Louisiana State University LSU Digital Commons LSU Doctoral Dissertations Graduate School 2014 The nflueI nce of Colorism and Hair Texture Bias on the Professional and Social Lives of Black Women Student Affairs Professionals Rhea Monet Perkins Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_dissertations Part of the Education Commons Recommended Citation Perkins, Rhea Monet, "The nflueI nce of Colorism and Hair Texture Bias on the Professional and Social Lives of Black Women Student Affairs Professionals" (2014). LSU Doctoral Dissertations. 2510. https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_dissertations/2510 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at LSU Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in LSU Doctoral Dissertations by an authorized graduate school editor of LSU Digital Commons. For more information, please [email protected]. THE INFLUENCE OF COLORISM AND HAIR TEXTURE BIAS ON THE PROFESSIONAL AND SOCIAL LIVES OF BLACK WOMEN STUDENT AFFAIRS PROFESSIONALS A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of the Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in The School of Education by Rhea Monet Perkins B.S., Arizona State University, 2008 M.S., Florida International University, 2010 May 2015 This dissertation is for my nieces, C’Briannah, Cristina, Cayla and Crystal. C’Briannah and Cristina are the motivation behind my work with issues related to colorism. You both are beautiful, important, needed, and loved. ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I am honored and excited to thank everyone who made the preparation and completion of this dissertation possible. Although this has been my journey, I definitely did not complete this alone. I am so blessed to have such supportive people in my life that encouraged me, motivated me, and more importantly, believed in me. Without this, I could not have succeeded. First, I am so thankful for Dr. Atira Charles who introduced me to the idea of graduate school while I was an undergraduate at Arizona State University. She believed in my ability far more than I ever did and literally “pushed” me to submit graduate school applications. She helped me study for the GRE; I will never forget our sessions at IHOP! I am so blessed that she chose me and decided not to give up on me. Because she was pursuing her doctoral degree at ASU, she motivated me to consider a doctoral degree, however at the time I never thought I’d actually go through with it. She has been an amazing source of support and encouragement and definitely a model of which I hope to resemble professionally, spiritually, and motherly. Thank you for helping me get here. Second, I am forever grateful to the members of my dissertation committee: Dr. Petra Robinson, Dr. Cassandra Chaney, Dr. Jennifer Curry, and Dr. Roland Mitchell for their academic support. You all have spent so much time and energy making sure I was successful during this process. I am especially thankful to Dr. Robinson, for serving in so many roles, each crucial to my success and completion. I can never repay you for everything you have done for me, all of your time, countless edits, my first coding lesson, listening to me vent, cooking for me, introducing me to your lovely family and home in Jamaica, and for holding me accountable. Your support and mentorship is definitely what got me through. At a time when I did not think colorism was a topic fit for a dissertation, you proved that to be wrong and practically demanded that I pursue and finish it. Thank you! iii Third, I would like to thank my peers and “cohort” for their support and accountability. Seeing other young scholars of color pursue doctoral degrees was inspirational and motivational. To my “BR Bestie” Dr. Erin Vaughn, thank you for the encouragement, home cooked meals, and allowing me to invade your apartment! You also helped me formulate the idea for my dissertation topic. These past few years could not have been nearly as enjoyable without you. Kevin Joseph, “Papa Paul,” Danielle Klein, Tierra Clemmons, Vincent Harris, and the “Patio Crew” thank you for always being there to provide assistance and laughs. Fourth, it would have been impossible to write this dissertation without my study’s participants. I enjoyed the time we spent during the interviews and hope that I have done your stories justice. I cannot wait to continue work with your voices. Thanks for sharing an intimate part of you to help with my dissertation process. I want to thank my family and close friends for their love and inspiration. You all are the reason I wanted to persist. To my dad, you are the best father a girl could ever ask for. Thank you for reminding me that “everything I touch turns to gold.” To Billie, thank you for your unconditional love and presence in my life. My sister Rochelle, I admire your strength and dedication to the girls, I hope to reflect you one day. Lorie, thank you for loving me, helping me throughout this journey, providing input, and for speaking life during some of my lowest moments. Starr and Ryan, thanks for the study sessions, home cooked meals, and for giving me the best godsons ever. Their little faces made this journey a little less painful! To my grandmother for being so sure in my success and to my best friend LaShay, for being the comical relief I needed. Thank you! Finally, I absolutely could not have gotten to this point without God’s grace and favor. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS................................................................................................iii ABSTRACT......................................................................................................................viii CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................ 1 Background of the Problem .......................................................................................... 5 Statement of the Problem ............................................................................................. 6 Purpose of the Study .................................................................................................... 6 Significance of the Study ............................................................................................. 7 Theoretical Framework: Black Feminist Thought ....................................................... 9 Research Questions .................................................................................................... 19 Limitations` ................................................................................................................ 19 Important Terms and Definitions ............................................................................... 19 Chapter Summary ....................................................................................................... 21 2 LITERATURE REVIEW ........................................................................................... 22 Historical Perspective ................................................................................................. 22 Legally Black and Socially White: The Act of Passing ............................................. 25 The Influence of White Supremacy on the Black Image ........................................... 29 Global Significance: Colorism beyond the United States .......................................... 33 History of Black Women in Louisiana .................................................................... 37 The Politics Associated with Black Hair .................................................................... 41 Black is Beautiful: A Unifying Moment .......................................................... 43 The Interaction of Skin and Hair ................................................................................ 49 Colorism and the American Social Landscape .......................................................... 53 Internal(ized) Effects: Self-Objectification Theory ................................................... 56 Influence of Appearance in Professional Settings ...................................................... 59 Meet a Need to Serve a Need: Student Affairs in Higher Education ......................... 62 Discussion of Preliminary Findings: Social Milieu ................................................... 68 Men’s Preference for Light Skin ...................................................................... 69 Notion of Safeness ........................................................................................... 71 Chapter Summary ....................................................................................................... 73 3 METHODS ................................................................................................................. 74 Research Design and Methodological Approach ....................................................... 74 Site Selection .............................................................................................................. 75 Sample Selection ........................................................................................................ 75 Data Collection ........................................................................................................... 76 Data Management