In a number of completely different topics it can be difficult to decide on a subject that you have not explored or discussed in lectures or tutorials yet. However this approach allowed me to zone in on a specific angle under a very broad and general topic.
Initially I wanted to explore the human body as a medium for communication. I was interested in the many ways we use our bodies to convey information to those around us and on social media. However this idea was a bit too general.
Where would I start and what would I research specifically, with fashion, tattoos, gender, accent, colour, shape or hair? After conversing with my tutor who mentioned the subject of hair and encouraged that I narrow down on a particular group of people and time.
This advice got me thinking about an interesting debate that I feel I have been involved in both voluntarily and involuntarily for a long time.
HAIR!
An example of a “protective hairstyle”
Hair has always been a strong pillar of my identity growing up as a Black, African and British female that has now lived in Australia for the last five years of my life.
I started to explore the idea of black hair in the workplace.
The future and the workplace are two very important factors for students like myself, are either in their third year of University or just beginning. Ultimately it is to be expected that anyone currently studying or aiming to study at a tertiary level has concerns about the future of the workplace in Australia. Over the last few decades diversity in the workplace has tremendously increased.
Personally I have heard stories of how black hair has impacted employment opportunities from family and friends but also on social media. Has the media moulded what we as a society deem as “professional hair” in the workplace? And if so has that allowed discrimination against Afro-Caribbean hair in the workforce?
“Breakfast at Tiffany’s: an Afro illustration”
Whilst I acknowledge that a lot of my ideas stem from incidents that I have encountered recorded within the African American community in America and Black British community in the United Kingdom; I believe there is room to explore whether that is the case of modern day Australia in a ‘melting pot’ society.
Australia as a “melting pot” illustration.
If the workforce in the United Kingdom and the United States of America has been subject to such discrimination, prejudice and bias it is important to me that I research if this too can occur on Australia and where these perceptions arise from?
Who decides what type of hair is professional and therefor what is allowed in the workplace? And why if it does, does this category exclude Afro-Caribbean hair?
There are many questions that arise when exploring the social, moral, intellectual and political significance of this topic.
In Australia we are fortunate to have an array of different people who experience both acculturation (the process of adopting the cultural traits or social patterns of another group) and enculturation (the process whereby individuals learn their group’s culture, through experience, observation, and instruction).
Moreover on an intellectual level does ones hair type affect their ability to be intellectual and thus complete their professional duties?
Eventually after exploring this idea under the topic “The Future of Work” I decided on a research question:
DO EMPLOYERS DISCRIMINATE AGAINST BLACK AFRO HAIR IN THE WORK FORCE?
Upon conducting some initial research I found a few interesting articles that I plan on analysing and drawing data from. Kobena Mercer, British art historian delves into the politics of black hair in Great Britain. He explores how “the black body and black identity has been commercialised across the United States and Britain for centuries” yet somehow be deliberately left out the “professional” narrative.
With this question I aim to explore and analyse nation wide research while conducting my own research by carrying out a number a intimate interviews that directly respond to my research question.
I’m really excited to see how this research unfolds and what information I find!
REFERENCE LIST:
Innes, C. (2003). Black British Culture and Society: A Text Reader (review). Research in African Literatures, 34(1), pp.191-192.
Walcott, R. (1996). Book Review: Welcome to the Jungle: New Positions in Black Cultural Studies, by Kobena Mercer, New York: Routledge, 1994. Critical Sociology, 22(2), pp.141-144.
Nothando Moyo
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