1. Slavery and Its Contribution

2. Attempt of Assimilation

3. Development of Black culture

4. Cultural appropriation

5. Effects on society

6. References

Beauty is a perceived characteristic of an animal, idea, object, person or place that provides a perceptual experience of pleasure or satisfaction. Many people define beauty as something that is subjective, being that it is in the "eye of the beholder" to see what he or she thinks is actually beautiful. This "eye" is seen in many different cultures with each having a different preference. This subjective can be seen throughout history, especially in the African-American community. With the presence of oppression in the past, African-American cultural beauty has bend mended and redefined in many ways.

Slavery and Its Contribution

Even before the United States had been formed, the idea of beauty was one which was seen throughout different societies. In ancient Egypt, women were classified based on their skin tone; the woman with lighter skin tones were seen as higher class because unlike the woman in the working class they did not spend their days working under the sun, and the judgment based on skin tone is one that was seen through slavery as well.^[1] Within the United States, the definition of beauty was mainly set by Whites, since they were slaves owners, and were in numerous ways, considered to be the superior race. Beginning from as early as 1619, African-American women's beauty has been compared to Caucasian beauty standards, mainly in two areas: hair and skin color. Even though African-American slaves were not seen as beautiful by some slave masters, that did not stop them from having intimacies with many of them, which resulted in lighter skinned offspring During slavery, those who were of lighter complexion and had more European features, did not work in the hot scorching sun with the darker complexioned slaves. The lighter toned slaves tended to be house slaves.^[2][3] The idea of African-Americans being assimilated to obtain more "acceptable" or "beautiful" features slowly becomes juxtaposed with the abolishment of slavery by way of the Emancipation Proclamation, written by Abraham Lincoln.

Attempt of Assimilation

African-American hair has, and still is sometimes seen as unprofessional and inappropriate to most white standards. Many people argue that imitation European standards of beauty were a necessity to the prosperity of blacks and how they would be accepted by white culture (mainly in the workplace).^[4] One of the main efforts of assimilation was to straighten African-American hair. This can be seen in history through figures such as Malcolm X, who was a Civil Rights Activist in the 1950s. Malcolm X relaxed his hair using, what was then called a “conk”, which consisted of lye. One experience he had consisted of the lye burning he scalp at the same time his water went out. He resulted in putting his head inside of a toilet to get the product out of his hair. This was his realization that his attempt to become more presentable was also his biggest mistake.

Development of Black culture

Throughout history, African-American culture has evolved in such a way that their beauty standards too became their own. Each time frame has its own standard of what beauty is, but many of them stick closely to natural beauty, without much processing taking place. The hair, clothes, styles, expectations (of a man or woman), and everything in between changes as time changes. During the 1960s, the Afro was cultivated. During the 1980s and early 1990s West African hairstyles began to regain their fame, including: braids, twists, cornrows, and much more. Towards the end of the twentieth century, the Jheri curl was introduced, but most African-Americans chose dreadlocks, fades, or other styles that used their own natural hair texture.^[4] During these time periods, the development of African-American music was mainstream with hip hop, which included foul language, violence, and truth in lyrics. Many R&B groups and Rap groups/rappers glorified the beauty of the natural woman, with her accentuating curves and even her flaws.

Cultural appropriation

White culture subdues African-Americans in many aspects. The past and present culture that America lives in criticizes blacks for the styles or trends that they create and later copy them and become coined as “trendy” or “fashionable”. Many celebrities have shown examples of this appropriation in most recent years. Miley Cyrus, for example, at one point in 2015, wore her hair in faux dreadlocks at an award’s show and was seen as being edgy. Zendaya, a celebrity of African-American descent, also wore her hair in dreadlocks at an awards show later on that year, but was publicly criticized for looking like “she smells like … weed” by Entertainment News host Giuliana Rancic in one of her TV appearances.^[5] Also celebrities like the Kardashian and Jenner family have made names for themselves by basically using black attributes and culture to their advantage.

Effects on society

Within the United States, the beauty of African-American woman continued to be ostracized in society by not allowing African-American woman to participate in [Miss America] beauty contests until 30 years after their beginning.^[6] The beauty contests within the United States were the beginnings of ideal beauty portrayed in the media.

References

• Alpha Sigma Phi
• Alpha sigma phi
• Alpha Site
• AlphaSmart
• Alphasmart
• Alpha Sports
• Alpha squadron
• Alpha Squadron (StarCraft)
• Alpha strike
• Alphasyllabary
• Alpha synuclein
• Alpha-synuclein
• Alpha Tauri
• Alpha test
• Alpha testing
• Alpha Theta
• Alphatk
• Alpha tocopherol
• Alpha Tower
• Alpha transparency
• Alpha Trion
• Alpha TV
• Alpha Ursae Maioris
• Alpha Ursae Majoris
• Alpha Ursae Minoris