I have curly hair.
I've been watching the American Crime Story OJ Simpson miniseries, and a strong B plot is the appearance, especially the hairstyle of Marcia Clark.
Ms. Clark, like myself, is of Jewish heritage. Our hair is very similar, and if mine was cropped, I believe it would look nearly identical, both in style and color.
I've only had one person who employed me tell me my curls were unacceptable. That my hair was too 'bumpy' and had to be worn up while in the office: a policy that did not apply to the other women in the office with long, straight hair. I have long since left that job, like many many others before me (and for a number of reasons), but the outrage remains.
I am not alone in my experience, or my understanding that there is a stigma against curly hair in the workplace. I've gotten a number of inappropriate comments and reactions. Kids in middle school threw tape into my hair, so see me struggle and cry while removing it. People would tug my hair, both to hurt me and see the curls 'spring' back (they do). I still get requests to touch my hair to see how it feels.
It feels like hair.
Midge Wilson, Ph D., professor of psychology and women's and gender studies at DePaul University says "The '60s were tolerant of curly hair among whites as well as the Afro for African-Americans and Jews...it seemed loose, free-spirited, even wild...In pop culture, deranged women often have big, uncombed curls. Well-groomed hair is seen as no-nonsense and serious."
I have never been interesting in straightening my hair for daily life; it is both time consuming and difficult. To be done professionally is costly and painful.
For most special events, such as weddings and the prom, stylists choose to straighten and then style my hair. The notable exception was at my recent friend's wedding, were I was surrounded by other curly haired women.
I am lucky that in my current position, my hair is only expected to be neat and clean. That doesn't mean straight, curly, or even a natural color. I can wear it loose, in a ponytail, clipped, bunned, or in any other way that doesn't look like a total rat's nest.
I reiterate: I AM LUCKY. I have been unlucky in the past, as are many women presently.
I often joke about being the oddball in my family, being vaguely ethnic looking and surrounded by blonds with blue eyes (both natural and faux). My hair is an afterthought usually, something to be brushed in the morning, pulled when I'm stressed, and detangled when I have the time. But when I give real thought to my identity and my hair, they both hurt.
I watch Sarah Paulson play Marcia Clark, knowing a tenth of a tenth of a tenth of what both women have experienced in their lives. I am no public figure, no celebrity or famed lawyer. I am just a regular woman who stops in the 'ethnic' section for her hairbrushes.
And you'd think twenty years after Ms. Clark went on trial in the court of the public for her curls, that I would feel like something had changed for the rest of us.
In other news, the sun is hot and water is wet.
I've been watching the American Crime Story OJ Simpson miniseries, and a strong B plot is the appearance, especially the hairstyle of Marcia Clark.
Seen here in reality, and as portrayed by Sarah Paulson.
I've only had one person who employed me tell me my curls were unacceptable. That my hair was too 'bumpy' and had to be worn up while in the office: a policy that did not apply to the other women in the office with long, straight hair. I have long since left that job, like many many others before me (and for a number of reasons), but the outrage remains.
I am not alone in my experience, or my understanding that there is a stigma against curly hair in the workplace. I've gotten a number of inappropriate comments and reactions. Kids in middle school threw tape into my hair, so see me struggle and cry while removing it. People would tug my hair, both to hurt me and see the curls 'spring' back (they do). I still get requests to touch my hair to see how it feels.
It feels like hair.
Midge Wilson, Ph D., professor of psychology and women's and gender studies at DePaul University says "The '60s were tolerant of curly hair among whites as well as the Afro for African-Americans and Jews...it seemed loose, free-spirited, even wild...In pop culture, deranged women often have big, uncombed curls. Well-groomed hair is seen as no-nonsense and serious."
I have never been interesting in straightening my hair for daily life; it is both time consuming and difficult. To be done professionally is costly and painful.
For most special events, such as weddings and the prom, stylists choose to straighten and then style my hair. The notable exception was at my recent friend's wedding, were I was surrounded by other curly haired women.
I am lucky that in my current position, my hair is only expected to be neat and clean. That doesn't mean straight, curly, or even a natural color. I can wear it loose, in a ponytail, clipped, bunned, or in any other way that doesn't look like a total rat's nest.
I reiterate: I AM LUCKY. I have been unlucky in the past, as are many women presently.
I often joke about being the oddball in my family, being vaguely ethnic looking and surrounded by blonds with blue eyes (both natural and faux). My hair is an afterthought usually, something to be brushed in the morning, pulled when I'm stressed, and detangled when I have the time. But when I give real thought to my identity and my hair, they both hurt.
I watch Sarah Paulson play Marcia Clark, knowing a tenth of a tenth of a tenth of what both women have experienced in their lives. I am no public figure, no celebrity or famed lawyer. I am just a regular woman who stops in the 'ethnic' section for her hairbrushes.
And you'd think twenty years after Ms. Clark went on trial in the court of the public for her curls, that I would feel like something had changed for the rest of us.
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