Born and raised in New York City, it is easy to say that it is common for one to go to a Dominican hair salons located throughout uptown Manhattan. Growing up I have always gotten my hair done by Dominican women, and getting my hair cut involved constant compliments of having “pelo muy bueno” and other women trying to convince me to not cut it. But what made my hair so special to be held in a high throne for it to be too good to cut, why did these women not appreciate their own hair as much? The goal of hair salons is to make the customer leave with an impressive new look and the newest beauty trend. Women enter every day to conceal their natural hair, no longer for one’s personal satisfaction, rather to pleasure societies beauty ideals. It
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Having pelo bueno (good hair) is a physical trait that is expected from Dominican women by Dominican men, the concept of having good hair allows one to have privilege and serve the looks of a good wife. The importance of the physicality of a woman’s hair in this society has interfered with the true power and knowledge women hold beyond whether they have straight or kinky hair. The style of hair has perpetuated the ideal that women have the need to hide their natural hair to be respected and be classified as beautiful. The ideal of straight hair in the Dominican Republic has went beyond than just a beauty ideal, it has been led to be a part of the Dominican culture. The way one styles their hair has been viewed as the same notion as when one cooks a specific food-dish to represent their culture. Yet, unlike the various food dishes that can represent a culture, the styling of hair can only be one type, straight …show more content…
As a man that shares the same race, ethnicity and culture of people from both European and African nations, it was hard for him to choose one over the other. Similar to the difficulty Walcott experiences, women in the Dominican Republic there is an individual sense of identity that arises from culture influences, which defines one’s character. This has created societal beauty ideals in this country’s culture to prevent women from identifying directly to one culture. Like Walcott his mixture of blood and diverse cultural influences in his life, makes him feel isolated and create a mixture of hybridity
Having pelo bueno (good hair) is a physical trait that is expected from Dominican women by Dominican men, the concept of having good hair allows one to have privilege and serve the looks of a good wife. The importance of the physicality of a woman’s hair in this society has interfered with the true power and knowledge women hold beyond whether they have straight or kinky hair. The style of hair has perpetuated the ideal that women have the need to hide their natural hair to be respected and be classified as beautiful. The ideal of straight hair in the Dominican Republic has went beyond than just a beauty ideal, it has been led to be a part of the Dominican culture. The way one styles their hair has been viewed as the same notion as when one cooks a specific food-dish to represent their culture. Yet, unlike the various food dishes that can represent a culture, the styling of hair can only be one type, straight …show more content…
As a man that shares the same race, ethnicity and culture of people from both European and African nations, it was hard for him to choose one over the other. Similar to the difficulty Walcott experiences, women in the Dominican Republic there is an individual sense of identity that arises from culture influences, which defines one’s character. This has created societal beauty ideals in this country’s culture to prevent women from identifying directly to one culture. Like Walcott his mixture of blood and diverse cultural influences in his life, makes him feel isolated and create a mixture of hybridity