Hair Policing, Team Natural, and The Roots of Black Hair Care

With the growth and evolution of the internet and social media Black women have found ways to make safe spaces on the internet. One movement that has allowed many Black women to embrace their curls, kinks, and coils is the natural hair movement. However, with the decrease in sales of relaxers, also known as a perm or "creamy crack", policing of hair texture has become common on social media sites. Trigger fingers typing away in an attempt to force people to embrace their natural textures and abandon chemically straightening their naturally curly strands.

Assimilation 

One conversation that has been occurring on social media platforms has been on the topic of cultural appropriation. A large part of the debates on cultural appropriation stems from Non-Black women who choose to appropriate Black culture by sporting cornrows, box braids, faux locs, and Bantu knots some have even gone as far as to rename them calling cornrows "boxer braids" or Bantu knots "twisties." Not only do these styles get renamed but the connotation with them also changes the cultural styles on Black women are called Ghetto or used to feed into racial stereotypes while on non-Black women they get to be seen as trendy. For example, Giuliana Rancic referred to Kylie Jenner's faux locks as trendy while making a joke that Black starlet Zendaya smelled like patchouli oil when she sported the look on the red carpet. Many of the non-Black women who have worn these styles in the name of "serving looks on the gram" used the argument of: "How are Black women wearing their hair straight or wearing weaves and wigs not appropriating White culture?" There are a plethora of issues with the argument. For starters, straight hair is a gene, not a cultural hairstyle and not everyone with straight hair is White. Also, a collective "White" culture doesn't exist the term "Black" culture exists because slavery was a cultural genocide that forced Black people in the western hemisphere to rebuild and create their own since their African origins remain unknown. Those unknown origins are why these cultural styles contain so much significance. Not only are protective styles an effective way to protect and maintain our curls kinks and coils, but they carry historical significance. During slavery braiding patterns were used to hide food and to even create escape maps that slave masters and overseers couldn't detect or understand. Braids and braiding patterns are filled with a rich history and help to create a connection to our roots. Braids are not only a fashion statement but a cultural hairstyle that is meant to be protective and protected. 

Though these protective styles, sporting a wash and go, braids, and twist out can all be seen as a statement, many of us are still forced to "assimilate" in order to maintain jobs and access to social organizations. The first Black millionaire, Madam CJ Walker, built her fortune through homemade hair products and inventing a hair press system to help Black women with scalp care and straighten their hair. Though things like the hot comb and hair grease seem dated they still are used today in an attempt to straighten strands. I like many have been burned by one in an attempt to straighten out my strands while remaining "natural". Though some people don't understand the social pressure to straighten hair, today in 2020, Black children are expelled from school due to their hair, banned from walking during graduation, all while Black adults are being overlooked for jobs because their natural hair was deemed as unprofessional for the workplace. Straight or "kept" hair and hairstyles are still expected and enforced on Black people in order to participate and survive in the dominant culture. 

Natural Hair as a Statement

The Black Panther Party sported all black clothing with afros picked to perfection. In an infamous clip of Kathleen Cleaver explaining the significance of the afro, this benefited not only the movement but helped promote the pro-Black wave. The afro became both a fashion and political statement in the 60s and 70s. Due to the afros association with the BPP and Black activists, it adopted a political connotation. Dreadlocks have been the preferred styles of Bob Marley, Lauryn Hill, Toni Morrison, and countless other Black figures they still have been used in order to play into racial tropes and have been policied by various institutions. This lack of respect for dreads and miseducation surrounding them is one of the reasons why Zendaya corrected Giuliana Rancic on her racially insensitive joke. Even though natural hair has been associated with the BPP and pro-Black figures and movements, today wearing natural hair is not always a "political" statement or "radical" in the same way that choosing to relax or press hair can be a stylistic choice and or a matter of preference.

The history and roots of Black Hair and Black Hair Care can be unpacked in a multitude of articles, books, and documentaries. However, it is important to support the choices Black women make with and for their hair care. Attacking her choice to relax, press, or wear extensions is equally as problematic as calling another Black women's fro, braids, or twist unkept. Black hair holds a variety of styles, textures, and stories which should all be celebrated.

As Usual, Thank You For Keeping Up With Kat