Black women speak volumes with their hair
By Vanessa E. Jones, Globe Staff | December 15, 2005
Hair has always been a tantalizing obsession for black women.
Photographer Michael Cunningham (who previously worked on the popular book ”Crowns,” filled with portraits of African-American women and their stunning Sunday hats) and author George Alexander explore that obsession in their new photo essay book, ”Queens.” The message they came away with after interviewing more than 100 women for the project — 50 make it into the book — is that there are multifaceted meanings in the way women wear their hair. As Alexander writes: ”Hair is about identity, beauty, racial pride, race politics, self-acceptance, self-expression, self-realization, class, status, fun, glamour, romance, fantasy, art, passion, joy, pain, freedom, enslavement, power.
”Hair can be all those things and more.”
Perhaps that explains why Cunningham and Alexander aren’t the only ones mining hair for cultural enjoyment these days. In the space of a year, two feature films — last year’s ”Hair Show” and this year’s ”Beauty Shop” — have delved into the goings-on at African-American beauty salons. And just before winning an Oscar in 2002, actress Halle Berry announced her plan to produce a movie version of ”Nappily Ever After,” the best-selling novel about the drama that occurs when a relaxed-haired sister decides to chop off her straight tresses and wear it short and naturally curly. (more…)
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