I’ve a long-standing concept.
A short while again, it felt like each main media outlet was publishing articles about how sooooo many black girls have been chubby, and have been sooooo unwilling to exercise due to… their hair.
Which, okay, certain… however what was the purpose of that?
Was it to passive aggressively name black girls useless for caring about their look? Was it to name them silly, snark their priorities, or make them really feel dangerous for his or her selections?
It was so pervasive, this want to inform black girls how petty they have been for caring about their hair, that it felt like a collective want to show this right into a pathology of types – a illness that’s unique to black girls, this petty self-importance.
A more in-depth, extra crucial look, nevertheless, tells me that there’s just a little bit extra occurring, right here.
Once I take into consideration company tradition, and all of the conversations we’ve had right here about society and its expectations on us, I additionally take into consideration the implications many people face once we don’t stay as much as the expectations society units for us. Take this, for instance:
Melphine Evans sued BP West Coast Merchandise, BP Merchandise North America and 9 folks, in Orange County Superior Courtroom.
Evans claims she was fired after almost 10 years with British Petroleum Oil Co. and changed with a youthful white male, after a collection of overtly racial complaints.
Evans started working for BP in early 2001 as vice chairman of North America’s Western Area, and was CFO BP West Coast Merchandise in La Palma, Calif. when she was fired, in line with her 24-page lawsuit.
She claims that her supervisors and different administration responded to her complaints of race and gender discrimination “by telling her she ‘was the issue’” and with a litany of insensitive remarks.
In accordance with the lawsuit, these remarks included:
“‘You intimidate and make your colleagues uncomfortable by sporting ethnic clothes and ethnic hairstyles (‘Dashikis,’ ‘twists,’ ‘braids/cornrows’). On one event, a BP consultant went as far as to ask Ms. Evans ‘if she understood that sporting a “dashiki” to work makes her colleagues really feel uncomfortable?’
“In the event you insist on sporting ethnic clothes/hairstyles-you ought to solely accomplish that throughout ‘tradition day,’ black historical past month or particular variety occasions/days.’
“‘If you’re going to put on ethnic clothes, you must alert folks prematurely that you’ll be sporting one thing ethnic …’
“‘We didn’t take any motion in opposition to the contractor who positioned the noose within the Cherry Level refinery as a result of we weren’t actually certain the rope that was positioned there was meant to harass or intimidate staff … typically refinery staff apply tying knots and since there aren’t that many black staff on the refinery and the knot within the rope was not tied like a noose knot, we don’t imagine it symbolized racial hatred or violence…’ [source]
I’m unwilling to say, completely and totally, that collectively having expectations of members of society is a foul factor. I feel that’s messy waters. What I am keen to say, although, is that I reject the thought of society demanding that folks abide by ill-informed expectations that by no means thought of that there are folks with cultures and histories that differ from its personal.
It’s really easy to say that “skilled hair” is straight hair, pulled away from the face, when for therefore lengthy, the one “professionals” have been girls with naturally and effortlessly straight hair. It’s straightforward to say {that a} girl who chooses to put on twists, braids and cornrows is “the issue” and inform her to put on them “throughout black historical past month” as a result of she’s a minority – by definition, she has no affect over “the bulk.” It’s straightforward to inform a girl that embracing some aspect of her tradition publicly “makes her colleagues uncomfortable” – consideration for her pure hair is totally excluded from inclusion in defining “skilled.” Her colleagues don’t have any incentive to really find out about her hair, or embrace it in a constructive method. They, as a substitute, sit and marvel why she will be able to’t simply conform to trying like her white counterparts.
Evans was instructed that, in an atmosphere the place a contractor allegedly left a noose-that-isn’t-a-noose-but-we-call-it-a-noose-and-by-the-way-doesn’t-symbolize-racial-hatred for Evans to search out, that she was the issue… all for sporting her pure hair.
Stakes are excessive for black folks on this financial system. Unemployment for black folks, proper now, is within the double digits. We watched a lot of our family members lose their homes. Hell, many people have family members dwelling with us till they get on their ft. Complete households are anchored solely on us remaining employed in our “good jobs.”
And, within the midst of all of it, we could desperately need to work out. However, if we by no means learn to look after our hair whereas understanding, or if we don’t have the time to straighten/re-straighten our hair as regularly as we want… the selection turns into clear: skip the exercises and hold my job; or exercise anyway, let my hair undergo, and doubtlessly face workplace harassment due to it.
Suppose we’re not even speaking about employment in any respect. Suppose that is simply your native around-the-way woman.
Day in and day trip, we’re crushed over the pinnacle with imagery supposed to inform us what is gorgeous. It’s typically extremely unattainable, at the least with out product purchases. That’s the purpose – purchase our product, and also you, too, may be lovely. Straighten your hair, lighten your pores and skin, even your complexion, darken your lashes, coloration your hair, fill in your brows, placed on this physique shaper, put on these excessive heels, purchase this gown, put on this purse, get these boots. Now, and solely now, are you lovely.
And, for girls, so much is hinged on our magnificence. Our skill to be promoted at work, our skill to achieve entrance to graduate faculties, and our skill to efficiently purchase a long-term mate are all hinged on our magnificence. The keys to upward mobility are hinged solely on our magnificence, one thing that we imagine is inextricably linked to our hair and the way straight it’s. And we spend tons of, 1000’s of {dollars} every month – presumably extra so than our naturally-straight-haired counterparts – taking part in catch-up. Keep in mind, the definition of magnificence that society perpetuates wasn’t created with non-whites in thoughts, so the sum of money we have now to spend simply to catch as much as the remainder of the pack is astronomical.
Why is it so unbelievable that we wouldn’t threat one thing that might injury our skill to efficiently obtain any of that? Why is it so onerous to imagine that we’d be turned off from one thing that’d make it tougher to take care of magnificence in the best way we’ve been taught to grasp it?
“Magnificence is ache,” however “magnificence isn’t sweat.” Magnificence is silent, that’s why ‘these loud ass black girls have to shut up.’ Girls are supposed to take a seat nonetheless and be fairly, like trophies, or porcelain dolls or one thing. Sweating, and reminding everybody that you simply’re truly not a member of the bulk together with your new progress peeking out the highest… solely makes it tougher out right here for you.
That’s a part of the explanation why Good Hair irked me so badly – certain, let’s pile on in myriad methods to show how petty black girls are, however not interrogate the tradition that informs their “petty” selections. If black girls determine to go pure en masse, and plenty of of them get fired from their jobs for “discomforting their colleagues,” will we then have a dialog about racism within the office, or will there be a thousand thinkpieces about how black girls sacrificed the great of “the black group” simply to show a degree?
So, I’m curious. Do you’re feeling any strain out of your present job to maintain your hair a sure manner? Are the potential boo-thangs in your life very vocal about how they like their associate to put on their hair? I wanna hear it!
