DON’T TOUCH MY HAIR

by | Sep 15, 2020 | CSA Celebrates, Entertainment, Media Industry

The culture of “hair” in South Africa has raised its head recently so to speak. It’s a conversation that never really goes away, and, depending on which thread of the follicle divide you fall, it is one fraught with emotion, complexity and the real psychological scars of colonialism, at least in South Africa. Certainly, hair culture is a real world topic beyond academia.

 Gqom superstar Sho Madjozi, fiercely proud of her Tsonga heritage, often rocks a braided hairstyle with its Fulani and Tuareg influence; Moonchild Sanelly deconstructs the conversation with the ownership of her electrifying deep blue oversize woven mop style, to; illustrator wunderkind Karabo Poppy, who cleverly weaves barber culture into her art. That big brand Tresemme and beauty and health retailer Clicks got the conversation so wrong is telling, especially in an era where brands and culture align themselves inextricably.

“What’s The Quarantee” host Tarryn Cardré (who describes it as a fun, loud-mouthed, no-nonsense podcast exploring culture and tradition through the lens of an unproblematic, problematic feminist) shared her thoughts on the issues of identity, representation, commodification and a possible new paradigm of looking at hair issues and hair culture in SA.

“Owning your presence as a naturalista is hard. An entire movement was created to help folks embrace their kinks, only to be constantly judged by our schools, workplace and even social settings. We are told we are lazy and untidy because of the way we naturally look. Ironic since it often takes hours to get the perfect look we want,” says Tarryn.

She further deconstructs: “Representation has come a long way in the movement but the way capitalism is set up, a movement once created to provide a safe space for dark skinned girls with kinky hair, became a giant money hungry machine with light skin woman showcasing a very loose curl as the poster child.”

Tarryn concludes that creating a new paradigm to have honest conversations about hair requires, firstly, to understand that this is not just hair. It is about race, colourism, gender and classism. Nothing exists within a silo and the sooner we can confront the cultural embedding of social ills, the sooner we can live in a world where the likes of Clicks no longer underestimate the indignity and devaluation of the integrity & normalization of natural hair.

C.S.A.’s monthly cultural portal, The WIRE connects the dots of culture. With concise stories, many with video content, take a premium dive into the world of African entertainment & cultural fluidity. It’s one thing to be hip to what’s happening but it is another to know why.

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