African American Women
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African American women's search for societal acceptance often encompasses struggle between natural and socially constructed ideas of beauty. As an essential component in traditional African societies, cosmetic modification is ritualized to emphasise natural features of blackness. Defined by social occasion such as childhood development to maturity, indicators of marital status or the group to which you belong, beautification of the hair and body play an essential role. In our racially conscious society, presenting a physical image and being accepted is a complex negotiation between two different worlds.
Hair is an outward expression of culture and heritage. It also represents a sense of personal style. In the search for the African American identity, blacks have undergone many different changes in hairstyle. Hairstyles are cultural classifiers of what African Americans consider beautiful. Hairstyles are a representation of the African American soul, all of their confidence and dignity show in how they present themselves on Sundays and on a daily basis. Therefore, the concept of soul style aided Black America's individual and group self-definition...