Shivani Mody Week Two

A Hair Piece by  Paulette Caldwell 

Paulette Caldwell in her article “A Hair Piece” draws attention to the intersectionality of discrimination faced by a back woman. To illustrate the completely unique position of a black woman, who is disadvantaged not only by her gender but also by her race, Paulette uses the medium of hair. She establishes how these two levels of discrimination are not separate or individualistic, but interplay with each other to create an entire new category which distinct from that of white females or that of black males. It is this very intersectionality that courts fail to recognise while deciding cases such as that of Rogers. Workplace restrictions on braided hair are not seen as discriminatory because they do not target a particular gender or racial group. However, in deciding such a case the court completely ignores the innate cultural connotations that braided hairstyles have to black women particularly. Hair has for a long time been a source of shame which was co-opted as tool for emancipation by black women. Hair became a ground of physical distinction for black women, but its liberation and a freedom to wear it with pride is what makes it cultural symbol. A restriction on this freedom, be it through workplace guidelines or through subtle looks of judgement from colleagues, is something that we as individuals (not as women or members of particular background) need to combat.