Many of you, like me will be enjoying the 2024 Olympic games in Paris: from the sheer amount of dedication, talent, and passion, to the ups and downs, the shocks and surprises and everything else in-between. However, it was something outside of the games that struck me. Simone Biles, the most decorated gymnast in history, received negative criticism online about her hair being unkempt on a video that she uploaded of herself and teammates on a bus. Simone then felt the need to address the comments and remind the public about overstepping the mark.

At first, Simone justified why her hair may have looked ‘messy’, explaining that it had been done prior to the bus journey, and that it was the heat and the long bus ride that had led to her hair falling out of place. She followed up these justifications with another post that reminded the public to kindly not mention a Black woman’s hair. This brought me back to discussions within my research where I highlight the European beauty standards that Black women are held to (Charles, 2024). Black women’s hair has for a long time been seen as unprofessional, messy and problematic. On the other spectrum, Black women’s natural hair has been marvelled at and touched without permission, causing Black women to feel hyper-visible and uncomfortable. Whichever encounter, it can lead to many Black women feeling the need to change their hair or mould it into something that looks more European (Charles, 2024; Patton, 2006). European beauty ideals and standards create further challenges and judgement that Black women face in society. Black women are scrutinised against racialised beauty ideals they cannot achieve, and they are perceived to be failing to measure up to the normative standard (Patton, 2006).

It should be a woman’s choice to style her hair how she wants, without external factors influencing or determining these choices. Additionally, Black hair needs to stop being compared to European hairstyles, in which such comparisons put European hairstyles on a pedestal. Speaking from experience, for many Black women, learning to love your hair for what it is rather than lament over what it is not can sometimes be a process. It can be a process of confusion, growth, trial and error, liberation, empowerment and pride. Moreover, it can be an important part of someone’s identity. I hope Simone Biles’ courage to challenge such comments can act as a springboard for others to do the same with power and resilience, and I hope we can start to normalise Black hair and hairstyles for future generations.

References

Charles, A. (2024) Black Women in Prison: Exploring the Intersection of Race and Gender in Experiences of Imprisonment. Unpublished PhD Thesis. Milton Keynes: The Open University.

Patton, T. O. (2006) ‘Hey Girl, Am I More than My Hair?: African American Women and Their Struggles with Beauty, Body Image, and Hair’, NWSA Journal, 18(2), pp. 24-51. Available at: http://www.jstor.org/stable/4317206