Roots of Criticism

The video ‘Lockin’ Up” was a great example of how criticisms concerning hairstyles and hair textures stem not only from outside communities, but also within the black community. I could especially relate to the idea of good hair versus bad hair. During conversations with black friends on campus about hair, I have often heard them refer to another black woman’s hair as “good” based on how loose her curls are—a misconception that I frequently confront within my family as well. Over this past summer, while I was searching for employment my oldest brother suggested that I relax my hair rather than sport an Afro to increase my success in securing a job. His argument was that because the majority of employers would be white, I should straighten my hair because it would look more presentable to them, but not him because the appearance of my hair did not concern him. Despite his claim that my hair did not matter to him, I knew that deep down it did; he was insinuating that I do not have good hair, so I should straighten it and “leave it down,” I should correct my hair. I faced similar sentiments from my aunt and uncle in Chicago and my aunt in Alabama. My family’s disapproval of my Afro and their suggestion that I relax it to expand my opportunities and even to get a boyfriend is painful. In these situations, the question that always arises in my mind is why it acceptable for a white woman to wear her hair “down” in its natural state, but it is unpresentable for a black woman to way her hair “up” in an Afro in an Afro in its natural state? Despite my family’s painful comments about my hair, I cannot blame them too much because their criticisms are rooted in a white model of beauty that has been and continues to be imposed on people of color.