Discrimination based on hair texture is a form of

social injustice Social justice is justice in terms of the distribution of wealth, Equal opportunity, opportunities, and Social privilege, privileges within a society. In Western Civilization, Western and Culture of Asia, Asian cultures, the concept of social ...

, found worldwide.

Afro-textured hair Afro-textured hair, or kinky hair, is a human hair texture originating from sub-Saharan Africa. Each strand of this hair type grows in a tiny, angle-like helix shape. The overall effect is such that, contrasted with straight, wavy, or curly ha ...

has frequently been seen as being "unprofessional," "unattractive," and "unclean."

History

In the

Western world The Western world, also known as the West, primarily refers to the various nations and states in the regions of Europe, North America, and Oceania.

, afro-textured hair has historically been treated with disdain, by members of all ethnicities. In the 15th and 16th centuries, the

Atlantic slave trade The Atlantic slave trade, transatlantic slave trade, or Euro-American slave trade involved the transportation by slave traders of enslaved African people, mainly to the Americas. The slave trade regularly used the triangular trade route and ...

saw Black Africans forcibly transported from Sub-Saharan Africa to North America and, upon their arrival in the

New World The term ''New World'' is often used to mean the majority of Earth's Western Hemisphere, specifically the Americas."America." ''The Oxford Companion to the English Language'' (). McArthur, Tom, ed., 1992. New York: Oxford University Press, p. ...

, their heads would be shaved in effort to erase their culture, as many Africans used hairstyles to signify their tribal identity, marital status, age, and other personal characteristics. Early on, both men and women would wear

headscarves A headscarf is a scarf covering most or all of the top of a person's, usually women's, hair and head, leaving the face uncovered. A headscarf is formed of a triangular cloth or a square cloth folded into a triangle, with which the head is cov ...

in order to protect their scalps from

sunburn Sunburn is a form of radiation burn that affects living tissue, such as skin, that results from an overexposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation, usually from the Sun. Common symptoms in humans and animals include: red or reddish skin that i ...

and

lice Louse ( : lice) is the common name for any member of the clade Phthiraptera, which contains nearly 5,000 species of wingless parasitic insects. Phthiraptera has variously been recognized as an order, infraorder, or a parvorder, as a resul ...

but, as time progressed, these hair wraps became more associated with women, who began to wear them in various fashions, based on their region and personal style. In the 19th century, when enslaved men and women were no longer being brought from Africa, quality of life increased for them somewhat as they became more valuable in their owners' eyes. Now enjoying Sundays off, Black women would take the day to style their hair, uncovering it for church services but keeping it wrapped Monday through Saturday. As traditional styling tools were not available to them, Black women began to use butter, kerosene, and bacon grease and combs meant for livestock to style their hair. The concept of " good hair" arose in the time leading up to the abolition of slavery in the United States. Enslaved people who worked in the home did not wear headscarves as field laborers did and, as they were often children of a White man in the family that owned them. To straighten their hair, Black women would often use a mixture of lye, which could burn their skin. In

New Orleans, Louisiana New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

Louisiana Creole Louisiana Creole ( lou, Kréyòl Lalwizyàn, links=no) is a French-based creole language spoken by fewer than 10,000 people, mostly in the state of Louisiana. It is spoken today by people who may racially identify as White, Black, mixed, and ...

women were required by law to wear a tignon, to cover their hair, and, in an act of resistance, did so but adorned their wraps with fine fabrics and jewelry. Madam C. J. Walker, an African American businesswoman, achieved great fortune and recognition for widening the teeth of the hot comb, which would straighten afro-textured hair.

Discrimination by country

Canada

Similar to many countries around the world, black and

First Nations First Nations or first peoples may refer to: * Indigenous peoples, for ethnic groups who are the earliest known inhabitants of an area. Indigenous groups *First Nations is commonly used to describe some Indigenous groups including: ** First Nat ...

Canadians have experienced discrimination in educational and professional environments. One type of discrimination has been based on their hair textures and styles. The cause of this type of discrimination is based on long standing

Eurocentric Eurocentrism (also Eurocentricity or Western-centrism) is a worldview that is centered on Western civilization or a biased view that favors it over non-Western civilizations. The exact scope of Eurocentrism varies from the entire Western wo ...

views of beauty that were established during early

colonization Colonization, or colonisation, constitutes large-scale population movements wherein migrants maintain strong links with their, or their ancestors', former country – by such links, gain advantage over other inhabitants of the territory. When ...

. Setting this standard was used as a tool to suppress both African and First nations culture. Though Canada has made a commitment to support anti-racism and reconciliation there has been no specific protections put in place (such as the United States CROWN Act) to protect against this form of discrimination. In

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tota ...

, there has been notable cases of discrimination that made national news sites about Black Canadian women being discriminated against at their work place, due to their hair being deemed unprofessional. In 2016, a Bi-racial woman in Scarborough, Ontario, who was working at the retail chain ZARA, was asked to remove her box braids because her hair style was unprofessional. In another case, an African-American woman living in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple- ...

, Quebec, was sent home from a restaurant and denied shifts, because her hair was in cornrows. The woman gained representation through the Centre for Research Action on Race Relations (CRARR), and filed a case with the Quebec Human Rights Commission based racial and gender discrimination. She won her case and was awarded $14,500 in damages. First Nations people in Canada have also experienced discrimination and harm due to wearing hair styles that do not conform to

view. During the time of residential schools, First Nations children braids were cut from their heads to force assimilation. Similar incidents have happened recently in Canada. In 2009, in Thunder Bay, Ontario, a First Nations boy’s hair was cut by a teachers aide. In 2018, a boy in Calgary, Alberta came from school with his hair cut after another student bullied him and then cut out his braid. Braids hold significant ties to the past before colonization and have important culture meaning.

Dominican Republic

In the

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic ( ; es, República Dominicana, ) is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean region. It occupies the eastern five-eighths of the island, which it shares with ...

, hair is seen as an important attribute of physical beauty. Many view straight hair as beautiful and appropriate for a professional setting while also seeing

afro-textured hair Afro-textured hair, or kinky hair, is a human hair texture originating from sub-Saharan Africa. Each strand of this hair type grows in a tiny, angle-like helix shape. The overall effect is such that, contrasted with straight, wavy, or curly ha ...

as inappropriate and distracting. This mindset had stemmed from

racial discrimination Racial discrimination is any discrimination against any individual on the basis of their skin color, race or ethnic origin.Individuals can discriminate by refusing to do business with, socialize with, or share resources with people of a certain ...

. This has changed over the years in the United States and abroad as the American Natural Hair Movement gains popularity. In the Dominican Republic,

hair straightening Hair straightening is a hair styling technique used since the 1890s involving the flattening and straightening of hair in order to give it a smooth, streamlined, and sleek appearance. It became very popular during the 1950s among black males and ...

is done for the same reasons it is done in the United States and the diaspora for convenience and to conform to western beauty standards. In 1996 Rooks affirmed "Hair in 1976 spoke to racial identity politics as well as bonding between African American women. Its style could lead to acceptance or rejection from certain groups and social classes, and its styling could provide the possibility of a career". Straightened and more conservative styles are still the standard in the workplace, as it is in the United States and other countries with African descendants of the diaspora. The views expressed aren't exclusive to the Dominican Republic. Contrary to popular misconception many Dominican women do wear natural hair and it is becoming increasingly accepted in society.

Jamaica

In 2018, a five-year-old girl was banned from attending classes at her primary school in Kingston, Jamaica, for having dreadlocks.

Somalia

During the

Arab slave trade History of slavery in the Muslim world refers to various periods in which a slave trade has been carried out under the auspices of Arab peoples or Arab countries. Examples include: * Trans-Saharan slave trade During the Trans-Saharan slave ...

, many

Bantus The Bantu peoples, or Bantu, are an ethnolinguistic grouping of approximately 400 distinct ethnic groups who speak Bantu languages. They are native to 24 countries spread over a vast area from Central Africa to Southeast Africa and into Southern A ...

were captured in Tanzania and brought to work as slaves in Somalia. The Bantus are phenotypically, linguistically and culturally distinct from the ethnic Somalis of Somalia and were discriminated based on this and still are to this day. The Bantus brought there, who are now called Somali Bantus, were called "Jareer" by the ethnic Somalis which is derogatory word meaning kinky-haired.

United States

References

Bibliography

*"Black Women and Identity: What's Hair Got To Do With It?" vol. 22, no. 1, fall 2008–2009 *"Dreadlock Discrimination: Is There Such A Thing?" AOL Jobs. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Apr. 2013. *""Dreadlock Discrimination" Triggers Lawsuit." Racial Discrimination Based On A Hairstyle? N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Apr. 2013. *"For African-American Women, a Hairstyle Can Be a Tricky Decision." SaportaReport. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Apr. 2013. *"Good Hair (film)." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 28 Apr. 2013. Web. 30 Apr. 2013. *"Willis Mason. History of the American People. Boston: Allyn and Bacon, 1922. Print. {{Discrimination Anti-black racism Anti-indigenous racism Hair Human hair