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Written By Admin on Friday, May 23, 2014 | 12:46 AM

Source:- Google.com.pk

Black Hairstyles Biography

Historically, sub-Saharan Africans, as in every culture, developed hairstyles that defined status, or identity, in regards to age, ethnicity, wealth, social rank, marital status, religion, fertility, manhood, and death. Hair was carefully groomed by those who understood the aesthetic standard, as the social implications of hair grooming were a significant part of community life. Dense, thick, clean and neatly groomed hair was something highly admired and sought after. Hair groomers possessed unique styling skills allowing them to create a variety of designs that met the local cultural standards. Hair was usually dressed according to local culture.

Communities across the continent invented diverse ways of styling Afro-textured hair. Historically often the head female of the household groomed her family's hair and taught her craft to her daughters. In some cases, an elder facilitated the transfer of hair grooming skills.

In many traditional cultures, communal grooming was a social event when a woman could socialize and strengthen bonds between herself, other women and their families. Historically, hair braiding was not a paid trade. Since the African diaspora, in the 20th and 21st centuries it has developed as a multi-million dollar business in such regions as the United States and western Europe. An individual's hair groomer was usually someone whom they knew closely. Sessions included shampooing, oiling, combing, braiding, and twisting, plus adding accessories.

For shampooing, black soap was widely used in nations in West and Central Africa. Additionally palm oil and palm kernel oil were popularly used for oiling the scalp. Shea butter has traditionally been used to moisturize and dress the hair: a yellow variety is popular in West Africa, and a white variety in East Africa. In North Africa Argan Oil was applied to the hair and/or scalp for protection against the arid environment and intense sun.

Hair grooming was considered an important, intimate, spiritual part of one's overall wellness. It could last hours or days depending on the hair style and skill required. The European slave trade and the height of the Arab Slave Trade disrupted numerous traditional cultures in sub-Saharan Africa.

The Politics of Black Hair

In the 1960s, natural Black hair was transformed from a simple expression of style into a revolutionary political statement. It became a fundamental tool of the Black movement in America, and “[h]air came to symbolize either a continued move toward integration in the American political system or a growing cry for Black power and nationalism” ^[15]^:51. Prior to this, the idealized Black person (especially Black women) “had many Eurocentric features, including hairstyles” ^[15]^:29. However, during the movement, the Black community endeavoured to define their own ideals and beauty standards and hair became a central icon which was “promoted as a way of challenging mainstream standards regarding hair” ^[16]^:35. During this time, black hair “was at its height of politicization,” and wearing an Afro was an easily distinguishable physical expression of black pride and the rejection of societal norms ^[16]^:43. Jesse Jackson, a political activist and well-known cultural icon, says that “the way [he] wore [his] hair was an expression of the rebellion of the time” ^[15]^:55. Black militants and members belonging to the movement perpetuated the idea that straightening one’s hair, whether chemically or with the use of heat, was an act of self-hatred and a sign of internalized oppression imposed by White mainstream media. At this time, a Black person’s “ability to conform to mainstream standards of beauty [was] tied to being successful” ^[15]^:148. Thus, rejecting straightened hair symbolized a deeper act of rejecting the belief that straightening hair and other forms of grooming which were deemed ‘socially acceptable’ were the only means of looking presentable and attaining success in society. The pressing comb and chemical straighteners became stigmatized within the community as symbols of oppression and imposed White beauty ideals. Blacks sought to embrace beauty and affirm and accept their natural physical traits. One of the ultimate goals of the Black movement was to evolve to a level where Black people “were proud of black skin and kinky or nappy hair. As a result, natural hair became a symbol of that pride” ^[15]^:43. Negative perceptions of black hair and beauty had been passed down through the generations so they had become ingrained in black mentality to the point where they had been accepted as simple truths. Wearing natural hair was seen as a progressive statement, and for all the support that the movement gathered, there were many who opposed natural hair both for its aesthetics and the ideology that it promoted. It caused tensions between the Black and White communities, as well as discomfort amongst more conservative Blacks.

Even the style of black hair is politicized in contemporary society. These issues of style are highly charged as sensitive questions about [an individual’s] very 'identity' ^[18]^:34. Whether an individual decides to wear their hair in its natural state or alter it, black hairstyles conveying a message. In our society, the value system of ‘white bias’, “ethnicities are valorized according to the tilt of whiteness - functions as the ideological basis for status ascription” ^[18]^:36. In turn, in this value system, “African elements - be they cultural or physical - are devalued as indices of low social status, while European elements are positively valorized as attributes enabling individual upward mobility”).^[17]^:36. Due to imperialist, European hegemonic discourse of white superiority, any indication of ethnic difference was seen as inferior. This value system is reinforced by the systematic racism that was and still is, often hidden from the public eye, in our society. Racism 'works' by encouraging the devaluation of blackness by black subjects themselves, and that a re-centering sense of pride is a prerequisite for a politics of resistance and reconstruction ^[18]^:36. In this system, “hair functions as a key 'ethnic signifier' because, compared with bodily shape or facial features, it can be changed more easily by cultural practices such as straightening” ^[18]^:36. Racism originally “'politicized' [black] hair by burdening it with a range of negative social and psychological 'meanings'”—categorizing it as a problem ^[18]^:37. Ethnic difference that could be easily manipulated, like hair, was altered in order for ethnic minorities assimilate into a dominant, Eurocentric society. Natural hair, such as Afro and dreadlocks, “counter-politicized the signifier of ethnic devalorization, redefining blackness as a positive attribute”.^[18] By wearing ones hair as it naturally grows, those of African descent are taking back the agency in deciding the value and politics of ones own hair. Wearing ones hair naturally also opens up a new debate: Are those who decide to still wear their hair straightened, for example, less ‘black’ or ‘proud’ of one’s heritage, than those who decide to naturally wear their hair? This debate is an often-ongoing topic of discussion within the community. This issue is extremely debated and disputed, creating almost a social divide within the community – between who decide to be natural and those who do not.