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.
This is really great, Cristian! In particular because I wanted to include something like this in the syllabus. Cutting off braids, a ponytail, a lock of hair may both represent a token of love (if given to a lover or kept as a childhood relic by a doting parent) and an act of shaming. In terms of shaming and a type of violence inflicted upon the self or another individual, I am thinking of Fantine in Victor Hugo's Les miserables, who cuts off her hair and sells it or Bernice (F. Scott Fitzgerald, Bernice Bobs Her Hair, whose entire text is available on this blog), who cuts off the braids of her "enemy." I am also thinking of the way assimilation has always tacitly required Native American men to cut their hair short.
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