Escolar Documentos
Profissional Documentos
Cultura Documentos
Mrs.Douglas
English 112
April 3,2017
Understanding an African American
Black women are generally vulnerable to the effects of European standards of beauty
because these standards emphasize skin colors and hair types that exclude
black women, especially those of darker color. In the african American community the natural
The term dreads actually is a term coined from Europeans who considered the Africans
hair as dreadful because of its kinkiness. This term derived back several centuries ago and still
has negative connotation. That is why some Blacks prefer the term Locs. Natural hair has been
criticized outside of the African American or Black community for centuries. When a child plays
with a Barbie doll although the skin colors may vary the hair texture stays the same long straight
hair which identifies with a Eurocentric background. Eurocentric sense of beauty for hair has
been instilled in society from a young age so seeing men and women try to expound their choice
is considered ghetto, unprofessional, or nappy. All negative connotation but hair styles
Natural hair is a way for Blacks to express creativity and the essence of beauty. This
creativity also conveys a deep heritage. Hair can be showcased in different styles, using
turbans/head wraps, extensions, Bantu knots and many others. There is often backlash against
hair freedom. The freedom of ones hair can be associated with multiple negative stereotypes.
Which Tania Padgett explains in her article Natural hair can Be a kinky topic. She discusses
how natural hair is sensitive how society can be uncomfortable with natural hair.
Other researches on the topic such as Ellen Lienguth perceive the idea of natural hair being
oppressing seeing that individuals cannot control the hair they were born with it just as one has
ThroughasocialperspectivetheseEurocentricstandardsareprimarilyseeninfamily,
peers,themedia,society,andselfperceptionthesearetheprimarysocialgroupsthatcausethe
Europeanstandardstotakeaffect.Whenyouraverageblackwomanisexposedtothese
standardsatayoungagetheywouldstarttodoubttheimportanceofonesowncultureand
eventuallythatdoubtleadstotransformationandconformation.Blackwomensinceayoungage
seeingtheamountofacceptancethattheEuropeancultureisgettingitisonlynaturalthat
eventuallytheywouldwanttochangetheirappearanceliketowhatseemstobemoreaccepting.
TherehasbeenseveralstudiesconductedonhowEurocentricbeautystandards
manipulatetheyoungchildreninsociety.Inrecentyearsthedollexperimentinwhichconducted
inthe1940swhereagroupofscientistgatheryoungchildrenwhichdollwouldtheyratherplay
withbetweenawhitedollandblackdolloversixtypercentchosetoplaywiththewhitedoll.
Thisexperimentwasrecreatedwithallblackchildrenin2009andfortytwopercentchoseblack
andthirtytwochosewhite.Thisisprogressfromthesixtieshoweverthesestudiesshowhow
AfricanAmericanchildrenarestillbeingfeedthatthewhiteroneisthemoreacceptableoneis.
Thousandsofwomenespeciallyblackwomenhavefalselybeentoldthroughouttheir
livesthattheirsocietalvalueinthisworldissolelybasedoffofappearance.Hairandskincolor
havebeenincludedassocialcriterionforsuccessinonesprofessionalandpersonallife.Beauty,
however,mustbeunderstoodassociallyconstructedandanimportantsourceofwomens
oppression.ThisisoppressiononAfricanAmericansandblacksingeneralacrosstheglobe
shouldnotbeaconstantrecurrenceorissueinthe21stcentury.Asansocietythereshouldbe
needstobeonehundredpercentacceptancesofuniquenessinpeople.
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