Reclaiming Power: The Effect of White Supremacy on Coloured/Black Womens' Hair
Using the following quote by Bell Hooks, "In those days, this process of straightening black women’s hair with a hot comb (invented by Madame C. J. Walker) was not connected in my mind with the effort to look white, to live out standards of beauty set by white supremacy. It was connected solely with rites of initiation into womanhood. To arrive at that point where one’s hair could be straightened was to move from being perceived as child (whose hair could be neatly combed and braided) to being almost a woman”, (Hooks, 1989)
This essay serves to:
⦁ Interrogate the effect of white supremacy on coloured/black women's hair,
⦁ Question/Interrogate how this is something that coloured/black women only come to learn later on in life and,
⦁ Briefly, discuss the natural hair phenomenon that is taking the world by storm.
⦁
By curating 10 objects that serve to create an experience that is both nostalgic and thought-provoking. The following essay serves to articulate what …show more content…
The reason why these bodies or this hair is oppressed is as a result of colonisation. Hair has always been an important issue in many black cultures, (Erasmus, 1997) and will continue to be an important issue for as long as black people are no longer affected by Western beauty standards and as soon as black people start being taken seriously with their natural hair. Often a time, when you get your hair straightened, you feel the most beautiful, if not, you cover it up or stay indoors. The process of having your "black hair" straightened in order to fit into Western beauty standards is not something that is unique to South African coloured or black women, it is experienced by black women across the globe (Erasmus,
Using the following quote by Bell Hooks, "In those days, this process of straightening black women’s hair with a hot comb (invented by Madame C. J. Walker) was not connected in my mind with the effort to look white, to live out standards of beauty set by white supremacy. It was connected solely with rites of initiation into womanhood. To arrive at that point where one’s hair could be straightened was to move from being perceived as child (whose hair could be neatly combed and braided) to being almost a woman”, (Hooks, 1989)
This essay serves to:
⦁ Interrogate the effect of white supremacy on coloured/black women's hair,
⦁ Question/Interrogate how this is something that coloured/black women only come to learn later on in life and,
⦁ Briefly, discuss the natural hair phenomenon that is taking the world by storm.
⦁
By curating 10 objects that serve to create an experience that is both nostalgic and thought-provoking. The following essay serves to articulate what …show more content…
The reason why these bodies or this hair is oppressed is as a result of colonisation. Hair has always been an important issue in many black cultures, (Erasmus, 1997) and will continue to be an important issue for as long as black people are no longer affected by Western beauty standards and as soon as black people start being taken seriously with their natural hair. Often a time, when you get your hair straightened, you feel the most beautiful, if not, you cover it up or stay indoors. The process of having your "black hair" straightened in order to fit into Western beauty standards is not something that is unique to South African coloured or black women, it is experienced by black women across the globe (Erasmus,