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A Visual Analysis of Natural Hair And THESIS WORKING ON MY HAIR: A VISUAL ANALYSIS OF NATURAL HAIR AND BLACK WOMEN PROFESSIONALS IN POPULAR TELEVISION PROGRAMMING Submitted by Hayley Eve Blackburn Department of Journalism and Media Communication In partial fulfillment of the requirements For the Degree of Master of Science Colorado State University Fort Collins, Colorado Spring 2017 Master’s Committee: Advisor: Gayathri Sivakumar Rosa Mikeal Martey Katie Gibson Copyright by Hayley Eve Blackburn 2017 All Rights Reserved ABSTRACT WORKING ON MY HAIR: A VISUAL ANALYSIS OF NATURAL HAIR AND BLACK WOMEN PROFESSIONALS IN POPULAR TELEVISION PROGRAMMING I examine the representations of Black women characters in professional settings on seven television drama texts. Black features are subjected to Eurocentering—the reduction of racial heritage markers to align with Eurocentric values—to protect hegemonic traditions under the guise of racial neoliberalism. This study focuses on hairstyles for Black women because hair functions as a racial signifier to the audience and is thus a key component of the visual rhetoric under observation. I answer the research question: how does the visibility and representation of natural hair invite the audience to discipline Blackness in professional spaces. The findings reflect that natural hair does lack visibility, with less than 25% of the sample representing significant moments for the main characters to interact with natural hair, and when visible the representation tends towards a disciplinary frame. Natural hair is a symbol of the Black savage framing that reinforces the superiority of Whiteness in the professional world. The Black woman with altered hair becomes a symbol for a civilized, thus successful, Black body able to participate in a professional society while natural hair remains the symbol for the opposite. Overall, audiences are invited to view natural hair in a very limited capacity for professional characters, and the framing reinforces negative perceptions of natural hair for Black women in a work-based Western society. ii TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT .................................................................................................................................... II LIST OF TABLES ........................................................................................................................ IV LIST OF FIGURES ........................................................................................................................V CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Overview and Rationales .............................................................................................. 2 1.2 Goal and Research Question ......................................................................................... 4 1.3 Organization of Thesis .................................................................................................. 5 CHAPTER 2. LITERATURE REVIEW ........................................................................................ 7 2.1 Racial Neoliberalism ..................................................................................................... 7 2.2 Rhetoric of Containment ............................................................................................... 9 2.3 Eurocentrism ............................................................................................................... 10 2.4 Creating Meaning from Visuals: Understanding the Power of Television ................. 13 2.5 Hair in Symbolic Interaction ....................................................................................... 15 2.5.1 Black Hair .......................................................................................................... 18 2.6 The Intersection Between Black Hair, Television, and Professionalism .................... 22 2.7 Research Questions ..................................................................................................... 23 CHAPTER 3. METHODS ............................................................................................................ 24 3.1 Theoretical Framework of the Method ....................................................................... 25 3.2 Sample ......................................................................................................................... 26 3.2.1 Summary of Programs ....................................................................................... 28 3.3 Analytical Procedure ................................................................................................... 33 3.3.1 Themes and Focus .............................................................................................. 34 3.3.2 Analysis Method ................................................................................................ 36 3.3.3 Analytical Method Limitations .......................................................................... 38 3.4 Concluding Summary ................................................................................................. 39 CHAPTER 4. RESULTS AND ANALYSIS ................................................................................ 40 4.1 RQ1 and RQ2: Visibility and Context ........................................................................ 43 4.2 RQ3: Frequency .......................................................................................................... 78 CHAPTER 5. CONCLUSIONS ................................................................................................... 82 5.1 Other Considerations ................................................................................................... 85 5.2 Future Projects ............................................................................................................ 86 REFERENCES ............................................................................................................................. 89 APPENDICES .............................................................................................................................. 95 6.1 Television Thematic Guide ......................................................................................... 95 6.2 Television Analysis Observation Sheet ...................................................................... 98 6.3 Television Analysis Tracking Spreadsheet ............................................................... 112 iii LIST OF TABLES Table 1 Program Demographics ................................................................................................... 79 iv LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1 Google's Professional Hair ............................................................................................... 1 Figure 2 Michelle Obama's Look .................................................................................................... 9 Figure 3 Beyoncé Advertisement.................................................................................................. 12 Figure 4 Styles of Hair .................................................................................................................. 34 Figure 5 Renee Atwood ................................................................................................................ 47 Figure 6 Weave on Counter .......................................................................................................... 50 Figure 7 Mary Jane ....................................................................................................................... 50 Figure 8 Annalise Keating ............................................................................................................ 52 Figure 9 Cece ................................................................................................................................ 59 Figure 10 Tiana ............................................................................................................................. 60 Figure 11 Nessa............................................................................................................................. 63 Figure 12 Annalise Crying ............................................................................................................ 65 Figure 13 Abby Mills .................................................................................................................... 69 Figure 14 Lisa Hudson .................................................................................................................. 73 v CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION A tweet on April 5, 2016, shocked the Twittersphere and brought attention to the institutional disadvantaging of Black women in the workplace. @BonKamona screen grabbed and posted her results of a simple Google search: unprofessional hairstyles for work. The images returned were overwhelmingly of Black women with natural styles (see Figure 1). The image was retweeted over 8,000 times with other Twitter users finding similar results (Jackson- Edwards, 2016). Figure 1 Google's Professional Hair 1 As a woman of color with a head of abundant curly hair, I have been aware of the favoritism associated with Eurocentering first-hand. The consistent increase in compliments, such as, “you look so pretty today” or “your hair looks so nice,” I experience when my own hair is straightened, rather than its natural state, reflects the findings of @BonKamona. It seems that my peers are primed
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