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THE HAIR ISSUE by Tajia Joseph                                                                               18 

 

CALIFORNIA SOCIOLOGY JOURNAL, 2010, VOL. 2 (ISSUE 1: 18-30) 

The Hair Issue: Political Attitude and Self-Esteem  

as Determinants of Hairstyle Choices  

Among African American Women 
 

 
Tajia Joseph  

Department of Sociology 
California State University, Los Angeles 

 
 

This paper presents a two-fold study. First, the study 
focuses on whether self-esteem influences hairstyles among 
African American women. Second, it focuses on whether 
hairstyles are an indicator of political beliefs. A survey 
questionnaire was distributed to 100 African American 
women in order to analyze their attitudes regarding hair in 
relation to political beliefs and self-esteem. Using 
Pearson’s Correlation Coefficient and OLS Regression, the 
findings suggest that those with high self-esteem are more 
likely to wear their hair in a natural state. Therefore, 
African American women with high self esteem are more 
likely to wear their hair in a natural state, while African 
American women with low self-esteem are more likely to 
process their hair. Meanwhile, political attitudes do not 
affect hairstyle preferences. Finally, more educated women 
prefer to wear processed hair compared to less educated 
women, who prefer to wear their hair natural.   

 

 
INTRODUCTION 

 
1Black hair care has always managed to 
fit into the budget and, while some may 
think it would be the first to go, studies 
have shown that despite the present 
economic state of America and the price 
spike at most salons Black women are 

                                                 
1 Tajia Joseph is a graduate student at the 
Department of Sociology. This research paper 
was originally submitted to SOC 410 Advance 
Statistics, taught by Professor Hyojoung Kim in 
Summer 2009. 

still flocking to their hairdressers to keep 
up with routine maintenance. Some do it 
for the look; some do it for social 
reasons, and others do it for professional 
reasons. Right or wrong, hair does 
matter. Next to skin color, hair is truly 
the most visible stereotype of being a 
black woman. Physically, socially, 
economically, and stylistically black 
women's hair is, not just hair. It evokes a 
serious debate in the Black community. 
Hair can be seen as an indicator of 
gender, social class, sexual orientation, 



THE HAIR ISSUE by Tajia Joseph                                                                               19 

 

CALIFORNIA SOCIOLOGY JOURNAL, 2010, VOL. 2 (ISSUE 1: 18-30) 

political views, religion, and age. The 
focus of this study is to determine if self-
esteem influences hairstyles. The other 
focus of this study is whether or not 
those hairstyles are an indicator of 
political beliefs. 

Throughout history, emulating 
White hairstyles, particularly straight 
hair, signified many things in the Black 
community. First, straight hair was 
associated with free-person status during 
times of slavery. Light-skinned runaway 
slaves “tried to pass themselves off as 
free, hoping their European features 
would be enough to convince bounty 
hunters that they belonged to that 
privileged class. “Emulating Whiteness 
offered a certain amount of protection. 
Second, lighter-skinned and straighter-
haired slaves worked inside the 
plantation houses performing less 
backbreaking labor than the slaves 
relegated to the fields. The practice of 
straightening was viewed as a pitiful 
attempt to emulate Whites and equated 
hair straightening with self-hatred and 
shame” (Bellinger, 2007).  

With regard to the issue of hair, 
Garvey proclaimed, “Don’t remove the 
kinks from your hair! Remove them 
from your brain!” Black women choose 
to wear their hair in a natural state in 
order to embrace their culture. Black 
women are less concerned with weight 
and more concerned with the appearance 
of their hair. Black women’s hair is an 
indicator of self-satisfaction and ethnic 
pride. Some African American women 
have considered changing their hair from 
its natural state to be an act of self-
hatred.  African American women say 
they no longer follow historical norms of 
wanting to appear White and choose to 
not change their hair based on racial 

pride.  
 In the 1960s, hair was a political 

statement and a symbol of the Black 
power movement. Hair was used as a 
resistant strategy against White beauty 
standards. Natural hair was considered 
radical because it gave off the message 
that I do not desire to conform. 
However, in the 1990safro hairstyles 
became a symbol of delinquency for 
males and lower status for females. It 
was no coincidence that last year's 
infamous New Yorker cover that 
depicted the Obamas as White House 
terrorists featured Michelle with a huge 
Afro. Barack's turban was a bad joke; 
Michelle's big hair was a legitimate 
threat that could materialize at any 
moment. The afro challenges the hege-
monic White standard of beauty through 
Black beauty liberation. As Michelle 
Obama, a black woman who has become 
the first lady, undergoes scrutiny, there 
is no better time than now to examine 
how black women are frequently 
prejudged and mischaracterized. 

One of the variables of 
examination is self-esteem levels. Social 
Comparison theory argues there is a 
drive within individuals to look to 
outside images in order to evaluate their 
own opinions and abilities. These images 
are usually in comparison to other 
people. People look to the images 
portrayed by others to be obtainable, 
realistic, and, subsequently, to make 
comparisons among themselves, others, 
and the idealized images. The exposure 
to Caucasian models in advertisements 
affects the self-esteem of African 
American women. “Exposure to 
idealized advertising images creates self-
doubt and dissatisfaction for women of 
color. They actively or passively engage 



THE HAIR ISSUE by Tajia Joseph                                                                               20 

 

CALIFORNIA SOCIOLOGY JOURNAL, 2010, VOL. 2 (ISSUE 1: 18-30) 

in social comparison” (Frisby 2004).  
 Younger African American 
women say they no longer follow his-
torical norms of wanting to appear White 
and choose to not change their hair 
based on racial pride taught to them by 
their mothers. During slavery, slave 
children were told “to refer to their hair 
as wool and encouraged not to like their 
own hair” (Bellinger 2007). Slaves were 
regularly told to cover their hair with 
rags or scarves so they could look 
“presentable” for company. The natural 
look did not sit well with them at all 
during that time. African American hair 
was so different that some scholars 
actually said they were from a different 
species because the hair was like wool, 
not like silk.  

Afrocentrists believe that Afri-
cans exhibit a range of types and 
physical characteristics, and such 
elements as wavy hair or aquiline facial 
features are part of a continuum of 
African types that do not depend on 
admixture with Caucasian groups. It is 
concerned with racism, racial sub-
ordination, and discrimination. Afro-
centric theory examines the effect of the 
White standard of beauty upon African 
American women. It challenges the 
hegemonic White standard of beauty 
through Black beauty liberation. This 
theory argues that Black is beautiful in 
all the varying ways. It also calls into 
question the standards of beauty, which 
change over time depending on the 
ruling class. “Beauty is subject to the 
hegemonic standards of the ruling class” 
(Patton 2006). There are “unrealistic 
expectations of beauty and hairstyle that 
reify the divisions that exist between 
African American and Euro American 
women” (Patton 2006). The Afrocentric 

theory advocates that African Americans 
distance themselves from the views of 
mainstream society, which in this case is 
the White culture.  

Social identity theory is 
concerned both with the psychological 
and sociological aspects of group 
behavior. Social identity theory is 
concerned with when and why 
individuals identify with and behave as 
part of social groups, adopting shared 
attitudes to outsiders. Collective identity 
refers to the shared definition of a group 
that derives from its members’ common 
interests, experiences, and solidarities. 
Some argue that group identity creates a 
mentality of victimization, cultivates 
exclusion from and hostility toward 
main-stream society, and encourages 
separatism and divisiveness. However, 
there is “little evidence that black 
identity consists of oppositional attitudes 
towards whites” (Herring, Jankowski 
and Brown 1999).  

Hairstyles serve as important 
cultural artifacts because they are 
simultaneously public (visible to 
everyone), private (biologically linked to 
the body), and malleable to suit cultural 
and personal preferences (Weitz, 2001). 
Hairstyle would be an indicator of group 
identity. Wearing natural hair would 
indicate an identity with black culture, 
while processed hair would indicate an 
identity with white culture. Most 
professional black women straighten 
their hair. Ethnic hair can be mis-
interpreted as defiant or militant. Hair is 
central to the resistance of oppression. 
“The black body has been a site of 
political struggle since the antebellum 
period and the body of the diasporic 
settler has been and remains a key site of 
political contestation” (Dash 2006). 



THE HAIR ISSUE by Tajia Joseph                                                                               21 

 

CALIFORNIA SOCIOLOGY JOURNAL, 2010, VOL. 2 (ISSUE 1: 18-30) 

The first hypothesis explores if 
there is a correlation between self-
esteem and hairstyle. The hypothesis is: 
the more self-esteem African American 
women have the more natural their 
hairstyle will be. Self-esteem can have 
an effect on hairstyle choices. Therefore, 
we predict that high self-esteem leads 
African American women to wear their 
hair in its natural state more often. For 
the second hypothesis, the relationship 
between political attitudes and hairstyles 
are examined. The hypothesis states that 
the more natural hairstyle an African 
American wears, the more likely she is 
to have a liberal viewpoint in politics. 
According to this hypothesis, hairstyle is 
an indicator of political attitude. The 
prediction is that hairstyle does indicate 
political beliefs and the more natural the 
hairstyle, the more radical the person 
will be. 

 
DATA AND MEASUREMENT OF 

VARIABLES  

 

For my research, the target population 
was African American women. The 
study analyzes attitudes based on hair. A 
survey will be used to collect the data 
necessary for the study. The study will 
take place during the summer in the 
month of July 2009. The participants 
will be African American women 
residing in the United States. In order to 
get the data required for meaningful 
results, participants need not be residents 
of California.  

 
Dependent Variables 

 

In this study, hairstyle choices depend 
on the political beliefs or self-esteem of 
African American women. Therefore, 

African American women are surveyed 
about the following two types of 
hairstyle choices: 

Natural hair can be defined as 
not having been unaltered by chemicals 
and, therefore, does not have a straight 
look but is tightly coiled in appearance 
or braided. 

Processed hair is any hair that 
has been chemically altered or straight-
ened by heating tools.  

In order to assess the pre-
dominant hairstyle choices of African 
American females, the participants were 
asked to self identify their hairstyle 
preference. They were asked three 
questions about hair maintenance. They 
were asked “How often do you press/ 
straighten your hair?” “How often they 
perm (or relax) their hair?” “How often 
they wear their hair in its natural state?” 
Each of the questions had the following 
response categories: always (daily), 
frequently (weekly), sometimes (month-
ly), rarely (yearly), and never. For each 
question, values from 0 to 4 are used in 
such a way that higher values indicate 
more preference for natural hair styles. 
The three questions are added together to 
create an index. This index range is 
between 0 and 12, with higher values 
indicating more preference for natural 
hair styles. 

 
Independent Variables 

 

Self Esteem reflects a person’s overall 
evaluation or appraisal of his or her own 
worth. Since we cannot depend on the 
respondent’s assessment of their self-
esteem, the Rosenberg test of self-
esteem is adjusted and used to determine 
levels of esteem. The participants were 
asked to rate themselves on several 



THE HAIR ISSUE by Tajia Joseph                                                                               22 

 

CALIFORNIA SOCIOLOGY JOURNAL, 2010, VOL. 2 (ISSUE 1: 18-30) 

aspects concerning self-esteem. The 
response categories, taken directly from 
the Rosenberg scale, ranged from 
strongly agree to strongly disagree. Each 
of the questions had the following 
response categories: strongly agree, 
agree, disagree, and strongly disagree. 
For each question, values from 0 to 3 are 
used in such a way that higher values 
indicate higher level of self-esteem. 

Political Attitude, for the purpose 
of this study, political attitude is 
measured by ideas and beliefs that align 
on a continuum from liberal to 
conservative. I asked questions on 6 
major political issues (Gun control, 
abortion, gay marriage, death penalty, 
war and welfare) to assess political 
viewpoint. Using the same scale as 
above, the response categories ranged 
from strongly agree to strongly disagree. 
Each of the questions had the following 
response categories: strongly agree, 
agree, disagree, and strongly disagree. 
For each question, values from 0 to 3 are 
used in such a way that higher values 
indicate democratic attitudes and lower 
values would indicate conservative 
attitudes.  

 
Control Variables 

 

In determining the affect of self-esteem 
and political attitude on hairstyle, other 
factors may influence findings and affect 
the dependent variable. A possible 
variable that may affect the findings is 
employment. 

Employment: One’s employment 
status may influence hairstyle choices as 
well. If a person already has a steady 
job, they may be more willing to wear 
their hair in a natural style or coerced 
into changing it. If someone is looking 

for employment in corporate America, 
they may feel more pressure to “look” 
the part and process their hair. On the 
other hand, they are free of constrictions 
and can do as they wish. African 
American women are well aware of the 
stigma related to natural hair. It’s about 
how American society and culture feels 
about what black people do with their 
hair. Again, natural hair is still viewed as 
radical and not willing to conform. No 
employer wants an employee that may 
be radical enough to cause the company 
problems or repel clientele.  
 

THE FINDINGS 

 

A survey was distributed to female 
African American participants. I asked 
each respondent to please answer each of 
the questions as accurately as possible 
and return it to the envelope with other 
completed surveys. To insure that they 
were anonymous, I folded all surveys 
and let the respondent place them into 
my envelope. 

 
Univariate Statistics 

 
In total, there were 100 participants. 
Table 1 reports the univariate 
distribution of the respondents on each 
of the variables used in the analysis. Of 
the participants, 55% of the women say 
they wear their hair natural at all times. 
The age of the women in this survey 
concentrated in one category. The age 
range of 25-32 comprised of 68% of the 
participants. Only 13% of the respond-
ents were unemployed. Eighty-seven 
women were working either part-time or 
full time jobs. The independent variable 
of education was the most evenly 
distributed. The high school diploma 



THE HAIR ISSUE by Tajia Joseph                                                                               23 

 

CALIFORNIA SOCIOLOGY JOURNAL, 2010, VOL. 2 (ISSUE 1: 18-30) 

category had eight women, and only 2 
women earned higher than a Bachelor’s 
degree. Ninety two percent of the 
women had at least some college in their 
lifetime. Personal income had 64% of 
women in the category of $35,001- 
$50,000 earnings. Only 5% of women 
said they did not agree with having a 
positive self-attitude. No matter what the 
hairstyle preference, most women still 
held a positive self-attitude.  
 

Pearson’s Correlation Analysis 
 
Table 2 reports Pearson’s correlation 
coefficients among the variables in the 
analysis. Pearson’s correlation 
coefficient between current hairstyle and 
self-esteem is negative and statistically 
significant at least at the 0.05 level. This 
means that as hairstyle decreases from 
zero to one, or processed to natural, self-
esteem increases from low to high. 
Therefore, self-esteem does affect hair-
style preference in African American 
women. Apparently, political attitudes 
also influence hairstyle preference 
among African American women. 
Pearson’s correlation coefficient for 
these two variables was positive and 
statistically significant at the 0.05 level. 
These two variables are positively 
correlated. This means that as political 
attitudes increase from low scores 
(conservative) to high score (liberal), 
hairstyle preference increases from 
processed to natural. 

There was also a negative 
correlation found between education and 
hairstyle preference. Pearson’s corre-
lation coefficient for these two variables 
is negative and statistically significant at 
the 0.05 level. This means that as 
education increases, hairstyle preference 

decreases from natural hairstyles to 
processed hairstyles. In other words, 
more educated people are more likely to 
process their hair and less likely to wear 
their hair natural.  
  Another statistic was tested for 
the variable employment and hairstyle 
preference. The Pearson’s correlation 
coefficient between these two variables 
is statistically insignificant at the 0.05 
level. This means that employment 
status, whether you are employed or not, 
does not affect hairstyle preference. As it 
turns out, marital status, age, and income 
are not significantly correlated. 
Pearson’s correlation coefficient for all 
of the above variables is statistically 
insignificant at the 0.05 level. This 
means that the variables above have no 
individual effect on hairstyle preference. 
 



THE HAIR ISSUE by Tajia Joseph                                                                               24 

 

CALIFORNIA SOCIOLOGY JOURNAL, 2010, VOL. 2 (ISSUE 1: 18-30) 

 

Table 1.  Survey Questions and Descriptive Statistics of Variables Used in the Analysis 

Variable Survey Questions Used Response Categories Frequency Mean S. D. 

Age What is your current age? 0 = under 18 
1= 8-24    
2 = 25-32   
3 = 33-45 
4 = 46+      

 0 
4 
68 
6 
22 

 
4% 
68% 
6% 
22% 

2.46 .881 

Employment What is your current occupation? 0 = unemployed 
1 = employed 

13 
87 

13% 
87% 

0.87 .338 

Marital 
Status 

Please choose the one choice for each 
question that applies to you 

0 = single 
1= In a relationship 
2 = Married 
3 = Divorced 
4 = Widowed 

41 
40 
14 
5 
0 

41% 
40% 
14% 
5% 
 

0.83 .853 

Education Please choose the one choice for each 
question that applies to you 

0 = H.S diploma 
1 = some college 
2 = A.A degree 
3 = B.A 
4 = M.A 
5 = PH.D 

8 
31 
23 
36 
2 
0 

8% 
31% 
23% 
36% 
2% 
 

2.93 1.037 

Personal 
Income 

Please choose the one choice for each 
question that applies to you 

0 = 0-$10,000  
1 = $10,001-$20,000    
2 = $20,001-$35,000    
3 = $35,001-$50,000     
4 = $50,001-$75,000    
5 = over $75,000 

10 
16 
64 
10 
0 

10% 
16% 
64% 
10% 
 

2.74 .774 



THE HAIR ISSUE by Tajia Joseph                                                                               25 

 

CALIFORNIA SOCIOLOGY JOURNAL, 2010, VOL. 2 (ISSUE 1: 18-30) 

 

Table 2. Pearson’s Correlation Coefficients of Variables Used in the Analysis 
1)

 

 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 

1. Hairstyle Preference .005 .052 .046 -.212 -.008 .452 .230 

2. Age  -.102 .374 -.185 -.371 -.262 -.117 

3. Employment   -.112 .060 .024 .107 .001 

4. Marital Status    .272 .208 -.026 .004 

5. Education     .644 .160 .059 

6 Income      .209 .089 

7. Self-Esteem       .525 

8. Political Attitude        

 
Statistical significance at 0.05 level is indicated by bolded italics



THE HAIR ISSUE by Tajia Joseph                                                                               26 

 

CALIFORNIA SOCIOLOGY JOURNAL, 2010, VOL. 2 (ISSUE 1: 18-30) 

Multivariate Continuous Regression 

Analysis 

 
The outcomes of bivariate associations 
may be spurious due to the effects of 
other variables that may affect both the 
dependent variable (hairstyle preference) 
and the key independent variables (self 
esteem and political attitude) 
simultaneously. How can we determine 
the genuine effect of an independent 
variable? The unique effect of the key 
independent variables on the dependent 
variable without regard to other 
independent variables must be assessed. 
In other words, I must control for the 
effects of other variables. In order to 
control the effects of other variables on 
hairstyle preferences of African 
American women, I now analyze the 
data using multivariate regression 
techniques. Please note that our hairstyle 
preference variable (the dependent 
variable) is continuous, consisting of 
different categories of preferences and 
choices of hairstyles. Originally, my 
dependent variable had five outcome 
categories: always, frequently, some-
times, rarely, and never.  I created a new 
index out of three questions. The three 
questions distinguished hairstyle main-
tenance questions and were combined to 
determine preference overall. With the 
new index, 12 categories were differ-
entiated. A person could have a score 
anywhere from 0 -12. Consequently, I 
use OLS regression analysis to separate 
out the effects of self-esteem and 
political attitude net of the effects of 
other control variables.  

The degree to which two or more 
independent variables are related to the 
dependent variable is expressed in the 

adjusted R square, which explains the 
variance in the dependent variable. R 
square ranges from 0 to 1. The adjusted 
R square in my model summary was 
0.263. This shows that the model 
successfully explains 26% of the total 
variation present in the dependent 
variable. This outcome indicates the 
explanatory power of our model in 
explaining who is more likely to have 
and prefer wearing natural hair.  

Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) 
consists of calculations that provide 
information about levels of variability 
within a regression model and form a 
basis for tests of significance. The F test 
is a global hypothesis test, which tests 
significance. The F test for the 
independent variables in relation to the 
dependent variable is statistically 
significant; indicating that least one of 
the independent variables is significantly 
affecting the dependent variable of 
hairstyle preference. 

The OLS regression analysis also 
tests whether a given individual 
independent variable has a significant 
effect on the dependent variable.  
Statistical insignificance here indicates 
that the corresponding independent 
variable has no significant effect in 
determining the outcome of hairstyle 
preference. Two variables are statistic-
ally significant at least at the 0.05 level 
(one-tailed). They are self-esteem and 
education. Other variables are sta-
tistically insignificant even at 0.05 level, 
thus, indicating that they have no direct 
or independent effect in determining the 
outcomes of hairstyle preference, net of 
the effects of other independent 
variables.  

 



THE HAIR ISSUE by Tajia Joseph                                                                               27 

 

CALIFORNIA SOCIOLOGY JOURNAL, 2010, VOL. 2 (ISSUE 1: 18-30) 

 
Table 3. OLS Regression Coefficients of Hairstyle Preference on Independent Variables 

Independent Variables Coefficient (s.e.) 

Political Attitude -.049 (.427) 

Self-Esteem 2.829 (.648)** 

Age .227 (.301) 

Employment .256 (.639) 

Marital Status .296 (.312) 

Education -.935 (.301)** 

Income .451 (.432) 

F-Test 5.412** 

Adjusted R-squared .263 

* p< 0.05 level of significance; ** p < 0.01 level of significance 
 



THE HAIR ISSUE by Tajia Joseph                                                                               28 

 

CALIFORNIA SOCIOLOGY JOURNAL, 2010, VOL. 2 (ISSUE 1: 18-30) 

The regression coefficient of 
self-esteem is positive and statistically 
significant at the 0.05 level, net of all the 
other variables in the model. The 
positive regression coefficient means 
that self-esteem has a positive effect on 
hairstyle preference. This means that 
those with high self-esteem are more 
likely to wear their hair in a natural state. 
This supports the hypothesis that high 
self-esteem leads African American 
women to wear their hair in its natural 
state more often.  

The regression coefficient of 
education is negative and statistically 
significant at the 0.05 level, net of all 
other variables in the model. The test 
reveals that education has a significant 
negative effect on hairstyle preference. 
This means that more educated women 
prefer to wear processed hair while less 
educated women prefer to wear their hair 
natural.  

Interestingly, political attitude 
did not have a significant effect on 
hairstyle preference. The regression 
coefficient of political attitude is 
statistically insignificant at 0.05 level, 
net of other variables in the model. 
According to Pearson’s correlation 
coefficient test, political attitude was 
significant. However, in the regression 
analysis, political attitude was found to 
be insignificant. This means that the 
relation reported in Pearson’s test was 
spurious. It turns out that political 
attitudes do not affect hairstyle pre-
ferences.  

For all other independent vari-
ables, the regression coefficient is 
statistically insignificant at 0.05 level, 
net of the other variables in the model. 
Therefore, the variables age, employ-
ment, marital status, and income have no 

significant effect on hairstyle preference, 
net of the other variables in the model. 

 
DISCUSSION/CONCLUSION 

 
The findings above show that there is a 
high correlation between self esteem and 
hairstyle. The hypothesis stated that “the 
more self esteem African American 
women have the more natural their 
hairstyle will be.” Based on my findings, 
my hypothesis has been accepted.  
According to findings, self-esteem does 
affect hairstyle preferences. High self-
esteem leads African American women 
to wear their hair in its natural state more 
often. These findings may indicate that 
there is a positive shift in ethnic pride, 
self-satisfaction, and social identity. 
Natural, unprocessed hair is the essence 
of African American pride. Women with 
high levels of self-esteem are choosing 
to not follow historical norms of wanting 
to appear White, even though they are 
constantly exposed to idealized images 
of beauty through the media. African 
American women with high levels of 
self-esteem seem to share the 
Afrocentric perspective that Black is 
beautiful in all its varying ways.  

However, the fact that African 
American women still process their hair 
suggests that they are still judged by 
their hair composition. Low self esteem 
causes African American women to seek 
dominant images that are valued and 
accepted in American society. Therefore, 
African American women with low self-
esteem are still trying to emulate White 
hairstyles. High self-esteem leads 
African American women to embrace 
their natural hair. They are the women 
that are secure enough to decline the 
hegemonic standard of beauty. These 



THE HAIR ISSUE by Tajia Joseph                                                                               29 

 

CALIFORNIA SOCIOLOGY JOURNAL, 2010, VOL. 2 (ISSUE 1: 18-30) 

women with high self-esteem are 
comfortable in their own skin. They 
embrace their natural hair and are not 
afraid to have a more afrocentric image. 

 The second hypothesis on 
political attitudes and hairstyles was not 
supported. The hypothesis stated that the 
more natural hairstyle an African 
American woman wears, the more likely 
she is to have a liberal viewpoint in 
politics. The rejection of the second 
hypothesis disrupts the classic image of 
the militant or radical, afro-wearing 
women and suggests that African 
American women are aligning them-
selves with mainstream societal con-
cerns. Hairstyle is a personal choice, not 
a political indicator. It also challenges 
the notion of “the more natural, the more 
dangerous,” an image of African 
American women that has been popular 
since the Black Panther movement.  
Today, African American women can 
embrace their natural hair without being 
directly tied into radical movements and 
thought. The natural hair preference has 
more to do with taking on the African 
American culture and accepting self than 
with rejecting mainstream society. 
Today, these two things are not one in 
the same. 

There were also interesting 
findings on the variable education. I 
found that more educated people are 
more likely to process their hair and less 
likely to wear their hair natural. As 
African American women enter White 
dominated markets they may feel more 
pressure to conform to institutional 
norms. Wearing an Afro or braids might 
hurt more than help their prospects in 
corporate America. White executives are 
the majority population throughout 
corporate America. Therefore, standards 

of dress and acceptable hairstyles have 
mirrored white styles. The assumption is 
that if you're a dark woman with nappy 
hair, you can't be a woman in the board 
room, running the company. Educated 
African American women seek approval 
from colleagues and other professionals. 
Entering the professional world means 
shedding anything that may intimidate 
future employers and/ or clientele from 
hiring them. 

Hair does not mean the same 
thing to all women as it does to black 
women. The great hair obsession is 
driven by the painful need of many 
African-Americans to conform to the 
dominant values of American society. 
For black women, hair is a physical 
indicator of the ways in which they are 
different. Part of female beauty has 
always included long flowing locks, and 
for black women who have gravity-
defying hair, that refuses to match the 
standard appearance; this can be a 
problem. In a culture that teaches that 
anything black or associated with 
blackness is negative.  Publicly wearing 
your hair natural for African-American 
women is to embrace blackness as a 
positive. African American women must 
be secure within themselves in order to 
accept their natural hair. Exposure to 
images of acceptable beauty can 
negatively affect Black women’s self-
confidence, which causes them to 
indulge in image altering products and 
behaviors. This is why women with high 
self-esteem are more likely to wear their 
hair in its natural state and women with 
low self-esteem are more likely to 
process their hair. Wearing your hair 
natural is a way for Black women to 
show love for themselves and their 
ethnicity. 



THE HAIR ISSUE by Tajia Joseph                                                                               30 

 

CALIFORNIA SOCIOLOGY JOURNAL, 2010, VOL. 2 (ISSUE 1: 18-30) 

There are some limitations to 
consider in this study. Most women were 
chosen from the Los Angeles area. Self 
esteem issues may be more prevalent in 
the Los Angeles area where Hollywood 
aspirations and celebrity comparison are 
high. Another limitation could be the 
Hawthorn effect. The mere fact that I 
was present when submitting the surveys 
may have altered participant responses. 
The way I presented the survey, my 
demeanor, or the way the questions were 
structured may have affected the 
findings. Another factor to consider is 
the social desirability involved. 
Although the survey was anonymous, 
respondents may have answered certain 
questions in a way that presented them 
in good light.  

Future research may need to 
administer the survey in different states 
to compare results. Also, future research 
might examine employment types. To 
distinguish between full time and part 
time occupations. Also, to compare 
employment types and positions held by 
African American women. This may 
reveal interesting patterns among 
working African American women. 

 
REFERENCES 

 
Bellinger, Whitney. 2007. “Why 

African American Women Try To 
Obtain Good Hair.”  

Sociological Viewpoint. 23: 60-72. 
Dash, Paul. 2006. “Black hair Culture, 

politics, and change.” International 

Journal of Inclusive Education 10: 
27-37. 

Frisby, Cynthia M. 2004. “Does Race 
Matter?: Effects of Idealized Images 
on African American Women's 
Perceptions of Body Esteem.” 

Journal of Black Studies 34: 3 23-
347. 

Herring, Mary, Thomas B. Jankowski 
and Ronald E. Brown “Pro-Black 
Doesn't Mean Anti-White: The 
Structure of African-American 
Group Identity” The Journal of 

Politics 61: 363-386. 
Patton, Tracey Owens. 2006. “Hey Girl, 

Am I More than My Hair?: African 
American Women and Their 
Struggles with Beauty, Body Image, 
and Hair.” NWSA Journal 18:24-51. 

Weitz, Rose. 2001. “Women and their 
hair: seeking power through 
resistance and accommodation.” 
Gender & Society 15:667-86.  


