Table Of Content

hair matters hair matters Beauty,Power,and BlackWomen’s Consciousness Ingrid Banks a New York University Press New York and London New York University Press New York and London © 2000 by New York University All rights reserved Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Banks, Ingrid, 1966– Hair matters : beauty, power, and Black women’s consciousness / Ingrid Banks. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references (p. ) and index. ISBN 0-8147-1336-X (cloth : acid free paper) ISBN 0-8147-1337-8 (paper : acid-free paper) 1. Afro-American women—Race identity. 2. Afro-American women— Social conditions. 3. Hair—Social aspects—United States. 4. Beauty, Personal—Social aspects—United States. 5. Afro-American women—Interviews. I. Title. E185.86 .B265 2000 391.5'082—dc21 99-050485 CIP New York University Press books are printed on acid-free paper, and their binding materials are chosen for strength and durability. Manufactured in the United States of America 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 For Grace Carroll and Sara Johnson Contents Acknowledgments ix Introduction: Unhappy to Be Nappy 1 1. Why Hair Matters: Getting to the Roots 21 2. The Hair “Do’s” and “Don’ts” of Black Womanhood 41 3. Splitting Hairs: Power, Choice, and Femininity 69 4. Women and Girls Speak Out: Five Hair-Raising Sessions 99 5. Black Hair, 1990s Style 139 Conclusion 147 Appendix I: Methods, Methodology, and the Shaping of Hair Matters 157 Appendix II: Deﬁning Black Hair and Hairstyling Practices 171 Appendix III: Interviewee Demographics 175 Notes 179 References 185 Index 193 About the Author 197 All illustrations appear as a group following p. 86. vii Acknowledgments I extend deep gratitude to the girls and women who shared their perspectives about black women and hair. They are the true au thors of Hair Matters. Many thanks to those who helped me re cruit girls and women, and to all those who allowed me to take their photos. I am thankful to many individuals for their support during var ious stages of the project. Thanks go to Jose Saldívar, Norma Alar- cón, Nancy Chodorow, and Michael Omi for believing in the proj ect during its earliest stages. They were indeed a “dream team” dissertation committee at the University of California, Berkeley, and I am forever grateful for their support. Thanks also go to Sonja Peterson-Lewis, Vèvè Clark, and JoAnn Intilli for providing equal amounts of support and critical feedback during the early stages of the project. I am also grateful to Pedro Noguera for his support as I put together my dissertation committee. Many thanks to Danielle Percy and Kathleen Wager for administrative support as the book came to a close. I was fortunate to receive a dissertation fellowship at the Cen ter for Black Studies at the University of California, Santa Bar bara, during the academic year 1996–1997. While there, I was also a visiting lecturer in the Department of Sociology. During that time, I met two scholars who became wonderful mentors and friends—a very special thanks to Claudine Michel and Kum-Kum Bhavnani for their never-ending support and enthusiasm for the project and for providing critical feedback for my earlier writ ings. Thanks also go to Cynthia Hudley, Bill Bielby, Harvey ix

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Long hair in the 60s, Afros in the early 70s, bobs in the 80s, fuschia in the 90s. Hair is one of the first attributes to catch our eye, not only because it reflects perceptions of attractiveness or unattractiveness, but also because it conveys important political, cultural, and social meanings, par