Natural Hair Discrimination and Adulthood
Natural hair discrimination follows Black people throughout their entire lives and is often employed through the enforcement of adherence to standards in adulthood, such as “professionalism”. A broad and vague concept, professionalism is defined by philosopher Dr. Michael Yeo as “an attitude whereby you assume a particular role” and “subordinate [your] personal identity to the role” (Collier 2012). It requires identity compromise and assimilation, which because of systemic barriers and oppressions, is easier for some than others. Western professionalism is rooted in white supremacy culture, and privileges whiteness while discriminating against “non-Western and nonwhite professional standards” (Gray 2019). These standards are often related to appearance, which is the realm where natural hair discrimination often takes place.
According to the 2023 CROWN Workplace Research Study, Black women’s hair is 2.5 times more likely to be perceived as unprofessional, women with curly/kinky hair are two times more likely to experience microaggressions in the workplace than women with straight hair, and over 20% of Black women have been sent home from work because of their hair. Experiences such as these often pressure Black women to conform to white standards to avoid discrimination, keep their jobs, and to obtain more opportunity. This can be seen with former First Lady Michelle Obama, who expresses that she did not wear braids or other culturally expressive Black hairstyles during the Obama administration to avoid controversy and conflict, and so that her husband can be perceived as more digestible to white society.
As seen earlier, this discrimination also impacts how Black people see themselves and have internalized anti-black and white supremacist ideologies. Nappily Ever After details this superbly, following Violet, a Black woman who emphasizes and prides herself on her “perfection,” specifically on her long and straight hair. The film chronicles her journey as she realizes that she is not perfect, confronts her flaws, and embraces her true self, all these experiences driven by her “natural hair journey.”
Not only does Nappily Ever After serve as an entertaining romantic-comedy, it also demonstrates just how much hair plays a part in Black identity and Black culture, and how that has been contorted by the influences of white supremacy. Violet’s fixation on her straight, long, hair is a literal and metaphorical representation of the internalized racism that many Black people, and Black women especially, have adopted. Her eventual acceptance of her natural hair and other aspects of herself can be seen as her rebuking these flawed notions and embracing her Blackness (and herself in general) in its entirety.
Existence outside of the adherence Eurocentric standards being deemed as inferior can be related to the units "Is Race Real?," "Race Myths," and "Anthropological Approaches to Race" in From Savage to Negro. As detailed throughout the book, in order to justify imperialism, colonialism, and exploitation to fuel capitalism, a “rational” justification was needed. Scientific racism was used to do so, and anthropology was employed as a tool of this. Biological races were “proven” through anthropological studies, and they were placed on a continuum of races with Black people on one end, White people on the other, and Asian, Latinx, and Native communities in-between. White people were deemed the most evolved, and Black people were seen as the least. These categories of race were determined by phenotypic markers such as skin color, nose size, skull shape, and hair type. Phenotypical traits associated with White people (straight hair, light skin, etc.) were seen as the most advanced and “civilized,” and that other races must be “pulled up” by White people to get on their level (e.g., “the White Man’s Burden”). These conceptions of civility appear in professionalism, and those who conform more to the white standards face less barriers in the professional world. Here, we can see how these standards are rooted in scientific racism and why they demarcate such negative, disparate, and illogical consequences for Black people.