Allen, A. M., Wang, Y., Chae, D. H., Price, M. M., Powell, W., Steed, T. C., Rose Black, A., Dhabhar, F. S., Marquez‐Magaña, L., & Woods‐Giscombe, C. L. (2019). Racial discrimination, the Superwoman schema, and allostatic load: Exploring an integrative stress‐coping model among african american women. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1457(1), 104–127. Web.
The writers of this article investigate the connection between African American women’s allostatic load, the Superwoman archetype, and racial prejudice. An integrative stress-coping paradigm that considers both psychosocial and biological components is suggested by the study. In a cross-sectional study utilizing 183 African American women as a sample, the researchers discovered a correlation between racial discrimination experiences and increased allostatic load. The authors discovered that lower levels of allostatic stress were related to the Superwoman schema, a coping mechanism frequently used by African American women. However, the study has certain drawbacks, including a cross-sectional design and a relatively small sample size. The paper offers insightful information on how coping mechanisms and racial prejudice affect the health of Black American women. The study’s conclusions can help design culturally responsive interventions to lessen the detrimental effects of racial discrimination on African American women’s health outcomes.
Baird, M. L. (2021). ‘Making Black More Beautiful’: Black Women and the Cosmetics Industry in the Post‐Civil Rights Era. Gender & History, 33(2), 557–574. Web.
In this research, Baird examines how the cosmetics industry affected the post-Civil Rights era evolution of black women’s aesthetic standards. The study examines how black women have rejected constrictive beauty standards by employing beauty products to confirm their identities and the historical context of their connection with the beauty industry. The research shows that the beauty industry’s treatment of black women has been nuanced, involving exploitation and empowerment, using archival research and interviews with black women. Black women have used beauty products and the beauty industry to assert their autonomy and defy accepted beauty standards. The study’s breadth is constrained because it ignores the experiences of black women who do not use cosmetics. The paper underlines the significance of examining how the beauty business affects black women’s self-esteem and identity while offering insightful information on the intersections of race, gender, and beauty.
Goodman, M. (2021). Wearing My Crown to Work: The Crown Act as a Solution to Shortcomings of Title VII for Hair Discrimination in the Workplace. Touro Law Review, 37, 1001–1025. Web.
Goodman looks at how inadequate Title VII of the Civil Rights Act is in preventing hair discrimination at work and the necessity for the Crown Act to solve these issues. The study looks at the history of hair discrimination in America and the ways it supports both racism and standards of beauty that are Eurocentric. Because courts have been uneven in interpreting and applying the legislation, Goodman contends that Title VII has not successfully eliminated hair discrimination. The survey shows how many states have passed the Crown Act, which can potentially strengthen rights against hair discrimination at work.
Rajan-Rankin, S. (2021). Material intimacies and black hair practice: Touch, texture, resistance. NORA – Nordic Journal of Feminist and Gender Research, 29(3), 152–164. Web.
The materiality of black hair practice and its significance for black women’s identities and resistance are both examined by Rajan-Rankin in this piece. The article investigates how black women’s hair shapes cultural and historical settings and how they use it as a site of agency and resistance. In addition, it examines the function of touch, texture, and resistance in the practice of black hair using a feminist and materialist paradigm. The article emphasizes the significance of looking at the material aspects of black women’s resistance and offers insightful information on how race, gender, and materiality overlap. The study’s conclusions can help create programs to support black women’s positive body image and self-esteem.
Randle, B. A. (2015). I Am Not My Hair: African American Women and Their Struggles with Embracing Natural Hair!Race, Gender & Class, 20, 114–121. Web.
The difficulties African American women have embracing their natural hair and the effects of prevailing beauty standards on their self-image are examined by Randle in this essay. To examine the social, cultural, and historical influences that affect black women’s opinions toward natural hair, the study depends on interviews with these women. The essay emphasizes how these women navigate societal demands to meet Eurocentric beauty standards and their difficulties when embracing their natural hair. The research confirms that having natural hair makes people feel vulnerable and anxious about what others will think of them. However, for many African American women, having natural hair also acts as a resistance to oppressive beauty standards. The study’s sample size is constrained, and it ignores the experiences of African American women from various social strata. The article offers significant details on how race, gender, and beauty are related, as well as how popular beauty standards affect African American women’s self-image. The study’s conclusions help create programs to support African American women’s positive body image and self-esteem.
Robinson, D. E., & Robinson, T. (2020). Between a Loc and a Hard Place: A Socio-Historical, Legal, and Intersectional Analysis of Hair Discrimination and Title VII. University of Maryland Law Journal of Race, Religion, Gender & Class, 20(2), 263–288. Web.
In this article, Robinson and Robinson analyze hair discrimination and Title VII from a socio-historical, legal, and intersectional perspective. The study examines the social and legal ramifications of hair discrimination against persons of color and how it relates to other types of prejudice, including racism and sexism. The history of hair prejudice is highlighted, as is how it has been applied to uphold racial hierarchies and enforce prevailing beauty standards. In addition, the study looks at court cases that dealt with hair discrimination and the difficulties that victims have proving their claims under Section VII of the Civil Rights Act. The authors contend that to reflect more accurately the intersectional realities of people of color, the legal framework governing hair discrimination must be reviewed. The study, however, is constrained by its emphasis on legal analysis and neglects to look at the experiences of those who have experienced hair discrimination. The article underlines the necessity for intersectional strategies to address hair prejudice and offers insightful information on its social and legal aspects. The study’s conclusions can guide judicial and governmental actions to combat hair discrimination and advance inclusion and equity in the workplace.
Smith, C. (2018). The Policing of Black Women’s Hair in the Military. Africology: The Journal of Pan African Studies, 12(8), 50–63. Web.
Smith examines how the military regulates the hair of Black women in this piece. The study examines several hair-related laws and practices and how they disproportionately impact Black women. The article emphasizes how these rules uphold racist and sexist attitudes and Eurocentric beauty standards. According to Smith, these rules prevent Black women from advancing in their careers and further marginalize and exclude them from the military. The study also explores how Black women in the military who experienced hair prejudice have resisted and challenged these rules. According to Smith, monitoring Black women’s hair in the military is a symptom of larger racism, sexism, and discrimination problems in the country. The study is constrained, nevertheless, in that it only focuses on Black women’s military experiences and neglects to look at the broader social and cultural repercussions of hair discrimination. The essay stresses the need for cultural and policy changes to address this prejudice and offers insightful information about how Black women’s hair is regulated in the military. The study’s conclusions can guide initiatives to advance inclusion and equity in the armed forces and other institutions.