Thursday, April 21, 2011
Gentlemen Prefer Blondes . . .
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Madame C. J. Walker
Below please find the ad (1905) that we discussed yesterday in class. Please notice that there are no labels of "before" and "after" in the original ad, although the pictures themselves tell the story. "Before using," Walker looks away from the camera. The last picture shows a very different Walker, both in terms of hair length and style and in terms of body language.
Sunday, April 17, 2011
Disney Hair / The Weave
On the other hand, there is also an article that I came across that touches upon the negative consequence of hair loss due to weaves. It's almost ironic to think that the more one tries to maintain their hair in order to look "beautiful" by the standards of mainstream media, the more you lose that hair. Speaking of hair loss, I also hear that Lady Gaga is experiencing it due to the excessive and constant dying of her hair.
Study on Weaves and Hair Loss
Lady Gaga's Hair Loss
Dick and Jane Reading Primer
Bo Braids and the Politically Incorrect
"What Farrah Fawcett did for the cascading mane, Bo Derkek is doing for braids," Newsweek magazine proclaimed in 1980.
Ironically, the era that began with Blacks exploring a new visual aesthetic of natural, nappy hair and African-inspired styles ended with a White woman being championed by the mainstream as the embodiment of beauty for wearing one such look. In 1979 Bo Derek made the movie 10. In it she wore her hair in cornrows with beads on the end, the same style that Cicely Tyson had worn more than a decade earlier. By 1980, on the pages of Time and Newsweek and in the lexicon of the population at large, cornrows had come to be known as "Bo Braids." Even those mainstream publications that took the time to note the African roots of the style seldom included photos of Black women wearing them.
Some like to point to Bo Derek as an example of America's embracing a multicultural, more inclusive beauty ideal." (the rest of the article will be available as class handout!)
Alicia Keys--
Monday, April 11, 2011
Hair Pieces and Other Hair Stories
1. Guest Blogger Meowser: The Hair Piece (Posted on April 23, 2008 by Kate Harding)
http://somdnews.com/stories/100507/indymor101644_32114.shtml
3. Black women and Their Hair - Back in the Day (This essay is a post from the Black Hair Yahoo Group) by Ta Ankh
http://www.pamspaulding.com/Pam/pampix/hairhistory.htm
Thursday, April 7, 2011
Hairy Men
Does the appearance of chest fuzz on a man make you hide behind a bush, or do you want to bury your hands into that luscious body hair? It seems that in general, we don't particularly love it. Enjoy "The Cycle of Chest Hair" from College Humor (http://www.collegehumor.com/article/5623567/the-cycle-of-chest-hair)
Fear the Beard
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X4BO26nqPmM&feature=player_embedded
Hair Matters
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
The ponytail/pigtail (queue) and Chinese men
Hello Everyone,
While in class, the discussion that the 'superior' physical looks of imperialists had an influence on what society now considers ‘bad,’ got me thinking. This reminded me of Americans cutting Chinese men’s ponytail/pigtail in the 19th century. The ponytail/pigtail (known as queue) was initially a symbol of submission in China, which I find ironic, for later cutting it or having it cut by someone else was of great shame. Their hairstyle became a symbol of culture, heritage, identity, etc. Moreover, the queue shows the importance of hair and politics. I did some little research and found the following chapter in Alternate Identities: The Chinese Contemporary Thailand.
The first three pages include a brief Prologue. The history of the queue starts on page 44.
Sunday, April 3, 2011
First Hair Matters
Michelle Obama's Hair Matters: (http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1919147,00.html