The Relationship between Women and Hair

The notion of beauty among women has not been universal because it has changed significantly over time and across various cultures. The modern definition of beauty places an emphasis on youth and includes features like a thin frame, high, firm breasts, and most crucially, the way one's hair looks (Tiggemann and Kenyon 873). The hair on a woman's body has a significant role in defining her culture, personality, individuality, vanity, and sensuality. In many cultures, woman’s hair plays a vital role in the growth of the social paradigms about body, for instance, hair-grooming rituals have various symbolic and religious meanings, and there are still many forms of social taboos which are associated with woman’s hair (Pergament 42). Hair gives women the opportunity to show who they are without verbally expressing themselves. In some cultures, it represents women’s purity and serves as a very sacred element. Hair can be as powerful as a women’s self-identity. This paper critically analyses the importance of hair for women based on the social, cultural, spiritual, religious, personal, and professional relationship between a woman and her hair.

The hair of the human body has been considered to be a vestigial structure since the introduction of the different forms of body-wares has taken up the warm-keeping needs of the human beings. There are different types of hair which develop throughout the life of a human being. The first one to develop is called lanugo, which is a layer of downy, slender, hair that becomes evident in the second trimester of the fetal development. After shedding off the lanugo, vellus hair is developed and it covers all parts of the body apart from the palms, feet soles, inner surfaces of the fingers, and toes (Johnson and Bankhead 92).

At the time of reaching puberty, the vellus hair is supplemented with the terminal hair which develops in the genital regions, armpits, and occasionally on parts of the limbs and trunks. The mature hair shafts are nonliving biologic fibers. A mammalian hair is made up of the shaft and the follicle. The hair is continuously shed and renewed through a process which consists of alternating cycles of growth, rest, fallout, and the renewed growth. The average life cycle of the hair shaft varies from around three months, while that of the vellus hair ranges between three to five years (Pergament 43).

The hair on a woman’s body is a symbol of sexual ripeness and is meant to show that she is of sufficient growth to reproduce. However, through history women have repeatedly been told that hair anywhere on their bodies is extremely unsavory. A great deal of effort and time are needed to obtain the smooth skin that women are told to have. The methods of hair removing include shaving, waxing, laser treatments, tweezing, threading, electrolysis, hair removal creams, and even hormone treatments among other home remedy and medical solutions (Smelik 241). The symbolism of woman’s hair was largely expressed by Marc Jacobs’s rainbow dreadlocks during the Fashion Week 2016. Some people argued that it was a cultural expression, while the others considered it to be an artistic expression which was meant to make her unique (Bazaar 1).

Hair removal had begun as a very spiritual activity for women in some cultures until 1915 when Gillette advertised its first female razor called the Milady Décolleté. This advertisement was the first of its kind to make women feel insecure about “an embarrassing personal problem.” During this time of history, women started to loosen their necklines and shorten their sleeves. For marketing teams around the world it was a new marketplace that they were ready to explore. This event was indubitably unfortunate to women (Harfmann and Bechtel 192). At this point of history women were becoming more self-confident and showed more skin off to the world, and many of them were entering the first wave feminism.

Historically, hair has preserved a spiritual, social, cultural, and aesthetic importance in the lives of women. For instance, hair has played significant role in being part of the language and communication method in the traditional African societies such as the Wolof, Yoruba, and Mandingo where women used their hairstyle as a means of portraying a particular message (Johnson and Bankhead 87). Some of the most popular cultural norms in the United States of America have played an essential role in establishing one’s identity, and hair has always been on the frontline among women.

Over a number of years, women have used their hair to institute group identity and as a mechanism which could show some resistance against the social norms that are put in place by the dominant culture (Manning 35). Even though women’s hair has been considered as a physiological occurrence, it has a social function as well. Hair is always an object of powerful embellishment and obsession in the society.

In modern society, women spend much more time and money on their hair than men do, in light of this, there are some stereotypes such as dumb-blonde, fair maiden, and blonde jokes, which have been developed in relation to women and their hair colors. According to Manning, hair acts as social contrast which is firmly connected to the identity of women and hence functions as part of the larger language appearance which has the role of telling the other people who exactly the woman is (36). It is therefore important to note that on a social basis, a woman’s hairstyle is mostly used as a facial cue for sex.

Every society in the world has got a specific type of hair style which can be used to identify them. For example, women from the Caribbean countries such as Jamaica are likely to have dreadlocks, while their counterparts from Africa, mostly the southern part of Africa, are likely to have an afro hairstyles. These types of hairstyles have a specific point of connections between women and their society. With the currently increasing number of companies which would like their products to be advertised to the public, many of these companies would always prefer taking up the offer from women who are attractive, those who can easily lure the potential customers to buy their products.

According to Harfmann and Bechtel, beauty of a woman is defined with the quality of her hair (188). This is a clear indication that in most cases only those women who have beautiful hairstyles will be hired for such advertisements. Beautiful appearance is always emphasized by hairstyle. This is based on the fact that most beautiful women with voluminous are more attractive to men which increases their chances of being infected with different types of sexually transmitted diseases in comparison with their counterparts who do not have beautiful hairstyles (Harfmann and Bechtel 194).

Hairstyles and rituals connected with hair care and adornment of the women’s hair display powerful messages about person’s believes, lifestyle, and commitments. The symbolism of woman’s hair has been for many years intensely researched by different anthropologists, with more attention paid to marriage and initiation ceremonies, mourning rituals, and magic (Pergament 45). In some communities, woman’s hair created a strong link between the woman and her soul and this unusual connection might remain even if the hair is cut.

In some early communities, just like in contemporary world, people believe that there is a linkage between women and their severed hair remains, for that reason, allowing the person who will gain possession of the same hair is considered to be negative because wigs and weaves can have the exact powers (Manning 45). Among some women, there are believes that their hair contains some special powers of charms and amulets which they can use for self-defense and conduct medical treatments. Based on its versatility as an adornment, hair of a woman can symbolize not only the social norms in the society but also the changes which take place based on the social ideology variations.

Hair is very significant to every woman since it is the part of her identity. It therefore can be referred to as a distinct marker of feminist gender and identity (Pergament 47). The color of woman’s hair can be used in the determination of the political and power relationship, for example, the black afro hair amongst the African women is used to symbolize the Black power and militancy. The afro is equivalent to militancy and revolution, and therefore it can be used to induce a strong feeling of power and political confrontation for the Blacks and White alike (Johnson and Bankhead 89).

The rise of the cosmetic industries which produce different hair products for women have in some cases led to the development of the community-based organizations to address the need of a realistic and reliable way of appreciating the natural woman’s hair (Johnson and Bankhead 90). In that case, different blogs and YouTube channels have been created which are dedicated to promoting the preservation of natural hair among women since most of the cosmetic products could have negative effects on the lives of women and the environment. The woman’s hair can be classified according to the originality of the woman. For example, different standards of the hair create a hierarchy, with long straight hair being on the top of the pyramid while the African and African American hair being placed at the bottom of the table (Thomas 6).

Based on the respective characteristics, a black woman’s hair is traditionally dry, tightly coiled, or curled. To achieve the Western standards of beauty, most women with African roots have resorted to the use of different chemicals to help them straighten or relax their hair. However, in the recent years, there are a lot of women of African origin who have resorted to maintaining their natural hairstyle through an initiative termed as “going natural.” Due to this drastic change, more African and African American women with natural hair are in the recent years have been included in different forms of commercial movements such as advertisement (Thomas 3).

According to Thomas, some of the reasons which have made most of the women return to their natural hair include the need to follow a healthier lifestyle, to explore the curiosity around the natural hair texture, to act as a role model to their daughters, find more time and energy which they can spend while using relaxers, and most importantly, to return to their roots and embrace their culture (1). According to Woolford et al., even though the reasons for adopting the natural hair may vary from one person to the other, nonetheless, the journey is exciting and full of a lot of promises (2).

Hairstyle choices of women develop the meaning of two main domains which include acceptability and the overall quality of the hair. These key factors play an important role in the determination of the level of the individual woman’s self-esteem. Furthermore, there is the perception that to become acceptable in the mainstream America, more importantly in the corporate world, woman should have a straight hair, while the braided, locked, or natural hair is less acceptable in the job market in the United States of America. This perception has in the recent days overturned since many women, especially African American, have gone back to natural hair grooming as a show of their originality and tolerance (Woolford et al. 2).

Different colors of women’s hair have a specific meaning in conjunction with the respective facial expression of the woman. For example, red color of hair is one considered to stand out on its own and means something by itself. In that case, if a woman has red hair, be it naturally red or dyed, it means that she is a fun loving, while a woman with curly hair is likely to be warm-hearted and the one who does things faster than other people.

According to Delaney, a woman who has a medium length wash and go style, she is likely to be a good thinker and one who values logics, while those women with short wash and go hairstyles are likely to be ones who do not like fuss over things in life, and that concerns her hair (161). Even though there is a clear connection between the woman’s hair and her religion, sex, and culture, it is important to note that there is still no legitimacy in assuming that the motivations and meanings of the various styles of hairstyles are same everywhere (Delaney 162).

In most of the cases, woman’s hair has been linked to beauty, self-esteem development, attractiveness, and forgetting that there are also some negative perceptions which are linked to the hairy body, be it on the head or the pubic regions. In the contemporary world, it is common for many women around the world trying to beautify themselves by leaving their hair loose, with some going extra miles to style their open hair as well. It has been noticed in the horror movies where the female ghosts have loose hair, while mythological movies show women with hair tied as plaits or buns (De Maria and Berenson 229).

All the female Deities always have their hair being tied up, except when they are on a mission to destroy a demonic force. Even though loose hair might look attractive and stylish, it is important to note that it is spiritually perceived that loose hair is a very dangerous invitation to the negative energies. Keeping body hair in some parts such as armpits and pubic regions might have some positive health benefit for women, for example, reduction of bacterial and fungal infection, continuous regulation of the body temperature, reduced skin of the pubic part irritation, less sweating among others (Tiggemann and Kenyon 879).

On the other hand, the society, mostly males, is of the perception that women with hairy pubic parts are not hygienically fit and that they are likely to harbor the various sexually transmitted infections which are caused by bacteria or fungi. According to the study conducted by De Maria and Berenson (228), it was established that many women do shave their pubic hairs not as a hygienic approach but as a result of peer pressure and fear of undergoing through social attacks, mostly in public places such as beaches and swimming pools.

As a result of the texture and curly appearance of the African women’s hair, they have received some discriminations based on the perception that black hair in not attractive and unacceptable in the society. These forms of racisms and oppressions have not deterred them from embracing their natural black hair since they treasure it and use to discover their unmasked ideology. Since the period of slavery, many black women have largely bought the idea that their natural hair is not attractive (Delaney 159).

Not only the slavery but also the media has contributed to making black women think that their hair is not attractive, for example, media have been showing various pictures of black women who have long straightened hair, just like those of the whites. This has made other black women think that if you want to be beautiful, you must possess long straightened hair, a notion which made many black women turn to artificial hairstyles that look like those of the White (Tiggemann and Kenyon 879). This has led to the creation of the various types of black hair care industries in the various countries, which according to Johnson and Bankhead, amasses over a half a trillion every year, with the leading Black hair care industry collecting over $185 million in revenue in 2012 (89).

In the countries such as the United States of America, this industry has been able to withstand the latest US recession as sales are yet to experience a significant drop. These staggering figures can be used to reveal how much the hair and its proper care play an undeniably critical role in the lives of the Black women (Pergament 53). The study conducted by Smelik about the close shave and taboos related to female body hair revealed that the difference between body hair and hair on the head is very huge; the hair on the head symbolizes health, wealth, power, youth, vitality, and attractiveness, while the hair on the female’s body is traditionally connoted as dirty, animalistic, ugly, and superfluous (234).

According to Johnson and Bankhead (89), an African woman’s hair is particularly important to her since it is displayed as beautiful and decadent, and hence can be used to display spirituality, beauty, and culture. The continuous traumatizing scenarios about an African woman’s hair together with its socio-cultural, historic and spiritual relevance have resulted in a super awareness about the hair of the African women. Comparing to the other body parts, hair is the most easily transformed body structure since one can often take a choice of either straightening her natural hair or replace it with the artificial hair. Since the texture of the Black hair is not attractive even to most of the African women as to Caucasians, the African women spend much time and money on their hair than any other race or ethnic group representative in the world. The bottom line is that they want their hair to be attractive just like those of the other races and ethnic groups (Pergament 2).

Through continuous intimidations, some African women have resorted to following the suite of the Western women about the removal of body hair. Traditionally, many women looked at the act of removing hair in other body parts such as the pubic region as a taboo. According to Smelik (235), in the past few years, the act of hairlessness has become an integral part of the Western beauty ideal to such an extent that the hair on the female body, apart from the head, has become a taboo, which is a complete opposite of what used to happen many decades back before the introduction of this type of civilization.

It is always a dream of every woman to have an attractive hairstyle, be it artificial or natural. It has been reported through many studies on female genders that the women are always more concerned about their appearances than their productivity, it means that a woman is always ready to spend much little time she has in ensuring that she looks attractive. When it comes to African women who do not embrace their natural hair, it is important to note that they will spend much time and money in salons trying to perfect their looks through hairstyles.

It is still shocking that even though women adore hair on the head, they have resorted to shaving the hair which grows in other body parts, such as legs. According to Lee-Joe’s study, before the First World War, there was no woman who was shaving the hair on her legs, as a situation which changed by around 1964 where more than 98% of the women under the age of 44 years shaved the hair on their legs. One of the major factors which contributed to that scenario is the fact that it was a dictation of the fashion, therefore they could shave legs and armpits to avoid embarrassments.

Woman’s hair is not just about the beauty but it also plays an important role in symbolizing her culture, her personality, individuality, vanity, and sensuality. Some communities believe that a woman always has a special connection between herself and her hair. Every woman always has a special reason for choosing one hairstyle over the others. This is based on the fact that a woman can use the hairstyle to symbolize different events taking place in her life, for example, when going through hard times or feeling jovial.

The hairstyle that a woman will choose also depends on her ethnic background, for example, those with African roots will prefer Afro hairstyle which symbolizes being natural while those from the Caribbean countries such as Jamaica will prefer dreadlocks which symbolizes the main of a lion, which is a respected and humble king in the animal kingdom, it resembles respect and humility. Different forms of oppressions and discriminations have been witnessed ever since the slavery period to date based on the difference in the appearance and texture of the woman’s hair, with those women with African roots becoming the mostly affected. The dream of every woman to have an attractive hairstyle has led to the development of ever-growing hair care industry.

Woman’s hair is one of the most precious things to her and I was surprised to find that this is the case all over the world and not just here in the United States. Even if a woman wants to shave her head, that choice about her hair is still very important to her. I thought this was simply beautiful but indeed such a simple choice can hold so much power.



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