Not to long ago, on my online trek through the wonders of Facebook articles, I encountered an article that displayed several pictures of old men "hipsters." After reading the article and looking at the pictures the picture that caught my attention and related to the class was this picture right here. I really don't know what gets me to say wow this old dude is really cool. Is it his clothing? His tattoos? Or is it his hair? (Which by the way is pretty on point).
In regards to how this picture relates to the class, I just found it interesting learning how hair can represent one's individuality. In this case this "old man's" hairstyle illustrates that he may be old but he definitely pulls off the trendsetter/debonair style for himself.
Earlier this summer, the story around NAACP leader Rachel Dolezal, president of the NAACP chapter in Spokane, Washington, was at the center of much controversy when it was revealed that Dolezal, who has both identified as a black woman and claimed to have been victim of hate crimes, is in fact white.
Dolezal's "white" lie (pardoning the pun) left many bewildered, including Dolezal herself, who when interviewed by media outlets couldn't understand what, exactly, she'd done wrong.
Reactions to Dolezal's story continue to run the gamut. While on the one hand many seem amused by her attempts to "pass" as a black woman, on the other there are those who note that her case suggests much more than the ways in which cultural appropriation has become an acceptable practice in our country. In fact, her case, allows for discussions about notions of passing, black womanhood, racial identity and white privilege, among others. At the top center of Dolezal's story is her hair: "natural" sometimes, braided or dreadlocked on other occasions.
The following tweets (posted on thehuffingtonpost.com by 06/12/2015 5:31 pm EDT) deal with passing and, specifically, with Dolezal's hair. A couple of questions to consider:
What about Rachel's hair becomes important when discussing issues of racial identity and passing?
Could Rachel Dolezal have gotten away with her impersonation of an African-American woman had her hair been different?
What types of stereotypes did her hair both rely on and further promote in the process?
