Exploring Connections Between Racial Identity, Societal Norms And Chemical Products
Ana Ozuna, Sarah L. Hoiland, and Nelson Nunez-Rodriguez
INTRODUCTION
While eating breakfast before a New Faculty Orientation meeting, early one Fall morning in 2013, the idea of collaborating on an interdisciplinary project was born. The topic? Hair. Professor Ana Ozuna would focus on racial identity as it relates to Dominican identity, Professor Sarah L. Hoiland would address societal norms and the social construction of hair identity, and Professor Nelson Nunez-Rodriguez would examine the relationship between the use of chemical products
and gender. Each of us agreed to select one reading from our subject area and create guiding questions for students enrolled in our Spring 2014 semester courses, Caribbean Society and Culture, Introduction to Anthropology, and General Chemistry I. This teaching note provides a brief summary of our project rationale
and background as well as an overview of the activities conducted during the Spring semesters of 2014 and 2015. We are delighted to share the inception and current locus of this exciting pilot, “Hair Project.”
This integrative unit engages Hostos students in the interdisciplinary study of hair while deepening their understanding of the interconnections between racial identities, society, and the chemical industry. Professor Ozuna assessed the legacy of black denial instituted in the Dominican identity paradigm as it relates to Dominican hair culture, and additionally examined Indian hair culture in relation
to Western beauty ideals. Professor Hoiland focused on hair as both a biological adaptation and an important part of culture, particularly in terms of ethnicity, gender, and religion. Similarly, Professor Nelson Nunez-Rodriguez examined the relation- ship between racial identity and gender expectations, yet primarily focused on the social and commercial pressure fostered by the chemical industry. Concomitantly, his students analyzed the chemical properties of popular hair products that cause protein denaturalization.
BACKGROUND
Historically, hair has served as an important social symbol and a significant cultural marker. Characters in twentieth-century American literature, like Janie in Their Eyes Were Watching God and Beneatha in A Raisin in the Sun, remind us that hair is symbolic and imbued with meaning, particularly in the African American community. Hair is linked to beauty, age, assimilation, racial or ethnic pride, resistance, social class, religious beliefs, and, of course, power. Hair is an important part of one’s identity and is shorn to strip one’s individuality and force obedience in prisons and the military, adorned as part of a rite of passage, and used to categorize and dominate people according to perceived notions of race. Professor Ozuna’s joint reading focuses on the present-day Dominican identity paradigm conceived by Dominican elites during the colonial period who participated in racist conditioning by emphasizing positive association with Spanish and indigenous heritage. Hence, the idealization of white and indigenous cultural supremacy led to what Ginetta Candelario describes as the “Indo-Hispanic norm of Dominicanness”, and a legacy of black denial that persists today. (240). As a result, skin color and hair texture that reflect mixed heritage grants social privilege and acceptance in the Dominican Republic and its diaspora communities. Professor Hoiland selected anthropologist Barbara D. Miller’s “The Disappearance of the Oiled Braid: Indian Adolescent Female Hairstyles in North America” which examines the Indian diaspora and succinctly presents three theoretical lenses within which to view this phenomenon. Political economy, feminist, and theories of race/ ethnicity, as presented in Miller, provided students with a framework to conceptualize their own ethnographic “hair projects.” The joint reading led students to question what is considered beautiful in their culture and how those notions of beauty are related to power. Professor Nunez-Rodriguez selected a reading that examines historical and contemporary hair perming, and delineates the chemical breakdown of the hair during the perming or relaxing process. His students also tested a range of chemical products used to modify hair texture and presented their findings in poster presentations on the damage associated with hair modification. Throughout the semester students evaluate how the chemical industry plays on cultural pressures to create, market, and sell hair products in a global market.
All professors also featured and discussed the documentary Good Hair (2009) starring comedian Chris Rock who popularized the commonly heard phrase “good hair” and “bad hair” in this film. Rock explores how the cultural pressure to have “good hair” has created a global market of hair care products targeted primarily to women of color. The informal written assignment prompted some students to question if Rock pathologizes black women by positing their hair care regimen as erratic and driven by the desire to achieve the Eurocentric beauty ideal.
LEARNING OUTCOMES
At the end of this project, Hostos students will be able to: 1) analyze the intersection between racism and hair culture in the United States, 2) generate meaningful interdisciplinary connections between complex ethical and social problems, 3) develop information literacy and writing skills in three separate disciplines, 4) deepen their understanding of course content and demonstrate conclusions in either a paper, presentation, or both. Moreover, students will explore the connections between institutional policies and practices that maintain racial discrimination and foster internal cognitive trauma. In doing so, our students will develop their cultural competencies by embarking in a meaningful debate intended to respect differences, develop empathy, and learn to discuss necessary difficult topics.
SEMESTER ASSIGNMENTS
We launched our “Hair Project” during the 2014 Spring semester in our respective classes. We collectively assigned interdisciplinary readings, developed written assignments, and integrated media in our classroom instruction throughout the semester. In addition, all students participated in joint course-related activities. During African American History Month, students attended a multimedia panel discussion on the dynamics of Black beauty in African diaspora communities in the United States. Panelists included Hostos Community College professors from Black Studies, Visual Performing Arts, Sociology, and English. This event served as a “hook” for many students and prompted ongoing discussions both inside and outside the classroom.
“Hair Project” professors also planned and assigned an optional two-week Natural Hair Challenge. During this period, participants refrained from using any chemical product or styling tool that altered the hair pattern and documented their experience on Facebook. Students posted photos, comments, questions, and videos dealing with natural hair and perceptions of the Black aesthetic. The semester culminated with a presentation titled, “It’s All Pelo Bueno ‘Good Hair’: Black Beauty in the Caribbean.” Dominican photographer, Marino Corniel presented a series of photographs taken during his extensive travel in the Dominican Republic, Cuba, and Puerto Rico from 2010-1013. His work encapsulates the dynamic hair culture of the Caribbean and reveals the growing acceptance of natural hair in spite of the dominant beauty standard that favors the use of chemical straightening products.
FUTURE DIRECTIONS
The enthusiasm and interest expressed by students and faculty alike prompted us to consider further developing our project and reflecting on our initial teaching experience. In November 2014, we presented our work at the Regional Community College Humanities Association Conference in Baltimore, Maryland. During the Spring 2015 semester, we ramped up our unit with additional readings, media content, assignments, and joint events. We are currently examining ways to assess the global citizenship general education competencies in all three courses using the “Hair Project” as an anchor. This interdisciplinary project illustrates the ways to implement a culturally responsive pedagogical approach, and uses a number of teaching modalities to engage students in comprehensive analytical thinking about the hair identity hierarchies.
References
Candelario, Ginetta E. B. “Black Women Are Confusing but the Hair Lets You Know” Black Behind the Ears: Dominican Racial Identity from Museums to Beau ty Shops. Durham: Duke UP, 2007. Print.
“P&G Beauty & Grooming | Perming Hair.” P&G Beauty & Grooming | Perming Hair. Procter & Gamble, 2013. Web. 11 Mar. 2014.
Hiltebeitel, Alf, and Barbara D. Miller. “The Disappearance of the Oiled Braid: Indian Adolescent Female Hairstyles in North America” Hair: Its Power and Meaning in Asian Cultures. Albany: State U of New York, 1998. Print.
Websites and online YouTube videos:
Féliz, Elaine. “Discriminación contra el pelo rizo en República Dominicana.” Online video clip. YouTube. YouTube, 20 Aug. 2014. Web Mar. 2014
Rock, Chris. “Good Hair” Online video clip. YouTube. YouTube, 6 Oct. 2009. Web Mar. 2014