Women to discuss meaning
of hairstyles in seminar
By Anna Herkamp
Staff
Writer
It is no secret that women have a special relationship
with their hair. Everyone wears their hair a certain way for a reason,
and there is a story behind every style, said Teju Omolodun, assistant
director at the Black Cultural Center.
In order to celebrate African—American hairstyles
and to educate about their meaning, "Hair Politics: Crowning Glory,"
a symposium sponsored by the BCC and Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, will
take place at 6 tonight in Krannert Room G009.
Several women will speak about their hairstyles
and the stories behind them.
One of the ideas that the women speakers will talk
is that hairstyles set a woman apart from others by letting her show
her own style. Doyin Daramola, a senior in the School of Pharmacy, said
no one could believe how fast she changed her style and length in the
two weeks she was on break.
When she returned she had long braids, which strongly
differed from her usual short style. She had to explain to her friends
that they were just extensions, and not a magic hair—growth drug.
Daramola says it's important to be able to educate
people about hairstyle because different cultures style their hair differently.
Regina Todd Hicks, multicultural counselor and
director of minority programs, cited the African Masai tribe as a good
example of cultural differences in hairstyle. She said because the women
in the tribe shave their heads bald, it shows that different peoples
throughout the world have different ideas of what beauty is.
Hicks, who has been bald for seven years, said
her style is an "extremely low maintenance approach." She made the decision
to shave her head bald after her hair began to thin and she wanted to
try something different from her usual look.
Hicks is one of tonight's presenters and will share
the story of how she came to have such a short style. She said that
when she was growing up, "your hair was your crowning glory." Short
hair was not as accepted when Hicks was young, but she said that it's
clear that styles have changed and so have attitudes about bald women.
Many women and girls have approached Hicks about
her style, and she said that having no hair helps to educate about chemotherapy
as well as other diseases in which those affected lose their hair.
"It's about show and glow," she said.
Being bald gives Hicks a sense of connection with
herself that she is not sure she could get with a lot of hair. She says
it is important that women are able to talk about hair style and hair
loss.
"It is important for women to know that they have
a presence, with hair or without," Hicks said. "Hair helps make the
character and essence of a woman."
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