Going Natural: Has the oppressed become the oppressor?

By Kernysha Rowe

The process of going natural can be a liberating experience for Black women who have suffered psychological (Robinson, 2011), emotional (McGill Johnson et al., 2017; Yancy, 2010), physical (Wise et al., 2012) and economic (Bryd & Tharps, 2014; Mbilishaka et al., 2020) consequences attempting to uphold Eurocentric beauty ideals. For some Black women, the process of going natural is a political statement resisting White Supremacy or perhaps simply a preference in hair styling. Despite the reasons influencing acceptance of natural hair textures, Black women should be weary of how they may be contributing to an oppressor-oppressed relationship (Friere, 1972) during the going natural phase and beyond.

Going natural is a journey of self-discovery. Some women literally discover their hair texture for the first time, while others experiment with hair products to achieve a desired look. When I transitioned from chemical relaxers to kinky twists to starter locs, it was amazing to see the different curl patterns across my scalp. The assumption is that whatever hair textures emerge they will be consistent across your scalp, when in fact many women have multiple hair textures depending on the hair follicle location and how often your hair has been manipulated or trained. Along the process of curl pattern discovery notions of ‘good and bad hair’( a system of stratification rooted in racism and colorism) are introduced. ‘Good hair’ ranges are accepted from 2B to 3B, anything beyond is questionable.

Going natural has the potential to divide Black women who have, unconsciously and consciously, digested the ‘good and bad hair’ narrative, turning the oppressed into the oppressors (Freire, 1972). Frequently women refer to themselves or others in the ‘good or bad hair’ binary when referencing to the ability to obtain certain styles or textures, friend groups and social circles are established based on sameness, and dating options are restricted based on the type of hair you wish you children to have. Freire (1972) describes the oppressors consciousness with a necrophilic perspective of the world to dominate others. The oppressors purpose, whether intentional or unintentional, dehumanizes individuals by treating individuals as objects. When ‘good’ values are associated with looser hair curl patterns, individuals who perpetuate this narrative and use said language become oppressors in the natural hair world. In essence, the natural hair world no longer remains a place of liberation or identity expression, but a place of internal oppression. The natural hair movement is at a crossroads where rather than reaching full liberation individuals may act on residual negative notions of inferiority by isolating clear differences between 4c and other hair types. Simply put, the oppressed have become the oppressors.

Centuries of hair oppression have internalized meanings and value of Black hair texture as undesirable, however moments of liberation such as the Black Power Movement and the contemporary natural hair movement (Rowe, 2019) have silenced those narratives. One should ask themselves as they embark on the journey to go natural or continue in the natural world… which role do you play? The oppressor or the oppressed? And are you contributing to White Supremacy or are you liberating yourself and others in this journey?

References

 Byrd, A. D. & Tharps, L. L. (2014). Hair story: Untangling the roots of Black hair in America. (2nd ed.). St Martin’s Press.

Freire, P. (1972). Pedagogy of the oppressed. New York: Herder and Herder.

Mbilishaka, A. M., Clemons, K., Hudlin, M., Warner, C., Jones, D. (2020). Don’t get is twisted: Untangling the psychology of hair discrimination within black communities. Global Alliance for Behavioral Health and Social Justice, 90(5), 590-599.

McGill Johnson, A., Godsil, R. D., MacFarlane, J., Tropp, L. R., & Atiba Goff, P. (2017). The “good hair” study: Explicit and implicit attitudes toward Black women’s hair. New York, NY: The Perception Institute.

Rowe, K. D. (2019). "It’s the feelings I wear": Black women, natural hair, and new media (re)negotiations of beauty. (Publication No. 13902328). [Doctoral dissertation, Michigan State University]. ProQuest

Robinson, C. L. (2011). Hair as race: Why “good hair” may be bad for Black females. Howard Journal of Communications, 22(4), 358-376.

Yancy, G. (2000). Feminism and the subtext of Whiteness: Black women’s experiences as a site of identity formation and contestation of Whiteness. The Western Journal of Black Studies, 24(3), 156–166.

Make it stand out

Kernysha L. Rowe is a higher education administrator in pursuit of her Ph.D. in Higher Education Administration. Her research interests include Black hair and texturism and inequality regimes in higher education affecting Black women and other marginalized populations. Kernysha has been natural since 2005, when she decided to loc her hair.