A F R O C H I C K M A G A Z I N E | Vol. 1 (December 2013) | Page 13

A F R O C H I C K | M A G A Z I N E 13

In 15th century Africa, hairstyles were used to indicate a person's marital status, age, religion,
ethnic identity, wealth and rank within the community (see Byrd & Tharps, 2001; Jacobs-Huey,
2006; Mercer, 1994; Patton, 2006; Rooks, 1996). Once enslaved, hair became more a matter of
the labour one was forced to do. For instance, field slaves often hid their hair, whereas house
slaves had to wear wigs similar to their slave owners, who also adorned wigs during this period.
In the early 1900s, Madam C.J. Walker received a patent for developing the “hot comb” also
known as a “pressing comb”. This device was the first of its kind to be marketed by a black
woman to other black women, and it completely changed the hair game. Once the straightened
hair was exposed to moisture, however, it would revert back to its original state. In the 1960s,
George E. Johnson’s chemical straightener, also known as a “relaxer” [3] was promoted as a less
damaging product to the hair and scalp; it was a more convenient way to straighten hair since it
could be applied at home and it was more permanent – only requiring re-application every two to
three months. Today, it is estimated that 70% to 80% of black women chemically straighten their
hair. In the 1980s, weaves raised the black beauty bar even higher to hair that is not just straight,
but also very long (Banks, 2000; Byrd & Tharps, 2001; Tate, 2007). Hair weaving is a process
by which synthetic or real human hair is sewn into one's own hair. Celebrities like Janet Jackson,
Diana Ross, Tyra Banks and Naomi Campbell have openly admitted to wearing weaves. There
are many different ways to wear a weave. A woman may braid her hair and then sew “tracks”
(strips of hair) onto the braided hair, or using a bonding method, tracks can be glued to the hair at
the root. Braid extensions are similarly a method where synthetic hair is braided into a person’s
own hair, thereby creating the illusion of long hair with braids that can stay in for a long period
of time. In her book, Hair Raising: Beauty, Culture, and African American Women, Noliwe
Rooks (1996) recalls a memory from her childhood that underscores the relationship between
hair and identity for black women. She writes, “When I went South for the summer, my
grandmother could not get me to Miss Ruby’s beauty parlor and a straightening comb fast
enough....She reasoned that because no one was ever going to mistake me for having anything
other than African ancestry due to the dark color of my skin ...straightening my hair would give
me an advantage in the world. It was one less battle that would have to be fought,” (p. 3-4).
For young black girls, hair is not just something to play with, it is something that is laden with
messages, and it has the power to dictate how others treat you, and in turn, how you feel about
yourself. As Rooks (1996) affirms, “Hair in 1976 spoke to racial identity politics as well as
bonding between African American women. Its style could lead to acceptance or rejection from
certain groups and social classes, and its styling could provide the possibility of a career” (p. 56). While this quote is an historical one, the issues revealed throughout this article are eerily
current. Prior to examining these tensions, it is imperative that the topic is placed in context with
prior works from scholars who have explored it from ethnographic standpoints (Banks, 2000;
Jacobs-Huey, 2006; Tate, 2007), and with those who have provided varying perspectives on hair
alteration, ritual, and community through textual analysis of media texts, advertisements, and
case law (Byrd & Tharps, 2001; Caldwell, 1991; Patton, 2006; Rooks, 1996).
In her study, Ingrid Banks (2000) used interviews and focus-group methods to explore how black
women and girls of diverse ages and socioeconomic class feel about their hair choices, and in
turn, their identities, community, gender, sexuality, and cultural authenticity. Anthropologist
Lanita Jacobs-Huey (2006) took a slightly different ethnographic approach to her study by
examining the role of language in negotiating the social meaning of hair for African American