Black Hair Politics: the Representation of African Women On
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
Black hair politics: the representation of African women on True Love magazine front covers and hair advertisements by KHULEKANI MADLELA A thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree DPhil (Visual Studies) in the Department of Visual Arts at the UNIVERSITY OF PRETORIA FACULTY OF HUMANITIES SUPERVISOR: Professor Jeanne van Eeden CO-SUPERVISOR: Dr Nomusa Makhubu February 2018 DECLARATION Full name: Khulekani Madlela Student number: 16363605 Degree: PhD in Visual Studies Title of thesis: Black hair politics: the representation of African women on True Love magazine front covers and hair advertisements. I declare that this thesis is my own, original work. Where secondary material is used, this has been carefully acknowledged and referenced in accordance with University requirements. I understand what plagiarism is and am aware of the University policy and implications in this regard. Signature KMadlela Date 05/02/2018 i ABSTRACT The literature about race and gender includes extensive research on the representation of black women. However, most of these studies have been conducted in the West; only a few have been done in Africa in general and in South Africa in particular. To address this gap, I use quantitative content and visual semiotic analysis to examine selected examples of South African True Love magazine‟s front-page covers and hair advertisements and how these represent black African women. Paying particular attention to hair, this thesis examines the hair products, hair types, lengths, colours and hairstyles that feature prominently in the visual texts. By doing so, it seeks to uncover the myths and ideologies that are constructed and promoted. This study also employs focus group interviews to find out to what extent the images on the covers and advertisements influence the respondents‟ self-esteem and hair styling practices, while also exploring their own perceptions of black hair. The results of the semiotic analysis and quantitative content analysis showed that True Love has increased the visibility of black African women. Through a survey questionnaire and focus group interviews, this study found that respondents attached different meanings to hair. My study found that the intersectionality of race, gender and class impacted on the selected black African women‟s notions of black hair. In terms of their hairstyling practices the study found that the respondents embraced both Westerncentric and Afrocentric styles. However, with respect to hair types and styles featured on True Love covers and advertisements, a quantitative content analysis suggests that the Westerncentric ideal of long, straight hair dominated. Additionally, hair altering and enhancement products featured prominently, as if to suggest that black hair is only beautiful when it is altered. The respondents‟ perceptions provided new insights on black hair and styling. My research suggests that hair styling among black African women is a complex issue. Black hair is a politically charged subject, and hairstyling and hair care routines are governed by social, cultural, religious, economic and political factors. For instance, it emerged that the reason for relaxing hair has little to do with emulating „white‟ standards or copying ideals promoted in True Love; it is mainly associated with maintenance as most respondents pointed out that they relaxed their hair to make it easier to comb and style. In addition, some wear long hair for professional reasons, while others adopt long weaves to attract men. ii Furthermore, True Love presents the different faces of black African women by portraying them as mothers, wives, married and single, and as glamorous, independent and successful career women. Nevertheless, the magazine still uses stereotypical tropes by objectifying, infantilising, and hyper-sexualising them in many cases. The findings support the claim that the dominant ideologies of patriarchy, capitalism and consumerism are a consistent pattern throughout the covers and advertisements. Additionally, from the above it is clear that the magazine presents contradictory messages about black femininities owing to its diverse readership and various factors such as global trends, commercial considerations and ownership structure, which influence the content that is published. These findings provide insights that have implications for hair brands that advertise in True Love. Keywords: representation of black African women, black hair, good and bad hair, hair alteration, hair enhancements, front covers, hair advertisements, black femininities, myth, ideology, True Love. iii Dedication and acknowledgements Why research about hair? I have a serious reason: hair maketh a (wo)man. I have another reason: while living in Dubai, my hair and the way I styled it was often seen as exotic and was always a topic of discussion with „non-black‟ friends, colleagues and even strangers. I‟d field questions such as “are cornrows done by a machine?” and listen to observations like “how come your hair grows so fast, yesterday you had short hair but today its waist-length?” Yes, every now and then I indulge myself and splurge on Brazilian and Peruvian weaves. I have a third reason: back in the Motherland people are fascinated with ufuzo lwami (my grey hair). I have found many a kindred spirit because of the salt and pepper look that I wear with pride. I have a fourth reason: people (I won‟t mention names) hardly recognise me when I change hairstyles. I hope this is enough to whet the curiosity. To all those who are intrigued by African hair, in the hope that they may join me as I get to the roots and unravel the mysteries of black hair. I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who participated in this study; those who filled out the pre-group questionnaires and those who attended focus group interviews. Thank you for sharing your experiences. I also wish to thank the University of Pretoria for providing financial assistance for my studies. Special thanks to my supervisors Prof Jeanne van Eeden and Dr Nomusa Makhubu. With their intellectual stimulation and moral support, I completed this thesis in record time. Finally, I would like to thank clan Zonke JJ Madlela for their encouragement throughout the duration of my studies. We have the first PhD, keep them coming, there is plenty of space on the wall of fame. Ngiyabonga. Thank you. Dankie. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Page DECLARATION ................................................................................................................. i ABSTRACT ........................................................................................................................ ii DEDICATION AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS............................................................ iv LIST OF FIGURES ........................................................................................................... xi LIST OF TABLES ........................................................................................................... xiv 1 CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION ............................................................................. 1 1.1 Background and context to the study .............................................................. 2 1.1.1 The politics of black hair in South Africa .............................................. 3 1.1.1 Rationale for the study ........................................................................... 5 1.2 The research problem ...................................................................................... 8 1.2.1 Aims and objectives of the study ............................................................ 9 1.3 Justification for choosing True Love magazine............................................. 11 1.4 Literature review ....................................................................................... …13 1.4.1 Studies conducted in diaspora.............................................................. 14 1.4.2 African studies and scholarly views ..................................................... 17 1.5 The theoretical framework ........................................................................ …19 1.5.1 Semiotic theories .................................................................................. 19 1.5.2 The representation theory .................................................................... 20 1.6 The research methodology ........................................................................ …21 1.6.1 Quantitative content analysis ............................................................... 21 1.6.2 Visual semiotic analysis ....................................................................... 22 1.6.3 Focus group interviews ........................................................................ 23 1.7 Feasibility of study and ethical implications…………………………….….23 1.8 Outline of chapters……………………………………………………….….24 2 THE BLACK BODY AND BLACK HAIR POLITICS ...................................... 26 2.1 Blackness in the black and white imagination .............................................. 26 2.2 Overview of South Africa ............................................................................. 30 2.2.1 Pre-colonial and colonial history of South Africa ............................... 32 2.2.2 Apartheid in South Africa ..................................................................... 35 2.2.3 Democratic rule in South Africa .......................................................... 37 v 2.3 Dehumanisation of black people ..............................................................