When gymnast Gabby Douglas won gold in the women’s all-around competition during the 2012 Olympic games, she was criticized about her hair more than she was congratulated for her accomplishments.

Negative sentiment toward the hair of women of color is nothing new in our society. Cases like these create a dialogue about harsh and unrealistic beauty standards for women with curly or kinky hair. The pressure to conform to these specific standards is tremendous.



For centuries, many women of color have been told to change their hair from its original state because it looks unkempt and is not acceptable in professional environments.



Statements like these are detrimental to a woman’s self esteem and negatively affect quality of life. 



If one’s hair is deemed undesirable, family members may not accept it, kids at school use it as a reason to tease and one may have difficulty feeling comfortable in the workplace.

However, too much time and money is spent trying to conform to this impossible ideal. More energy should be spent developing love for natural hair, not dislike.



The storm of negativity against Douglas did not become severe until after she won the all-around competition. 



Our heroine can deviate from the norm if she’s part of a crowd, but once she breaks barriers on her own, society cannot accept that.

Hair is merely an adornment on one’s head and does not define one’s capabilities and praiseworthiness even though cases like Douglas’ try to prove otherwise.

When a woman of color decides to wear her hair in its natural state, it conveys the powerful message of personal acceptance of one’s body and a rejection of the imposed beauty standards.

A common way to permanently straighten hair is with chemical relaxers. However, if it’s performed incorrectly it can make hair dry, brittle, susceptible to breakage or damage the scalp and inhibit future hair growth.



To avoid the negative effects of this process and show love and appreciation toward the very hair that has been devalued for so long, many women have chosen to renounce chemically processing their hair and have opted to wear their hair in its natural state. 



Choosing to do this is a personal decision and not all women with curly or kinky hair choose to wear their hair naturally. With so much criticism and negative stereotypes associated with natural hair, this is no surprise.

Douglas proved we still do not live in a time where we can look how we want without consequence.

Though actress Viola Davis received plenty of positive praise for her natural hair during the 2011 Academy Awards, the fact she garnered specific attention in regard to her hair proves it still isn’t the non-issue we like to believe it is.

“There’s still a lot of pressure to conform to Eurocentric beauty standards,” said sophomore ethnic studies major Aja Johnson, who has natural hair. 



However, there’s a budding movement of women of color collectively celebrating their natural hair texture, and it cannot be ignored. 



The word has been catching on for a while. There are documentaries such as Chris Rock’s 2009 release “Good Hair”, hundreds of YouTube videos of women of color sharing the ways they care for and style their hair and tons of natural hair bloggers, Tweeters, filmmakers, salons and beauty product lines.



Some people look toward women in the media to help them make the transition from chemically relaxed hair toward natural hair.



For junior international business major Shanae Theall, that person is model Hollis Wakeema. She has walked the runway for several notable designers, including Marc Jacobs.

“I saw her hair in a magazine and I YouTube’d it,” she said. After watching hair tutorials, she said she was able to emulate a similar style. 


It’s not an easy transition to make and women should only do it when they are ready, she said. 



Despite these positive steps forward, images of women in the media still exacerbate these unrealistic expectations and send off the same negative message.

“(On the) news, in magazines, online, television – there’s no natural hair present,” said Sacramento State alumna Mellonie Richardson. “Sometimes they’re inside of magazines but rarely ever on the cover.”



In cases like Douglas’ and Davis’, the over-emphasis of their hair distracts from the positivity they are contributing to society.



Natural hair appreciation social groups, such as Nappy Love Sacramento, work to not only support men and women with natural hair care, but also support one another in other areas of their lives and also value community involvement.



”[Hair] is just a part of us,” said Nappy Love Sacramento organizer Jennifer Noble. “We embrace the idea of being natural, but we’re beyond that, too.”

As rhythm and blues singer India.Arie said in her 2006 song “I am not my hair”, and indeed we are all more than the sum of our parts. Let’s start treating one another that way and seeing us that way, too.

Vanessa can be reached at: [email protected]