The movement designates black women (and black men) who wear afro-textured hair in its natural, coiled, kinky or tight curly state. The word 'nappy' has been subjected to denigration since the Atlantic slave trade. Thereafter, some Afrodescendants have positively taken the word back, considered in francophone countries as a backronym made up of 'natural' and 'happy'.[1][2][3][4]
These women of African descent give up "relaxing" their hair and allow it to grow in its natural texture. To relax your hair means to chemically straighten it, which can be done professionally, or a kit can be purchased at a grocery store for home use.[5] Their hairstyles can vary by the adoption of hair twists, braids or even locks.[1][6] Not everyone who wears their natural hair chooses to forgo all (non-chemical) forms of straightening or styling. Additionally, "being natural" does not necessarily indicate a strict adherence to any particular type of product or styling regimen; nor should it be tied exclusively with certain social or political beliefs. Women (and men) choose to be natural for a wide variety of reasons.
Around 2005, an underground documentary film hit the independent film circuit called My Nappy Roots: A Journey Through Black Hair-itage. The highly acclaimed film won multiple awards and played on the college circuit. With years of research, the film historically looked at the word "nappy." My Nappy Roots chronicled over 400 years (and 200 hours of footage) of Afro hair culture starting in Africa through the middle passage, reconstruction the creation of the Black hair industry to current daythe year 2008. ItThis documentary became the definitive film on the history, culture, and economics on Black hair.The urban story postulated the word 'nappy' came from the cotton plant, the small cotton ball inside the plant being called a 'nap'. .The urban story postulated the word 'nappy' derived from the word 'nap', which was the name of the small cotton balls inside of a cotton plant. The word 'nappy' was born because it resembled the texture of unkempt Afro-textured hair. In an effort to be more acceptable socially, it was more desirable to have straight hair like the dominant culture. Once mixed race children were born, Black people internalized that 'nappy' hair was 'bad', unacceptable hair.1A This historic film has never been publicly released It was not until the public lawsuit in 2009 with Chris Rock's "Good Hair" that the concept of 'nappy' (and use of chemicals) was publicized worldwide. The world understood the concept of "good and bad hair" or "political hair" commonly referred to in the African American community.2AMy Nappy Roots began screening to sold-out audiences worldwide. International screenings of My Nappy Roots,the film, MNR and the organization called International Black Hair-itage and the internet helped to introduce the word 'nappy' to Afro cultures that did not know the word or its meaning. From the US to UK, France, and Africa, some black women have realized that their nappy hair can be beautiful to them. This calls into question the subconscious internalized association "nappy = ugly"; they stop therefore to comply with the dominant aesthetic ideal of "beautiful hair = smooth hair".
This return to naturalnessnatural hair in theat theorganic era[1][2] has been encouraged by the awareness of the harmful effects of relaxers on the scalp: Itches, red patches, burns, broken hairs or worse--alopecia[3](hair loss). However, among black women, 98% have had their hair straightened at least once in their lives, and relaxers have represented no less than 70% of the cosmetic purchases carried out by the population. In the 1980s–1990s, hair straightening was mainstreamed.
1A. Should be deleted because this makes an assumption/claim that is unsupported and not referenced.
2A. On light research of the term "political hair," I didn't find any definition that matches this claim, which wouldn't be the case if it was commonly used. And from the sentence, I am not sure if "political hair" means "good" or "bad" hair. *the paragraph formatting looks okay. There is a lack of citations for some of the information in the article I want to dive into. I did add a like for the film, My Nappy Roots, as well as for Alopecia and a citation for it.
Many black womenAfrodecendent women have faced pushbackopposition from wearing their hair in naturally curly styles or other non-straight, protective styles. At the 2015 Oscars ceremony, Fashion Police star Guliana Rancic commented that the hair of teen star Zendaya Coleman—who chose to wear locks on the red carpet—must have smelled of "patchouli oil or weed". This is in contrast to Rancic praising the look as "edgy" when worn by Kylie Jennerwho is a white woman.[1][2]
Many women have found that they are treated unjustly simply because of the natural way their hair grows. Natural hair can be deemed as "unprofessional", turning it into a fireable offense. For example, a 12-year-old student at a Florida Christian school with natural hair "was given one week to decide whether to cut her hair or leave the academy that she has attended since third grade" after she complained to school officials about being bullied by other students.[3] In March 2014, the Department of Defense issued a set of guidelines that banned all afros, dreadlocks, braids, and twists that were greater than 1⁄4" in diameter. Guidelines such as these clearly disproportionately affect and target those of African descent.[4] They later rolled back the guidelines that same year in August, allowing two-strand twists, the Army increased the size of permissible braids, and the Army removed the word "unkempt" from their guidelines.[5] In April 2016, a female Toronto Zara employee was reprimanded for wearing her hair in a braided hairstyle, which resulted in her filing a complaint with the Ontario Human Rights Commission.[6]
Hair appropriation/cultural appropriation has been a huge issue within the natural hair community. Many non-women of color, especially celebrities, often wear African-American hair styles despite notwithout knowing the history of the styles or without realizing that actions like this can be considered offensive. Take Kim Kardashian, for example, who wore Fulani braids( originating from the Fulani tribe of West Africa) on three different occasions without properly acknowledging the source of these braids. She incorrectly referenced them as 'Bo Derek' braids' after Bo Derek, an actress from the 1980's who wore Fulani braids in the 1979 film 10. Kim Kardashian received backlash especially from the black community but made no effort to correct or acknowledge her fault. Many women from the natural hair community took offense to this assince black women have historically worn braided styles like this for years but haven't received the same praise or acknowledgement as Kardashian. Instead the women are overlooked and deemed 'unprofessional' or even 'ghetto'.
The movement designates black women (and black men) who wear afro-textured hair in its natural, coiled, kinky or tight curly state. The word 'nappy' has been subjected to denigration since the Atlantic slave trade. Thereafter, some Afrodescendants have positively taken the word back. In francophone countries, it is often reanalyzed as a portmanteau of 'natural' and 'happy'.[7][8][9][10]
These women give up "relaxing" and let their hair grow in its natural texture. Their hairstyles can vary by the adoption of hair twists, braids or even locks.[7][11] Not everyone who wears their natural hair chooses to forgo all (non-chemical) forms of straightening or styling. Additionally, "being natural" does not necessarily indicate a strict adherence to any particular type of product or styling regimen; nor should it be tied exclusively with certain social or political beliefs. Women (and men) choose to be natural for a wide variety of reasons.
.There are many reasons why African American women decide to "go natural." The main reason for the movement is for women to redefine what beauty is or means in the black community.[12]
APA Citation
Wilkerson, K. (2019). The Natural Hair Movement: an understated revolution. [online] Digitalcommons.auctr.edu. Available at: http://digitalcommons.auctr.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?
*Below was on the talk page. It says that there should be a citation for the term wash and go because the author was unfamiliar with the term. Some of the sources I am looking at are suggestions from that author.
wash one's hair and going on about one's day. This means there is no drying or styling involved and the application of product is minimal (usually a moisturizer or anti-frizz serum). The wash and go is also sometimes referred to as the "shake and go" which further emphasizes the lack of actual styling involved. The goal of a wash and go is to define natural curls.
Citation: A. (2015, August 10). Curly Only While Wet? Type 4 Wash and Go Tips! Retrieved from http://www.curlynikki.com/2015/08/curly-only-while-wet-type-4-wash-and-go.html
2. I chose option A, The information is correct from the sources, but i wanted to add a little bit more to their definition.
3. The resource is a primary resource and it it a popular article. A How-To Article.
4. If this section was more about the movement itself, i would look for a scholarly journal or a paper written by a black activist. But this was simply about a term used by natural hair users for a styling technique. The best way to learn about a styling technique is from peers using videos, pictures, or articles that circulate within the community. It is best to learn from someone who point blank has the same curl pattern or type of hair.
a. This article explains the significance of hair in the African communities. It talks about the not just the different styles of the culture but the history, technique and compares to the relevant culture of blacks in North America. It really puts in perspective what was lost when the slave trade began.
b. I find it a credible resource because the author is from Africa. He's observe the culture and had primary sources (mainly people) and did his own research to create his articles. The whole website is attributed to his blog. There are many references, even to all the pictures posted on the site.
c. Kwekudee. (2012). Hairstyles in African culture.Trip Down Memory Lane. Retrieved from
a. This article also discuss African ancestry. Not specific about the different hair styles and what they mean but about its importance in African culture. And goes in depth about why and how black hair is the way it is.
b. This article is a credible resource. The article is on the website African American registry, which discusses all about black/African american, black European, and African culture. They have a lot of credible resources that are references.
c. n.a. (n.d.). Black hair care and culture, a story. AAREG. Retrieved April 15, 2019, from https://aaregistry.org/story/black-hair-care-and-culture-a-story/
Summary of the information found from these websites[edit]
Hair is a very important aspect of African life. The thickness and healthiness of the hair mirrors positive attributes from the culture for both women and men. Normally it is the elders who style the all of the hair in one's family and it is important for the others to learn how to do so. The tradition of braiding and styling hair is so sacred that there are actually a lot of rules and guidelines for it including: when and where to style, differences based on gender, different rituals and customs. The articles also go in depth about black hair and how it is different and the same as white hair. It discusses the appropriation of African culture once the slave trade became a thing and how blacks denounced their natural hair states and lost of culture.The research also dives into more specific hair styles in African culture and discuss how it is decorated and what each style means. All of this information relates to the Wikipedia article because in order to understand this new natural hair movement, we have to understand how it got to this point. The Wikipedia briefly speaks about the past and again briefly about where natural hair styles originate. I feel like we should go more in depth of these topics to have a more well rounded discussion on the Movement.
Where I would place the information into the article?[edit]
It would be in the section Natural hair: History of Afro-descendants after:
During the Atlantic slave trade, the conditions of servitude did not allow to take care of one's hair, which was subjected to denigration by the master: 'nappy' became a pejorative term.Cite error: The opening <ref> tag is malformed or has a bad name (see the help page).Cite error: The opening <ref> tag is malformed or has a bad name (see the help page). The deportation of millions of Africans made them separate from their originally aesthetic activities regarding hair care.Cite error: The opening <ref> tag is malformed or has a bad name (see the help page). In the ancestral traditions, hairdressing was "an activity during which the genealogies' history and many other cultural features were taught to children. Every African hairdressing was codified according to the ethnic group and by status."Cite error: The opening <ref> tag is malformed or has a bad name (see the help page).
The information about the texture and style of hair would be put under definitions before: In order to best treat naturally curly hair, celebrity hair stylist Andre Walker created a hair typing system. This categorized hair into 4 categories based on how tight curls are coiled. Type 3a,3b,3c,4a,4b,4c antying above is considered “wavy” or straight. Different ethnicities have different types of curl patterns, curl patterns also vary from person to person therefore one must understand their curl type as an individual.
I chose this image because it shows the many different hair types that is described in the article.This is the best way to categorize different types of natural hair. These types where mentioned in the vocabulary part of the article towards the bottom. This picture enhances the article because it shows that black hair isn't "nap," but comes in many shapes and forms. There isn't just one type, and natural hair doesn't mean just one thing.
