Culture Commentary

I don’t what it is about this picture, but I can’t stop looking at it.

but actually. 

Black Women and Their Hair.

I honestly think that a whole class can be taught about the sociological and cultural aspects of black women and their hair. Black women’s hair is like the anti-thesis to the European hair. And while it’s perfectly possible for the two types of hair to co-exist in this world, black women’s hair, much like their skin and body type, has been stigmatized. 

Growing up, if I was going to take pictures or be in a school play, my mom would sit me down and spend the two hours straightening my hair. When I was younger I had thick, curly, black hair that went well past my shoulders, and once I got middle I hated it. Being in an all white middle school, where the boys chased after the girls with long blonde hair, and the girls with light eyes were told they were pretty, I felt unimaginably hideous and alone. Of course, I grew up and realized that not only was I alone in feeling this, but that there were some ways I could “fix” it. I could straighten my hair, which I still do. I could bye contacts. I could wear a weave, get a relaxer, wear a wig, and many other options afforded to black women to “tame” their hair. But why?

Comedian Paul Mooney said in Chris Rock’s documentary, Good Hair, “If your hair is relaxed, then white people are relaxed. If your hair is nappy, they’re not happy.” It’s funny, but sadly true. Because of the images that the media projects of what is beautiful and what is acceptable, do not account for women of color. In return many black women, mixed women, and dark women have internalized this message to mean that they’re not good enough and if they want to be accepted into this society, they need to start with their hair. As if just being black wasn’t hard enough. And while I definitely seen a movement of women embracing their natural curls (Erykah Badu (pictured), Corinne Bailey Rae, Esperanza Spalding) it’s usually only musicians who are able to express themselves this way in the public domain. The reason I feel is because in these cases women are in more control of their music than they are to be casted in a television series or feature film. But these voices are often heard and not seen. If a black woman on television or in film is wearing her natural curls it’s often to stand in contrast to her white counterpart. Rarely have I ever seen black women in all her natural glory fall in love or become successful in her career without taking off her clothes. Actually, I’ve seen one and that was back in 2006 in a film called Something New. 

Another contributing factor to how black women feel about their hair are the magazines marketed towards black women. Essence Magazine in particular is a “black women’s” magazine, but it’s owned and distributed by men and a predominantly white company. The ads featured in this magazine are more like to feature ads for hair relaxers than they are for afros or how to take care of curls. Noliwe Rooks suggests in her article “But is it Black and Female? Essence, O, and American Magazine Publishing” that because a magazine like Essence is not completely owned and operated by black women, it is still victim to ideas of the elite social gaze: dominant ideology of wealthy, white, heterosexual men. 

Like I said, an entire class can be taught about the stigmas attached to black hair by both white and black cultures. However, the topic is overwhelming and I can only talk so much about it in this space. 

I can probably sit down and name you one hundred reasons why I love Parks and Recreation, but my favorite, aside from Ron Swanson’s mustache, is the relationship between Anne (Rashida Jones) and Leslie (Amy Poehler). 

I’ve watched a lot of television. A LOT of television and few friendships between woman make me as happy as Anne and Leslie. Often times when more than one woman is featured in a show their is always this need to pit them against one another. I’ve seen it on Desperate Housewives (that show is all about women rivalries), Modern Family, New Girl, and even The Office. A friendship like theirs in hard to find. Not only do these women encourage one another, they take care of each other, compliment one another (which is a lot rarer than you might think) and like friends, they work through their problems and never let a stupid guy get in the way: OVARIES BEFORE BROVARIES, UTERUSES BEFORE DUDERUSES. 

However, the friendship shared between Amy Poehler and Rashida Jone’s characters made me wonder why it’s so hard to find genuine female friendships portrayed on television. Will the world end and planets collide if two women sharing a genuine and loving platonic friendship is portrayed on television? Well, given that Parks and Rec has been on for four amazing funny seasons, I would think not. 

Women competing with each other is nothing new. In media a girl is either a madonna or a whore. She’s either a smart, shrew or a dumb, bimbo. Either way, if you’ve got two girl with shared interests, there’s going to be some kind of competition. Sadly, more often than not it’s over a guy. I’m sure there can be many reasons for the constant rivalry between women, but only one reason seems to make sense to me: in male dominated culture, women are constantly being viewed through a male lens. When the media you’re bombarded with every day looks at women this way, it’s going to be hard to think anything different. That brings me to another important reason why I love Parks and Recreation, Amy Poehler’s fearless writing. 

For most, Amy Poehler is that really funny blonde on SNL or more recently as Leslie Knope, but I think it’s also important that she’s a great writer as well. There is no doubt in my mind that with strong women like Amy producing, writing, and calling the shots, their is little room for female rivalry and more room for a female perspective. I hate to call the relationship between Ann and Leslie revolutionary and refreshing because that’s how all relationships between women should be. Unless of course she sleeps with your husband or gets you fired from your job or something, then it’s okay.