Learning To Braid My Hair Isn’t About Beauty; It’s About Empowerment
Freelance feature article for Refinery29.
It’s 8pm on a Monday and my arms are aching as I’ve spent the better part of the last three days fashioning my hair into Marley twists: a protective braiding hairstyle that weaves extensions into my own curls. Most black women I know can attest to how tiring it can be to braid a whole head of hair, as it often takes gymnastic manoeuvres to achieve certain styles. While the process is often exhausting, it is also rewarding and so worthwhile.
You might wonder why this seemingly unremarkable act is so significant to me, but hair is political and impactful for various reasons. For one, it's a common experience for black women and girls to be subjected to negative societal standards for afro hair. In the US, cities and states such as New York and California have taken positive action to ban racial discrimination against people wearing certain natural hairstyles, but the remaining prejudice often results in dissatisfaction with natural hair in its varying textures...
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