Vatsala Poddar Week 2

Summary – Module 2

A Hair Piece: Perspectives on the intersection of Race and Gender

This article talks about American legal decisions and personal diary narrations of women who want something as personal as their hair to be left alone. Legal precedents like the Roger case violate basic fundamental rights by prohibiting the braiding of hair during employment. 

Women rise against this and challenge the objectification of their hair because of their race and sex. The American legal system is unable to understand the foundation of intersectionality, that is, factors playing at the same time as they fail to see racism and sexism as something related. Women, especially back women are very conscious of the way they have put their hair and thus is mainly because of how the society reacts to it. The teacher was uncomfortable talking about the case because she felt she would have had to justify her personal decision of braiding her hair. Boundaries in professional discourse about personal and professional decisions come into play. Similarly, the girl who un-braided her hair attracted attention from her peers merely because she wore her hair differently. Some of these women braid their hair as a choice of identifying with their culture. These reactions show that this is an example of a prejudice conditioned by the society and shows interplay of race, sex and culture. The legal sanction to such behavior reinforces the ‘American aesthetic’ and delves upon the negative associations with the indigenous traits of one’s culture. This should be challenged not only by black women but by everybody, this does not mean court cases but something as simple as defying the societal constructs on a daily basis. This can start at your home, or workplace and by something as simple as telling someone that it is okay to be you.