Ode to Curly, Poofy, Textured, and Afro Hair | Collab

Instructions

[] Sign the petition to pass the CROWN Act (in the U.S.) to ban race-based hair discrimination (if you are a minor, ask for parent permission before signing). You can click/tap on this link to go to the petition's page: https://p2a.co/xiiR7xE . [] • Disclaimer: switching slides quickly may seem like flickering, which may be visually disturbing to some. <3 // Use arrow keys or click / tap to proceed. // // Important Notes // [ 1. ] [Content warning: texturism.] Though this project does include curly, poofy, textured, and afro hair of people of all ethnicities, I wanted to make sure that I was not equating the problems white people with curly hair (such as myself) may face (such as teasing, trouble finding hair stylists that know how to do their hair, etc.) to the oppression of Black people with afro hair and other people of color with textured hair, as for people of color not only are all those issues exasperated, but they also face actual instances of oppression (tied to cultural and racial oppression) such as discrimination at school or in the workplace, cultural appropriation of hair styles, and more. You can find sources on texturism below, after the "Important Notes." However, please feel totally free to let me know if you think that this is not enough and have any suggestions on how I could improve. <3 [ 2. ] To avoid "othering" representation, each participant in the collab was asked to produced work celebrating their own hair texture (exceptions were allowed for art depicting a group of people with various hair textures). [ 3. ] I feel the need to specify that this means absolutely no hate towards straight-haired or wavy-haired people. All hair is beautiful, this collab focuses on curly/poofy/textured/afro hair because these textures tend to exist outside of the beauty standards (though there are definitely also beauty standards inside of the curly hair community) and, for Black people with afro hair and people of color with textured hair, come with actual oppression. [ 4. ] Credits go to the Black women who pioneered the movement for self-love of curly, poofy, textured, and afro hair. I also want to specify that I do not consider this project to be representative of the Natural Hair Movement per se, because, at least according to my understanding (though there are varying opinions on this), the Natural Hair Movement is by and for women of color. This project is just about people coming together to celebrate their hair textures, acknowledge the differences in their experiences, and promote self-love. [ 5. ] If you believe that this project could, in any way and for whatever reason, do more harm than good, please feel very free to let me know, as I would truly appreciate it. The goal of this project is to spread happiness and self-love, if it were to come off as offensive, it would be pointless. <3 [ 6. ] To ensure fairness, each participant was asked to also share the completed project on their own profile. <3 // Sources on Texturism // 1. History of Black Hairstyles (content warning: texturism, slavery, cultural appropriation): https://www.history.com/news/black-hairstyles-visual-history-in-photos . 2. Texturism in hair salons and in the education of hair stylists (content warning: texturism): https://www.harpersbazaar.com/beauty/hair/a32823733/hair-salon-racial-segregation-essay/ , https://www.vogue.com/article/hairstyling-industry-racism-bias-beauty-cosmetology-school-salons-red-carpet . 3. Why you shouldn’t touch Black women’s hair (content warning: texturism, unwanted hair touching, s3xual 4ss4ult): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OLQzz75yE5A . 4. The specific issues Black women face due to their afro hair (content warning: texturism): https://hiplatina.com/white-women-natural-hair-movement/ .