TITLE:
Hair It Is: Examining the Experiences of Black Women with Natural Hair
AUTHORS:
Tabora A. Johnson, Teiahsha Bankhead
KEYWORDS:
Black Women; Identity; Hair; Self-Esteem
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Social Sciences,
Vol.2 No.1,
January
8,
2014
ABSTRACT: Who am I and how do I feel about who I am, are essential questions that
help define and construct identity. For Black women and girls, identity is
inextricably linked to their relationship to and presentation of their hair.
Our research presents findings from an Internet based survey conducted with 529 Black women exploring their experiences when wearing
their hair in its natural state (not thermally or chemically straightened).
These are preliminary findings from the study with reference to the composition
of the study participants and how they responded to key questions related to how they perceived when wearing their hair naturally.