I am Not my Hair! Or am I?

131 Pages·2015·0.36 MB·English

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Anthropology Theses Department of Anthropology
11-28-2007
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Yolanda Michele Chapman
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Chapman, Yolanda Michele, ""I am Not my Hair! Or am I?": Black Women's Transformative Experience in
their Self Perceptions of Abroad and at Home." Thesis, Georgia State University, 2007.
doi: https://doi.org/10.57709/1059174
This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Department of Anthropology at ScholarWorks @
Georgia State University. It has been accepted for inclusion in Anthropology Theses by an authorized administrator
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“I AM NOT MY HAIR! OR AM I? ”: BLACK WOMEN’S TRANSFORMATIVE
EXPERIENCE IN THEIR SELF PERCEPTIONS OF ABROAD AND AT HOME.

by

YOLANDA CHAPMAN
Under the Direction of Cassandra White

ABSTRACT

The Black female body has been subject to cultural scripting in which Black
women are deemed as the “other”. This representation of the Black female is played out
in many ways such as through the racial and racist marking of her hair and skin color. In
investigating Black women who have participated in a study abroad program, I found that
this is one vehicle in which they have been exposed to other’s perspectives of the
Eurocentric standards of beauty. In this paper, I have examined ways in which Black
women are active agents in their own social scripting of their bodies. Through interviews,
focus groups and participant observation, with 20 self identified Black women, the
investigation began with a look at the African and European cultural influences on
African American ideas about beauty, hair and identity. Initial discussions of
participants’ experiences with hair at home and abroad led to broader dialogues about
transformations in their concepts of gender, race, and identity.

INDEX WORDS: Study Abroad, Hair, Black, African-American, Women,
Identity, Skin color, Beauty standards
“I AM NOT MY HAIR! OR AM I? ”: BLACK WOMEN’S TRANSFORMATIVE
EXPERIENCE IN THEIR SELF PERCEPTIONS OF ABROAD AND AT HOME.

by

YOLANDA CHAPMAN

A Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of

Master’s of Arts
In the College of Arts and Sciences
Georgia State University

2007
Copyright by
Yolanda Michele Chapman
2007
“I AM NOT MY HAIR! OR AM I? ”: BLACK WOMEN’S TRANSFORMATIVE
EXPERIENCE IN THEIR SELF PERCEPTIONS OF ABROAD AND AT HOME.

by

YOLANDA CHAPMAN

Committee Chair: Cassandra White

Committee: Emanuela Guano
Megan Sinnott

Electronic Version Approved:

Office of Graduate Studies
College of Arts and Sciences
Georgia State University
December 2007
iv
DEDICATION

To all Black women who aren’t afraid to try out their wings
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This endeavor could not have been accomplished without the support, encouragement
and love of so many individuals. First, I’d like to acknowledge my guiding force, God. Thank
you for blessing me with the opportunity to understand your creation and granting me with the
skills to apply that understanding. To Dr. Cassandra White, I cannot thank you enough. My time
in Atlanta and at Georgia State has been such a life changing experience due to your support and
friendship. You have truly become a close friend. I want to also thank my committee members,
Dr.Emanuela Guano and Dr.Megan Sinnott for their words of wisdom and advice. To my
participants, thank you for using your beautiful wings and allowing the wind of the oceans blow
through your hair. Without your ambition to travel abroad and share your experiences with me,
this project would not exist. To my sister: Thank you for making me want to be my best by
viewing me worthy of admiration. Lastly and most importantly, to my mother: Thank you for
instilling in me at a young age that anything is possible because “I am the head and not the tail.”
Your love and appreciation for life has caused me to be the woman I am today. Thank you for
having faith in me. And thank you to all Black women who are not afraid of their beauty and
power. May you never cease to amaze the world.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
PAGES

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS V
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION 1
Introduction 1
Definition of broad terms /concepts 4
CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW AND THEORY 5
Race in America 5
Creation of the category Black 6
Construction of the Black Female Body 7
Othering and double Consciousness 10
The Global Media and Study Abroad 11
Creation of the Black Beauty Culture 14
Africa and hair 14
400 Years without a comb 15
The “Black is Beautiful” Movement 17
The Black beauty market 18
African Americans and Hairstyles 20
Straightening 21
Natural 23
The Standard of Beauty 24
The beauty myths 25
Marker of femininity 26
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Good and bad hair 27
Racial markers 29
Social and Cultural Capital 31
Resistance to the Beauty Myth 33
CHAPTER THREE: METHODS, METHODOLOGIES AND ETHICS 36
Participants 36
Racial and ethnic background 37
Educational background 37
Age 38
Hair type and skin color 38
Study abroad location 39
Truth Claims 39
Self-reflexivity 42
Intersectionality 44
Methods 45
Interviews 47
Focus Groups 51
Participant Observation 53
Ethics 54
Minimal harm 54
Issues with studying friends 55
I am not a native anthropologist! 56
CHAPTER FOUR: FINDINGS:PERCEPTIONS OF HAIR IN A U.S. CONTEXT 60
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The Black Female Identity 60
Checking the box: negotiating racial identity in the U.S. 61
Standard of Beauty 65
The standard of beauty is a myth! 65
Hair is important to women! 66
Hair othered: I can’t be myself at work? 68
Redefining Good and Bad Hair 71
Definitions 71
I am not my hair!: resistance to the standard of beauty in the U.S. 76
CHAPTER FIVE: FINDINGS: TRANSFORMATIVE MOMENTS ABROAD 83
Global Worldview: Creation of “worldmindedness” 83
I have always wanted to go abroad! 84
It’s something the rich and white do! 85
I wanted to connect with my ethnicity! 89
Negotiating Blackness Abroad 90
Combating negative views of self:views of perceived racial identity 90
My hair gave me away!: hair as a racial marker abroad 92
American Status 95
My accent gave me away!: I am American? 95
I am privileged to be American. 97
Wait…I am still Black!?: Experiences with local racisms 98
I am Not My Hair or am I?: Reflections on Hair Identity Abroad 100
I’m still in love with me but just a little more! 100