“So, like, how did you do that?” Growing up, I used to dread installing and taking out my braid/twist extensions, because I knew my peers would ask this inevitable question. I would practice different responses before going to school, making sure to emphasize that my hair did not “magically” grow over night. Despite my greatest efforts, I would still fumble around for the right words, an adequate response for someone who had no reference point in understanding the versatility of black hair.
When it comes to hair, versatility in styles has been afforded to women of African descent. The options are limitless. Braids. Extensions. Straightened. However, “going natural” is a style that has recently grown in popularity. When a woman of African descent says she is “going natural,” she is referring to her decision to wear her hair in its unmodified state. This means that she is opting out of chemically altering her hair to make it straight. The majority of women of African descent do not have naturally straight hair. However, there was, and still is, an expectation for these women to straighten their curly hair. We are told by our well-meaning family members, frustrated hairdressers, and skewed media outlets that straightening the kinks and coils from our hair would make it more “manageable,” more “professional,” and more “beautiful.” This mindset stems from the era of colonialism when the standard of beauty was light skin and silky hair. This phenomenon is not only evident in the United States, but also in African, Asian, and Latin American societies today. This point brings me to the Dominican Republic (DR).
The Dominican Republic is a mixed-race society. This fact is due to the history of Spanish settlement during the late fifteenth century. After the subsequent decimation of the indigenous Taíno peoples, the Spanish relied on African slaves to cultivate, manufacture, and maintain their sugarcane, export-oriented economy. The Spanish procreated with the slaves, and the outcome of this colonial history is clear in the vast range of skin tones, eye color, and hair textures present in the Dominican Republic. Race mixing continued when Chinese, Jewish, and Arab immigrants settled on the island during the twentieth century.
The issue of “Pelo Bueno, Pelo Malo” or “Good Hair, Bad Hair” arrives during the dictatorial era of Rafael Trujillo (1930-1961). Trujillo ruled mercilessly and fought to differentiate his country from neighboring Haiti through ethnocentrism. He perpetuated the idea that Dominicans were of solely Spanish and Taíno descent, and he worked to erase any hint of African/Haitian heritage from Dominican society. Trujillo lightened his skin; women straightened their hair.
Although the preference for more European features is not distinct to the DR, but rather seen in any former colonial holding, this island is an especially interesting case as the vast majority of the population is of a mixed racial heritage. In the United States a black woman can choose from a plethora of resources on how to care for her textured hair, and she is able to find a large support system within the natural hair community if she decides to go natural. Here in the DR, where you can find a “salón de belleza” on every corner, this support system is not as large or as strong.
However, one woman is trying to change that. Carolina Contreras is the founder of Miss Rizos, an organization that promotes embracing one’s natural hair and leading an overall healthy lifestyle. She coined the Spanish phrase “Yo Amo Mí Pajón,” which refers to loving one’s curly hair. I took the opportunity to attend one of her natural hair events in Santo Domingo, and it was amazing. In a society where it seemed that I could count the number of women wearing their natural hair textures on one hand, it was encouraging, and a little overwhelming, to see the amount of loose curls, tight curls, short curls, and long curls that were bouncing in this one venue. This gathering revealed that there is a growing community of Dominican women who are embracing their natural hair in a society with a long history of racial bias.
Going natural is more than just deciding to stop chemically altering one’s hair. For some, it is a commitment to accept one’s self. For others, it is a commitment to living a healthier lifestyle. Regardless of the various reasons why women embrace their natural hair, this movement continues to do one thing: it challenges the prevailing standard of beauty with every woman who decides to take the plunge.
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