Two women are at a professional conference — one is younger and the other is a respected professional established in the field.
The younger woman is wearing a black skirt suit, a white blouse, pantyhose and one-inch black pumps with her hair in a bun. The older woman is dressed similarly, but her shoes and skirt are a dark grey, and her hair is also pulled into a tight bun. These women meet and begin to get acquainted. As they talk, the older woman starts to give tips for success.
“Dear, you should know that if you want to become successful in this industry, you should consider straightening your hair.” Realizing her statement was harsh, she smiled to soften it.
The young woman smirked and replied, “Do you suggest that I bleach my skin, too?”
The older lady apologized and attempted to explain herself. Although both of the women were well-dressed and intelligent women, their hair made them different.
While this anecdote is loosely based on a personal experience, scenarios involving blacks who wear natural hair occur often in the professional and academic worlds.
An editor of Glamour Magazine (and fashion guru) resigned after making a presentation at a law firm about appropriate work attire. The first fashion don’ts on her list were afros, dreadlocks and other natural hairstyles. American Lawyer magazine reported the comments and created a national controversy.
This frightens me as a black woman who is about to enter the corporate world. The Bible says that a woman’s hair is her crown and glory.
Demanding that I artificially change my hair, suggests that my crown is inferior because of something superficial like texture, length, or color.
Dr. Diane Everett an Assistant Activities Director at Jackson State University has often worn her hair in styles contrary to mainstream society. As a teenager, she cut her hair because she was tired of being the “clichéd mulatto – long hair and light skin”. She didn’t want to let her hair define her. Decades later she realizes that her hair now defines her. In 2004, she cut her hair and began wearing an afro.
“An African American woman that chooses to wear natural hair stands in the forefront because so many others want to but are fearful,” said Everett.
Everett presents at many conferences and feels that her hair has never been a big issue. However she’s realistic and knows that in some professions straightened hair is preferred.
“You can go into any job market with an ethnic hairstyle and it would not cost you a job, as long as you are neat an well manicured,” Everett said.
Tori Thompson, a JSU junior is known for her natural hairstyles on campus. Thompson’s decision to wear natural hair came after only two years of wearing a relaxer.
She believes that how you wear your hair is a choice; although she does not straighten her hair, she supports other black women who decide to.
There are many mixed messages about this subject.
At JSU’s Career Counseling Center the literature provided on proper business attire does not condemn natural hairstyles. However, in most the pictures of professionally dressed people, the women have straightened hair and the men have short fades.
Not only black women, but black men also suffer from stereotypes about hairstyles. Men with braids are often thought of as thugs; while dreadlocks, indicate a Rastafarian lifestyle. Other cultures should stop judging black people by just one aspect of our being.
Hair is a large part of African-American culture for many good reasons.
When someone makes a comment to me about how I wear my hair, they should be aware of the enormity of such a statement.