I’m a small, curly, half black, half Mexican women who doesn’t conform to gender norms. It’s not because I look down upon people who dress up and wear make-up, I appreciate the hard work that many people go through to look fabulous. The whole makeup business isn’t really for me though, and while I’m not super proud of how I look, I’m not really willing to put in the extra effort to put on make-up or shave the hair on my legs every morning. For the paper, I adhered to gender norm and I decided to straighten my hair and wear it down for a whole day. I went to Yehia & Co Hair Design in Hyde Park, where I requested to get a trim and get my hair straightened. Now, this wasn’t the first time I’ve ever had my straightened, I probably straightened
…show more content…
Jill Nelson wrote, “The apparently neverending popularity of a variety of straightening devices, from the hot comb to chemical straighteners-now euphemistically called “relaxers,” as if the problem is that sister’s hair is uptight and all we need to do is to get it to cool out-attests to this”(2009). In other words, Nelson is saying that black beauty is based on how white they can be by changing who they are. Nelson talks about how having lighter skin makes it easier for black women to adhere to white beauty, and having straight hair is also a factor for white beauty. Companies, created by white people no less, create products which help straighten hair. The problem with this is, black people are not celebrated for what they have, but instead of what they have of someone else’s culture. People don’t desire black women (or any other person of color) unless they follow white beauty; they have to have light skin, thin bodies, and straight hair. That’s why when I hear, “you look so beautiful”, they’re actually saying, “you look more white”! Not to say that white women aren’t beautiful or that straight hair is wrong, but when my culture and curly hair aren’t considered to be feminine enough, then the gender norm cannot be trusted because it’s based on the foundation not made by
Jill Nelson wrote, “The apparently neverending popularity of a variety of straightening devices, from the hot comb to chemical straighteners-now euphemistically called “relaxers,” as if the problem is that sister’s hair is uptight and all we need to do is to get it to cool out-attests to this”(2009). In other words, Nelson is saying that black beauty is based on how white they can be by changing who they are. Nelson talks about how having lighter skin makes it easier for black women to adhere to white beauty, and having straight hair is also a factor for white beauty. Companies, created by white people no less, create products which help straighten hair. The problem with this is, black people are not celebrated for what they have, but instead of what they have of someone else’s culture. People don’t desire black women (or any other person of color) unless they follow white beauty; they have to have light skin, thin bodies, and straight hair. That’s why when I hear, “you look so beautiful”, they’re actually saying, “you look more white”! Not to say that white women aren’t beautiful or that straight hair is wrong, but when my culture and curly hair aren’t considered to be feminine enough, then the gender norm cannot be trusted because it’s based on the foundation not made by