Everyday Hair Discourses of African Black Women

Zukiswa Majali; Jan K. Coetzee; Asta Rau

doi:10.18778/1733-8077.13.1.09

Authors

Zukiswa Majali University of the Free State, South Africa
Jan K. Coetzee University of the Free State, South Africa
Asta Rau University of the Free State, South Africa

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.18778/1733-8077.13.1.09

Keywords:

African Black Women, Black Beauty, Eurocentric Beauty, Hair, Race, Racialization of Beauty

Abstract

Hair for African Black people has always had meaning. In the past, elaborate hairstyles communicated their status, identity, and place within the larger society. In present day society, hair continues to be a significant part of being an African Black person. Especially for women, who attach a number of different meanings to hair. This study casts more light on young African Black women’s everyday perceptions of hair and uncovers the meanings they attach to hair and beauty. This is done by looking at how the intersections of race, gender, and class impact on their everyday perceptions and experiences of hair. The literature indicates that the hair preferences and choices of Black African women tend to emulate Western notions of beauty. This is due to a great extent to the historical link between Black hair and “bad” hair associated with old slave days. But, the narratives of participants contradict this normative discourse in many ways and provide new insights on hair — insights that reflect and motivate antiracist aesthetics.

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Author Biographies

Zukiswa Majali, University of the Free State, South Africa

Zukiswa Majali obtained her Master’s degree in the program The Narrative Study of Lives, Department of Sociology, University of the Free State, Bloemfontein, South Africa.
Jan K. Coetzee, University of the Free State, South Africa

Jan K. Coetzee is a Senior Professor of Sociology and Director of the program The Narrative Study of Lives in the Department of Sociology at the University of the Free State, Bloemfontein, South Africa. He specializes in qualitative sociology and serves on several international advisory boards.
Asta Rau, University of the Free State, South Africa

Asta Rau is the Director of the Centre for Health Systems Research & Development at the University of the Free State, South Africa. She works in qualitative research and is currently leading a project in partnership with the University of Antwerp on perceptions of stigma among healthcare workers.

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