The Significance of Natural Hair in Americanah
In Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s Americanah, Black women’s natural hair is a recurring and important symbol. Ifemelu’s discussion of natural hair throughout the novel serves as a powerful testament to the experiences and treatment of Black women in the Western world.
The Western view of Black natural hair is one of negativity and inferiority. In America, Black women’s natural hair is viewed as unattractive, unkempt, and unprofessional, while straight or loosely waved hair is regarded as beautiful and desirable. Due to these damaging beauty standards, we see many Black women in the novel conform to Western society by concealing their natural hair, opting for heat styled or relaxed hair. Many of these women would rather damage their natural hair by using heat and harsh chemicals and put their health at risk than embrace their natural hair.
Initially, when Ifemelu moves to America, she too is a victim of these discriminatory Western beauty standards. She quickly realizes that her natural hair is not the norm in America. She is convinced by others that the only way she can succeed in America is to hide her African identity and assimilate into whiteness. Aunty Uju is one of the main characters that persuades Ifemelu to hide her identity by saying things such as “If you have braids, they will think you are unprofessional” and “You are in a country that is not your own. You do what you have to do if you want to succeed” (Adichie 146). Ifemelu’s career coach, Ruth, also contributes by telling Ifemelu to “lose the braids and straighten your hair” (Adichie 250) for her job interview. Ifemelu decides that it is necessary for her to relax her hair in order to get the job. However, the relaxer severely burns her scalp and eventually causes her hair to fall out.
After Ifemelu’s hair begins to fall out, her friend Wambui convinces her to cut her hair and return to her natural texture, telling her, “You’re always battling to make your hair do what it wasn’t meant to do” (Adichie 258). Initially, Ifemelu does not feel beautiful with her new haircut, and others view her hair as some kind of political statement. Later, Wambui introduces her to a natural hair community called “HappilyKinkyNappy.com”, which provides Ifemelu with a sense of community and support in her natural hair journey. With the help of Wambui and the online natural hair community, Ifemelu feels empowered to wear her natural hair. By choosing not to relax her hair, Ifemelu has rejected the pressures of Western society and reclaimed an integral part of her culture and identity.
Adichie’s novel opened my eyes in terms of the hardships black women face in regards to their hair. As a white woman, my hair conforms to the standards of American beauty. It’s not something that people stop me on the street to feel, say is a “bold statement,” or view as constantly “unkempt”, which is an example of a privilege I have as a white person in America.
ReplyDeleteThe difference in how Ifemelu viewed her natural hair in Nigeria versus in America is a reflection on the difference of race between countries. She never viewed herself as black while she was in Nigeria. Although she is black, everyone around her was too, so it wasn’t something she felt as a defining part of her identity. However, when she moved to America, being black was something she felt impacted nearly every aspect of her life, and she was aware of much more discrimination and microaggressions due to her blackness. When talking to an American black woman, Ifemelu stated, “‘I came from a country where race was not an issue; I did not think of myself as black and I only became black when I came to America’”(Adichie 359). I feel that this statement can be applied to natural hair, as well, because natural hair is something that was embraced more so in Nigeria and scorned more in America. Additionally, like you stated in your post, Wambui, a fellow African, taught Ifemelu that natural hair can be beautiful and doesn’t have to be something to be altered. Great post!!
I would like to add to the part about when Ifemelu cuts her hair. The thought of cutting her hair didn't even occur to her until Wambui recommended it. If it weren't for Wambui, Ifemelu would have kept suffering by hiding away her straight damaged hair, which defeats the whole purpose of straightening it to begin with, as straightening it was supposed to help her 'fit in' and stop hiding. However, cutting it didn't magically cure Ifemelu's insecurities either because, just as curly hair isn't the norm in this country, neither is short hair. Curt referred to her hair as "brave" which is not what anyone wants to hear about their hair. His use of the word brave reinforced how Ifemelu will always stand out for her short hair, even to the people who care about her most.
ReplyDeleteAdditionally, her coworkers' initial reactions to her hair are to point it out, asking "if it means anything? Like something political"(Adichie 139) or "Are you a lesbian?"(Adichie 139). This shows a contrast to the compliments she got when she went from her natural hair to straight hair. Nobody was asking her why she straightened her hair, but now everyone wants to figure out her reason for cutting it. Short hair is always made out to be more than it is: hair. This section of the text showed me that in America, hair length can be just as subject to critique as hair type.