it is inferring that it definitely helps.
Is that Beyonce? Yes...it is.
Beyonce
R&B singer Cassie
R&B singer Amerie
This is not to say that America has not embraced certain shades of Black and Black hair texture, but America does so in different forms of the media. Talk show host, philanthropist, millionaire, and the most famous African-American woman in the 21st century, Oprah Winfrey, does not fit into Patton’s standard of glorified beauty. Oprah has dealt with many things in her personal life and career but it is the content of Oprah’s celebrity that has helped her rise to her stature without fitting the standards of the Black cover girl.
Former supermodel and talk show host, Tyra Banks is notorious, especially as of late, for dawning some of the most elaborate artificial tresses. With every show or appearance there would be a different wig or weave. Weave is a comfort for some women, particularly African-American whose hair may be too stressed and damaged from chemical processing, hot combs, and/or braids to effectively grow as long, strong and as healthy as they would like. Thus weave, has become a staple in the self-esteem of some black women. On a recent episode of The Tyra Show, Tyra decided to show her audience her real hair, free from styling, weaves or wigs. This was one of the first steps popular African-American women have made in claiming their identity detached from their hair.
Chris Rock’s documentary, Good Hair, depicts the complexities of Black women and their hair, along with examining the politics and business of Black hair care. His documentary was inspired by his young daughter who asked her father, “Daddy, why don’t I have good hair?” Through comedy, interviews, and personal experience, his documentary is an effort to prove, not just to Black women, but to the Black community and beyond, that hair doesn’t have to define the worth of a woman. The fact that Chris Rock and the Black women in this movie are exposing African-American hair secrets is more proof that the African-American community is making strides to be comfortable with their natural beauty alongside beauty that may be enhanced.
Neosoul singer, India Arie, is a figure in Black entertainment that has gone through several transformations in hairstyles: dreads, Afros, and other natural hairstyles. Her display of confidence to experiment with different perceptions of Black hair are admirable and an example for Black females everywhere. In her song, “I am Not my Hair”, she sings about the stereotypes and cultural structures of hair and how women become defined by their type of hair. Her goal is to prove to the listener of her music and the watcher of her video that she can overcome being identified by their hair as well.
That's yo' Real Hair?!: Embracing our Natural Roots
In an effort to get back to our roots, historically and biologically, some Black women have begun to re-embrace their natural hair. Black women “go natural”, as it is commonly referred to, or stop chemically treating their hair with relaxers, because they want healthier hair and/or they don’t want to confine to the norm of society’s Euro American standards of women. “We saw how the biological determinism of classical racist ideology first 'politicized' our hair: its logic of devalorization of blackness radically devalued our hair, debarring it from access to dominant regimes of the 'truth of beauty'” (Mercer 40). Because of the stigma, the process, and the effort, there are even support groups, blogs, and specialized hair stylist for women growing out their chemically treated hair to their natural hair. Hair will remain an important identifier of Black heritage, but it does not have to be the sole definition of who Black people are. Some Black people are beginning to embrace their differences through their skin color and hair but are not allowing it to define them by African-American standards or Euro American standards.
Bibliography
Lester, Neal A. “Nappy Edges and Goldy Locks: African-American Daughters and the Politics of Hair”. The Lion and the Unicorn. Volume 24. Number 2. April 2000. http://muse.jhu.edu.ezproxy.auctr.edu:2051/journals/lion_and_the_unicorn/v024/24.2lester.pdf
Mercer, Kobena. “Black Hair/Style Politics”. New Formations. Number 3. Winter 1987. http://www.amielandmelburn.org.uk/collections/newformations/03_33.pdf
Monroe, Debra. “The Time to be Lovely is Always”. Callaloo. Volume 32. Number 2. Spring 2009. http://muse.jhu.edu.ezproxy.auctr.edu:2051/journals/callaloo/v032/32.2.monroe.pdf
Patton, Tracey Owens. “Hey Girl, Am I More than My Hair?: African American Women and Their Struggles with Beauty, Body Image, and Hair”. NWSA Journal. Volume 18. Number 2. Summer 2006. http://muse.jhu.edu.ezproxy.auctr.edu:2051/journals/nwsa_journal/v018/18.2patton.pdf
Silverman, Robert Mark. “Black Business, Group Resources, and the Economic Detour: Contemporary Black Manufacturers in Chicago's Ethnic Beauty Aids Industry”. Journal of Black Studies, Vol. 30, No. 2 Nov., 1999. http://www.jstor.org.ezproxy.auctr.edu:2051/stable/pdfplus/2645850.pdf
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