Rukman Banka Week 2

An individual’s hair and their apparel are often considered as a significant parameter to make a definitive statement about their personality and character. The societal expectation for the same is high in the case of women and even higher for black women. Theirs is the issue which layered with matters of race, caste, politics, etc. In her work “A Hair Piece: Perspectives on the Intersection of Race and Gender” Paulette M. Caldwell elucidates very beautifully such issues through a legal perspectives. Innumerable incidents through history and present have acknowledged that the discrimination faced by black women is a combination of sex and race simultaneously as intersectionality prevails in their situations. A woman’s worth is often judged by the length of her hair, as longer it is the better. The chemicals and investment involved by them to reach the “acceptable” standards is immense and dangerous. The author explains this through the case of Rogers v. American Airlines. Their chances of getting the employment, their position if they are lucky to get one varies widely according to the way their hair is perceived. Wearing their natural hairstyle is often frowned upon as they are not “pleasant” or “professional” to look at. The author mentions legal cases often throughout her piece to point towards the fact that the discrimination and this line of thought is so ingrained in our heads that even the judiciary is not exempted from this sin of bringing in the bias for the same.