‘The Politics of Hair’ breaks down stereotypes, dilemmas
Women’s Center staff member Kim Scates facilitated a discussion entitled “The Politics of Hair” on Thursday evening in the Center for Social Justice on the troubles black women face concerning their hair.
“I am not an expert in this field,” Scates said to preface her discussion. “But for 25 years, I have been under pressure to change what my hair actually looks like. It doesn’t matter if I have to damage it to change the texture, if I have to spend money I don’t have to change the texture. I still feel a pressure to look different than what I actually look like.”
For about an hour, the jam-packed audience discussed the pressures that mold the way they present their hair. Weaves, hair relaxers and perms, among other hair terms, were explained to lesser-informed audience members on the topic.
By the end of the dialogue, the audience decided black women are slowly becoming more and more able to express themselves differently through their hair.
“I think that there is a lot more choice today,” Scates said. “I personally don’t think that the pressure is gone to change the more typical hair texture of black Americans, but I think that the larger society is becoming more accepting of different looks in the African American community.”