Type of Document Master's Thesis Author Chapman, Yolanda Michele Author's Email Address ychapman1@student.gsu.edu URN etd-11282007-153231 Title "I AM NOT MY HAIR! OR AM I?":BLACK WOMEN'S TRANSFORMATIVE EXPERIENCE IN THEIR SELF PERCEPTIONS OF ABROAD AND AT HOME Degree Master of Arts Department Anthropology and Geography Advisory Committee
Advisor Name Title Cassandra White Committee Chair Emanuela Guano Committee Member Megan Sinnott Committee Member Keywords
- African-American
- identity
- Hair
- Black
- Study Abroad
Date of Defense 2007-11-16 Availability unrestricted Abstract The Black female body has been subject to cultural scripting in which Black women are deemed as the "other." This representation of the Black female is played out in many ways such as through the racial and racist marking of her hair and skin color. In investigating Black women who have participated in a study abroad program, I found that this is one vehicle in which they have been exposed to other's perspectives of the Eurocentric standards of beauty. In this paper, I have examined ways in which Black women are active agents in their own social scripting of their bodies. Through interviews, focus groups and participant observation, with 20 self identified Black women, the investigation began with a look at the African and European cultural influences on African American ideas about beauty, hair and identity. Initial discussions of participants' experiences with hair at home and abroad led to broader dialogues about transformations in their concepts of gender, race, and identity.Files
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