Hair Fail & my thoughts on the matter
I wrote this in response to comments on a post by
afro_dyte @ spock_uhura , " Uhura and Black Women's Hair."
SPOILERS for Star Trek abound, particularly toward the end. But if you're on my flist and still haven't seen it...*shakes head*
In which I share a bunch of personal info and hope it's worth it:
It might be insensitive for me to say that people are touchy, especially this "race fail" thing that's been going on with a noted scifi/fantasy writer's misrepresentation of characters of color...or something. It's far more complex than I'm makng it sound, but it's whole 'nother discussion, so...
I'd like to say that it boils down to black people being sensitive about their hair, but that is so an oversimplification of the issue.
afro_dyte's initial comments:
She has straight hair.
Black women will understand what I mean. But let me put it in a concise context. When I want to measure how far we've come racially, I look at how they let Black women wear their hair. If they need to have White women's hair to be considered attractive or professional - not a good sign. Now if Uhura wears cornrows or microbraids in the sequel(s), it'd be OK since we're presented various options for how Black women could make themselves beautiful.
Seriously, I, too, wondered about Uhura's hair not because it was straight, but rather, of all the hairstyles one could come up with, that was it? Laying aside the argument that she had to conform to some strick Starfleet grooming regulations, there are a variety of hairstyle options available. It's the movies, and today the possibility of looks that can be achieved by a good weave are boundless. However, one also has to consider what would look good on the actress playing the role. Zoe Saldana has usually wears her hair bone straight or wavy. I think it's silly to have the default black hairstyle be an afro.
I'm a black, but I've got Native American (Creek and Cherokee), French, Spanish, and Irish ancestry mixed in. When asked what my background is I say I'm just black. People have assumed from the appearance of me and my sisters that one of our parents must be white, because apparently a brown-skinned woman can't have kids lighter than her without some caucasian as the genetic contributer. In reality, you have to go back to slavery times in my family tree to find that (at least, on my dad's side). However I think most black Americans have a similar. It's one of the reasons I don't call myself an African-American (srsly?). That term seems so inaccurate. While I don't identify with my cultural heritage to the extent that I feel that one part informs who I am, I'm more influenced, I think, by being from the South, being from a people who are descended from slaves and lived with being oppressed in the most inhumane and undignified way. I think it's naive to think that a black American's experience equates to anyone from the African continent, because really, it's a continent, not a country, and it's just...not the same thing.
It's absolutely mindblogging that I to think that people (black and white) will treat and/or percieve me better or worse just because I was born with lighter skin.
Apart from that,it's not really a present issue for me until moments like now, when read come across a topic like this one and it's like, "Waitaminute, I have a viewpoiint." I've got fair skin and my hair is terribly coarse/kinky. I've worn my hair relaxed since I was about 7 because my mother was frustrated with dealing trying to manage my hair. Admittedly, my hair does take a lot of effort to style, and since I was tenderheaded, a particularly painful experience for me, so I guess I can't really fault her reasoning on the matter. Also, by then she had 3 other heads of hair to deal with apart from mine, and, oh yes, her own.
Last October I decided to grow my hair out natural and my mother is the first to express her reservations, despite the fact that she totally rocked an afro in the 70s (I've seen the photographic proof). My sisters didn't think 'd be able to last long having to manage my natural hair. The transition phase is the hardest, as it's much like having your hair grow out of a nice haircut; it's in between styles and you can't get it to do just so. Long story short, after 2 months of flat-ironing my roots, I just got braids in a kinky twist style and things were easier.
Last night, I decided to take the braids down and comb my hair out and give it a good conditioning. I had done this periodically over the course of the grow-out process. It took me about 4 hours to take down, comb out, wash and condition, blow dry and finally straighten my hair.
I took photos during the process. After the comb out, my hair was basically a nice afro, but I think I looked kinda ridiculous with it. I mean, yeah, it was my "natural hair" but that style isn't the most flattering to my face shape, bone structure, etc.
My point is, what kind alternative style could/should Uhura have had? I'm thinking they stylists may have tried a variety of looks and, in the end, the bone straight, long ponytail perched high on her head could have been THE MOST FLATTERING LOOK. Aside from that, her character overall was awesome. She was smart, strong, capable, and very obviously a BLACK WOMAN, with the features to match, i.e, broad nose, full lips, dark skin. I have more of an issue that she didn't have Uhura's classic, curvy figure, but Zoe really owned the role and won me over, so, weighing all that stuff together, straight hair isn't a big issue for me.
And, yes, there were other black characters in the background, and my heart actually did a leap of squee when I caught sight of the chick in the background at a console who was rocking an awesome 'fro. Am I gonna quibble about the fact that she didn't have speaking lines? Are things really still there? Or maybe I should be upset because, yes the CAPTAIN of the U.S.S. Kelvin looked to be of Arab descent, but, as I've seen commented on, OMG he so got killed off...? To me, it was less of him getting killed off, more of him dying. He knew the risks and sacrificed himself for "the needs of the many." As did George Kirk, who was SECOND IN COMMAND until Captain Rabou promoted him. Either way he was the first face you saw in the film and he was definitely memorable.
On a side note, I'm happy Faran Tahir was cast in a role that was a complete reversal of his role as the Afghani warlord in Iron Man. I call that progress. Just like Morgan Freeman went from chaffeurring an elderly Jewish woman around to designing Bruce Wayne/Batman's awesome toys. And didn't he get like, promoted to VP (or a simillar high position) of Wayne Enterprises, too?
Yeah, I'm being a bit silly now, but I hope the point hasn't been lost. I also hope that in the very least this point has illuminated some things and put others in perspective.
------
For patronuscharms.
afro_dyte @ spock_uhura , " Uhura and Black Women's Hair."
SPOILERS for Star Trek abound, particularly toward the end. But if you're on my flist and still haven't seen it...*shakes head*
In which I share a bunch of personal info and hope it's worth it:
It might be insensitive for me to say that people are touchy, especially this "race fail" thing that's been going on with a noted scifi/fantasy writer's misrepresentation of characters of color...or something. It's far more complex than I'm makng it sound, but it's whole 'nother discussion, so...
I'd like to say that it boils down to black people being sensitive about their hair, but that is so an oversimplification of the issue.
afro_dyte's initial comments:
She has straight hair.
Black women will understand what I mean. But let me put it in a concise context. When I want to measure how far we've come racially, I look at how they let Black women wear their hair. If they need to have White women's hair to be considered attractive or professional - not a good sign. Now if Uhura wears cornrows or microbraids in the sequel(s), it'd be OK since we're presented various options for how Black women could make themselves beautiful.
Seriously, I, too, wondered about Uhura's hair not because it was straight, but rather, of all the hairstyles one could come up with, that was it? Laying aside the argument that she had to conform to some strick Starfleet grooming regulations, there are a variety of hairstyle options available. It's the movies, and today the possibility of looks that can be achieved by a good weave are boundless. However, one also has to consider what would look good on the actress playing the role. Zoe Saldana has usually wears her hair bone straight or wavy. I think it's silly to have the default black hairstyle be an afro.
I'm a black, but I've got Native American (Creek and Cherokee), French, Spanish, and Irish ancestry mixed in. When asked what my background is I say I'm just black. People have assumed from the appearance of me and my sisters that one of our parents must be white, because apparently a brown-skinned woman can't have kids lighter than her without some caucasian as the genetic contributer. In reality, you have to go back to slavery times in my family tree to find that (at least, on my dad's side). However I think most black Americans have a similar. It's one of the reasons I don't call myself an African-American (srsly?). That term seems so inaccurate. While I don't identify with my cultural heritage to the extent that I feel that one part informs who I am, I'm more influenced, I think, by being from the South, being from a people who are descended from slaves and lived with being oppressed in the most inhumane and undignified way. I think it's naive to think that a black American's experience equates to anyone from the African continent, because really, it's a continent, not a country, and it's just...not the same thing.
It's absolutely mindblogging that I to think that people (black and white) will treat and/or percieve me better or worse just because I was born with lighter skin.
Apart from that,it's not really a present issue for me until moments like now, when read come across a topic like this one and it's like, "Waitaminute, I have a viewpoiint." I've got fair skin and my hair is terribly coarse/kinky. I've worn my hair relaxed since I was about 7 because my mother was frustrated with dealing trying to manage my hair. Admittedly, my hair does take a lot of effort to style, and since I was tenderheaded, a particularly painful experience for me, so I guess I can't really fault her reasoning on the matter. Also, by then she had 3 other heads of hair to deal with apart from mine, and, oh yes, her own.
Last October I decided to grow my hair out natural and my mother is the first to express her reservations, despite the fact that she totally rocked an afro in the 70s (I've seen the photographic proof). My sisters didn't think 'd be able to last long having to manage my natural hair. The transition phase is the hardest, as it's much like having your hair grow out of a nice haircut; it's in between styles and you can't get it to do just so. Long story short, after 2 months of flat-ironing my roots, I just got braids in a kinky twist style and things were easier.
Last night, I decided to take the braids down and comb my hair out and give it a good conditioning. I had done this periodically over the course of the grow-out process. It took me about 4 hours to take down, comb out, wash and condition, blow dry and finally straighten my hair.
I took photos during the process. After the comb out, my hair was basically a nice afro, but I think I looked kinda ridiculous with it. I mean, yeah, it was my "natural hair" but that style isn't the most flattering to my face shape, bone structure, etc.
My point is, what kind alternative style could/should Uhura have had? I'm thinking they stylists may have tried a variety of looks and, in the end, the bone straight, long ponytail perched high on her head could have been THE MOST FLATTERING LOOK. Aside from that, her character overall was awesome. She was smart, strong, capable, and very obviously a BLACK WOMAN, with the features to match, i.e, broad nose, full lips, dark skin. I have more of an issue that she didn't have Uhura's classic, curvy figure, but Zoe really owned the role and won me over, so, weighing all that stuff together, straight hair isn't a big issue for me.
And, yes, there were other black characters in the background, and my heart actually did a leap of squee when I caught sight of the chick in the background at a console who was rocking an awesome 'fro. Am I gonna quibble about the fact that she didn't have speaking lines? Are things really still there? Or maybe I should be upset because, yes the CAPTAIN of the U.S.S. Kelvin looked to be of Arab descent, but, as I've seen commented on, OMG he so got killed off...? To me, it was less of him getting killed off, more of him dying. He knew the risks and sacrificed himself for "the needs of the many." As did George Kirk, who was SECOND IN COMMAND until Captain Rabou promoted him. Either way he was the first face you saw in the film and he was definitely memorable.
On a side note, I'm happy Faran Tahir was cast in a role that was a complete reversal of his role as the Afghani warlord in Iron Man. I call that progress. Just like Morgan Freeman went from chaffeurring an elderly Jewish woman around to designing Bruce Wayne/Batman's awesome toys. And didn't he get like, promoted to VP (or a simillar high position) of Wayne Enterprises, too?
Yeah, I'm being a bit silly now, but I hope the point hasn't been lost. I also hope that in the very least this point has illuminated some things and put others in perspective.
------
For patronuscharms.