Emily E on hair styles

Our homestay in Ocean View was better than I anticipated while I faced some familiar challenges. I’ve never wanted to change the mind of a little girl so badly.

Afro textured hair is associated with words like nappy, unmanaged and short. It is considered the worst texture of hair and you were cursed if you were born with it. When I was little I used to hate my natural curls and my mother chemically relaxed for as long as I can remember. Hair extensions or relaxed hair was an attempt to appropriate in the workplace and to match Eurocentric beauty standards. Luckily in the United States, more girls (including myself) are starting to embrace their hair and realize the variety it offers. As I tried to convince my host sister how beautiful her hair was she persisted with her dislike of it. My attempt to change her mindset was to do her hair with Dani. The next day, my host mother appreciated learning new hairstyles to try on her daughter. As I watched little children playing with my classmates’ hair during our visit to a kindergarten, I could not help but empathize as I was once fascinated with straight flowing hair. But the sad thing is that they may continue to loathe their hair texture because South African beauty standards seem to be Eurocentric as well. However, women do walk around the streets with elaborate braided hairstyles. That is their norm as it is mostly discouraged in American society. I want to know what is considered ‘natural’ and whether women attempt to relax their hair by choice or to assimilate.