MAGAZINE
The Fear of the Fro: Why Black Women are Afraid of Their Natural Hair
By TIFFANY HALL 
Natural hair is becoming more than just a trend. More and more black women are getting tired of slaving to European beauty standards and embracing the natural kink and curl of their hair. It is understandable considering the hundreds of years of brainwashing that caused many of us to believe that our hair was “bad.” Cosmetology schools and hair care lines were designed specifically to “tame” our natural hair by chemically altering it to look straight. Natural hair has even been stigmatized to be symbolic of radicalism and militancy. Unlike other ethnic groups, we have been convinced that our natural hair is not acceptable socially, or even professionally. But, if natural hair is becoming so common, why are many of us still afraid?
When I decided to abandon chemical relaxers in order to wear my hair in its natural state, I knew that I was going to raise some eyebrows. Unfortunately, the raised eyebrows were from other black women. Often I was asked: “Don't you want to get your hair done?”, when I knew they really meant, “Aren't you going to get a perm?”
I could not understand why so many women viewed the natural state of their hair the way they did. I started to wonder whether the rest of society really agreed with the notion that natural hair was unacceptable or were we guilty of putting these restrictions on ourselves?
Jessica, a 22-year-old white woman admits that having straight hair makes it much easier to satisfy the “professional” European standards when it comes to hair. However, she does not believe that having to alter your hair to be accepted in the workplace is fair.
“I think it's ludicrous. Why should [someone] have to fuss with something that irritates her body and goes against nature, just so she can fit with somebody else's picture of what she should look like?”
While many agree that having to assimilate to these beauty standards should not weigh on professional standards, others agree that a certain aesthetic applies to different job industries.
“I think it really depends on the profession”, explains Jessica, who is of mixed Asian and Caucasian race. “At workplaces where [a woman] has to deal with the public, such as bank teller, maybe I would suggest a different hair style.”
This notion is quite common among some professional circles. In June 2007, a staff member from Glamour magazine cited natural hair as a “Glamour don't.” The staff member was even quoted as saying: “It is shocking that some people still think it appropriate to wear those hairstyles at the office. No offense ... but those political hairstyles really have to go.”
Many women find their jobs in jeopardy and are forced to choose between wearing their hair naturally and maintaining their employment. Jane, a 20-year-old who is half Jewish and half African-American, found herself in this predicament.
“I have a ‘fro. I was almost fired from my job for refusing to cut or straighten it”.
However, Jane does not think it was just a matter of professionalism that threatened her job.
“I think afros, dreads, and other natural black hairstyles make it even more evident that, well, I'm not white. I think, for some people, that's problematic.”
Perhaps this is where the problem lies. In a society where white standards of beauty are considered more acceptable, it is more difficult to convince many people otherwise. The fact that our natural hair opposes these standards makes many people uncomfortable.
Many black women find wearing their natural hair freeing without the time and cost it takes to tame their hair into straight, more socially-acceptable styles. Yet, even though the natural hair phenomenon is growing, the notion that “white is right” still dominates.
Many believe, however, that hair is only one aspect of one's personality and should not take precedent over other qualities that would make them well-suited for a job.
“It shouldn't matter, whatever environment, what someone looks like,” says Carmen of Polish descent. “What should matter is what he or she thinks and how he or she presents him or herself. If anything, when someone wears a different hairstyle, I feel that it inspires diversity and innovative insight, something important to any situation, be it professional or not.”