Hair is an important part of a persons identity. People often style their hair to align themselves with certain trends and/or social groups. Evidence of this important signifier of identity abounds. For example, in May 2022, the New York Times Magazine published an article called “What the Mullet Means Now.” (see PDF at Moodle Resources.)
Social and cultural expectations also impose controls on what choices people have regarding hairstyles. In the 2009 documentary, Good Hair, comedian Chris Rock explores the $9 billion Black hair industry. Watch the trailer and perhaps the film to see why the Reverend Al Sharpton says, “We wear our economic oppression on our heads.”
Several prominent Black artists, including Lorna Simpson and Ellen Gallaghar, have focused on hairstyles as content to investigate identity.
Hair has also been politicized as this story from CBC Radio regarding legislation from 2019 shows.
Covering one’s hair can also be controversial as is evident by the ongoing debates over Muslim women wearing the hijab. Listen to the Podcast from the Open University in London, Veiling: Tradition, Identity and Fashion.
Here’s your chance to look at hair as a signifier of identity.
First, pick an artwork that depicts a person or people. Start by visiting the website for Hair: Untangling the Roots of Identity, an exhibition (2013) at Cornell Universitys Johnson Museum of Art. Or, you can select an artwork with which you are already familiar or find an unfamiliar artwork from another museum website. Looking at the subject(s) in the artwork, think about what the hairstyle(s) might reveal about identities.
Second, write one (1) paragraph (3-5 sentences) analyzing what associations you make between the hairstyle(s) and identities tied to class, race and ethnicity, and/or gender and sexuality. Are there other cultural, political, economic, or religious identities that are communicated by the hairstyle(s)?
Finally, what does your hairstyle say about you? Take a photo of your hairstyle (a selfie; you can erase or remove your face, if you want) or draw a picture of your hairstyle and then describe and analyze your hairstyle in one paragraph. What does your hairstyle say to others about your identity? Be sure to include a link or downloaded image of the photo you took of your hairstyle or the drawing you made of it. Write one (1) paragraph (3-5 sentences).
