African American hair and African American hairstyles are diverse ways that African American men and women style their hair. Because many black people have thicker hair with curls that are tighter and smaller than those of other races, a unique hairstyle has grown. In addition, many black hairstyles have historical connections with African culture.
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Since the beginning of African civilization, hairstyles have been used to convey a message to a larger society. At the beginning of the fifteenth century, different styles can "show one's marital status, age, religion, ethnic identity, wealth, and rank in the community."
Hair care in traditional Africa is aimed at creating a sense of beauty. "A woman with long thick hair demonstrates life force, multiple strength, prosperity... green thumbs to improve abundant farms and many healthy children," writes Sylvia Ardyn Boone, an anthropologist specializing in Mende culture in the Sierra Leone..
In Yoruba culture in West Africa, people braid their hair to send a message to the gods. Hair is the highest part of the body and is therefore considered a portal for the spirit to pass through to the soul. Due to the cultural and spiritual importance of hair for Africans, the practice of decapitating his head without being aware before being sold as a slave is in itself an inhumane act. "The shaved head is the first step the Europeans take to erase the slave culture and change the relationship between Africans and their hair."
Maps African-American hair
After slavery
"Hair straighteners suggest to blacks that only through physical feature changes will African-descended persons be given class mobility within the African American community and social acceptance by dominant cultures" (Rooks 1998: 177). At that time, the wig manufacturer was the only company that advertised the African American beauty standard.
In Winold Reiss's "Brown Madonna", the Virgin Mother is shown with straight hair. Painted towards the beginning of the New Negro movement in 1925, this work exhibited a popular sense of racial pride during the 1920s and 1930s. This symbol of white classical purity and virtue was created with dark skin, affirming the value and honor of the Black race.
This was a time when blacks created their own success in society and lurked niches in northern cities like Chicago and Harlem. Part of their personal success right now, however, is their ability to assimilate, which is portrayed by Reiss's unreasonably straight hair. The painted lines appear to radiate from the mother's body, giving her a gentle and heavenly effect. A figure like this - one with straight hair - was respected by blacks at the time and made an example to follow.
Civil Rights Era
Afro, who struck his pace in the 1960s, was an expression of pride, connection, power, revolution, and differentiation. Afro first gained popularity with artists, artists, activists, youth and nationalists.
Young people who do not adopt this trend are for the first time judged and subject to "more evil than" policies by their peers. African Americans are beginning to use their hair as a way of showing relationships with African ancestors and blacks throughout the diaspora. Afro, along with the Civil Rights movement, helps define black identity (Byrd and Tharps 2001: 51).
Some artists use their original hair as an artistic expression. In American Costume David Hammons, he presses his own body on paper to create a picture of what it means to be African American and apparently. Like the way he carved a hair on a job by applying fingerprints to paper, during the 1960s and 1970s it was not uncommon for blacks to use chemicals to wink their own hair artificially if that was not big enough.
Young Black American is' styling their hair in large numbers as a way to emulate the Black Panthers style and convey their racial pride. Although Afro started in New York, it was Angela Davis in Chicago, the Black Panther Party association, who pioneered Afro as a political statement. In embracing naturalism, he exalted the Black aesthetic and facilitated his power to connect the Blacks movements in Civil Rights. His Afro became very famous for his presence in his "Wanted" ad, because it was his most prominent identifier. It is a way to celebrate Africa and embrace the heritage while politically rejecting European ideals. Men and women in Chicago and beyond use it as a way to support the proud way of carrying themselves in the world and occupying space.
Similarly, Wadsworth Jarrell's Liberation Army displays Afros as almost a halo. Combined with the radiance of the man's mantle, the painting conveys the spiritual aspect of the trans-African culture. These people are seen as angels not only for their place in the Rights movement but also because of their naturalism and the depiction of the Black heritage.
In relation to hair, the time between the 1970s and 1990s can be described as open and experimental. "Despite the political upheaval, individual choices will increasingly dictate African-American hairstyles in this era." The trendy styles like braids are even adopted by whites, especially after the white actress Bo Derek wears them in the movie 10 . Although braids, cornrows and dreadlocks become mainstream, they cause controversy when used in the professional world.
Contemporary
The Hip Hop culture of the 1980s created many new trends, one of which is "faded" for humans. Fading is a hairstyle worn mainly by black men in which the hair begins short at the bottom and extends as it reaches the top. This style gives the wearer the opportunity for individuality, because people often cut the design back and side or add different colors to the top
Hip Hop also has an influence on young black women, who can now see popular music artists on TV and album covers for inspiration. Asymmetrical cuts such as wedges, piles or finger curls are popular during this time. Interestingly, all of these styles require some form of hair straightening. After the 1970s, men and women tended to turn away from their natural appearance and began creating different individual displays.
The styling of hair in African American culture varies greatly. African American hair usually consists of rounded curls. The dominant style for women involves hair straightening through heat or chemical process applications. In many cases today, overuse of heat and chemicals has left some African American women with short, damaged hair. This treatment forms the basis for the most commonly accepted socially accepted hairstyle in the United States. As an alternative, the most important and socially acceptable practice for men is to let a person's hair naturally.
Often, when a man ages and starts losing his hair, his hair is cut well, or his head is shaved completely free of hair. However, since the 1960s, natural hairstyles, such as afro, cornrows, and dreadlocks, have grown in popularity. Regardless of their association with civil rights-oriented movements, they have achieved considerable social acceptance, but are of course limited. Another force, wave, is closely related to the do-rag, a fabric used to maintain a pressurized curl-like ripple pattern. It has gained popularity in social media and is referenced in the Atlanta television show.
African-American women can learn to adapt to Caucasian beauty standards, which include straight hair. Many African-American women have been chemically or heated processed their hair to straighten it. History shows that mainstream society usually views natural black hair as a problem that needs to be fixed. Because of this, the hair weaves and heat and chemical products are the social norms of black women. Caucasian societies often expect African-American women to have the same style as the Caucasian majority straight hair, implicitly expecting all hair textures to be uniform.
Military Ban
By 2014, there is a new ban on the United States Army largely African American hairstyles. This ban includes key fears, large cornrows, and bends. The reason for this decision is that the hairstyles mentioned above look unkempt, with hair kempt which is implicitly defined as straight hair. African American women in the Army may be forced to choose between small cornrows and chemically process their hair, if their natural hair is not long enough to fit into a neat ponytail.
Facial hair
Maintaining facial hair is more common among African American men than in other male populations in the US. In fact, the soul patch is so named because African American men, especially jazz musicians, popularize the style. The preference for facial hair among African American men is partly due to personal taste, but because they are more vulnerable than other ethnic groups to develop a condition known as pseudofolliculitis barbae, commonly referred to as a bumpy razor i>, many choose not to shave.
Popular culture
African-American culture is increasingly embracing natural hair, contributing a lot to society and the media. As in art, music, poetry, and other forms of media. Ranging from textile artist Sonya Clark, singer Solange Knowles, poet Maya Angelou, and actress Lupita Nyong'o. Also in social media there is a natural YouTube channel rebellion, and blogs. The natural hair community has grown so much they even have their own vocabulary and acronyms. Included in all these different media forms they embrace their hair, skin, and natural form. Natural hair movement is different from the movement of black pride. The natural hair phenomenon has grown rapidly. Black women struggle to become healthier, in putting less chemical process products in their hair and through consumption, which provides nutrients for hair. In the documentary Good Hair, Chris Rock, an American comedian, explores the role of hair in the lives of African Americans. He interviewed Reverend Al Sharpton who asserted, "My hair is as relaxed as African as Afro because everything comes from black culture."
There is a natural hair movement that occurs in the African American community. This is evidenced by the proliferation of YouTube videos depicting "big chop". African-American women with varied backgrounds embrace their natural hair. There are entire websites dedicated to this movement. The best known are nappturality.com, curlynikki.com, and afrobella.com. Women every day post their natural hair trips and give tips on transitions.
References
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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