The natural hair movement was created to empower women of color to wear their hair naturally and appreciate their features. Many people disagree as to when the movement started, some say it started as early as the 60s. With the recent rise of social media platforms and YouTube channels such as Naptural85 and My Natural Sistas, more women are learning about the various ways they can style their hair. However, to some degree, black women have allowed society to control how they wear their hair. For many years black people were so ashamed of their natural hair because they were made to feel that way. The black community has come a long way since then, thanks to the ones before who did not care what anyone thinks. However, black women still feel the pressure of cultural confinements and expectations when it comes to their hair. I had the privilege of having a conversation with three black women who each had different experiences in regards to Afro-American hair.
Some of the questions I asked them were “How do you feel about the natural hair movement or lack thereof on campus? What do you think black men think about black women’s hair? How do feel non-black people respond to black women’s natural hair?”
Samanta Richards, a junior, commented, “I don’t think it was a unified effort. Some people go back and forth from weave to natural. In most cases, black guys get stuck on length. They make you feel like you should wear a weave or a wig. A lot of that comes from the women they see in music videos. Since white people started doing things to themselves, they began to give us compliments about our features.”
Shanell Morrison, a senior, said, “When I see girls wear their natural hair, I think, ‘Oh, that’s lit, that’s nice.’ I feel like the movement gained popularity three or four years ago. Still, black people are becoming more accustomed to less ‘blackness’. In terms of non-black people, there’s a difference between exoticizing our hair and truly appreciating it for what it is. I feel like they are benefitting from the natural movement as well. They are taking things from us and making it theirs.”
Janessa Wallerson, a junior, also commented, “Some guys are like, “I like natural girls.’ But they tend to go for a looser curl pattern. I feel like it’s become the norm for us to accept that. To them, it’s more pleasing to the eye to see hair that is less kinky and coarse.”
I went to a predominantly white New England Prep School, and in my junior and senior years, I experimented a lot with my natural hair. I wore a lot of afros. My classmates (mostly white and Asian) loved seeing me wear my hair like that. They were actually the ones who inspired me to wear my hair that way. I’m sure some of them loved how “wild” and “exotic” my hair seemed, even though they never said that to my face.
The strict guidelines for hair styling affect black men too, particularly in the corporate world. Intelligent, educated black men who wear dreadlocks are consistently refused employment, even if they are neatly styled.
African American hair can seem “unkempt” in its natural state even when it has been brushed and combed. Our hair grows “out” and not “down.” Because many corporations and institutions don’t think this is neat, we are often told to “tone it down.” However, my counterpart who has straighter hair most likely will not face that same reaction. When they comb or brush their hair, it appears “neat” because it stays down! So, then, is an afro hairstyle is not suitable for the corporate world?
It is one thing to arrive to school or work with hair that is obviously dirty, smelly, tangled, etc. That’s not acceptable for any type of hair. But to say that something is not “neat” because it is not styled the way you might like it to be styled is truly messed up. What are we teaching people? That they need to do their best to make their hair look like “the other.” They’ll never get there, but they should try their best to “tone it down” so that “the other” can tolerate it. I don’t have a solution to the conflict right now. For sure, us natural hair advocates need to work hard to establish our own business and corporations so that the standards of what is “neat” and “acceptable” begin to change.
And how should black women wear their hair? I say, wear whatever makes you feel comfortable and beautiful. Don’t style yourself for anyone’s approval but your own. We should be celebrating people for who they are instead of pressuring them to conform to an artificial standard of beauty.