In the eyes of the beholder

Blacks still search outside themselves for ideas of beauty

Curtis Campbell

Black History Month, a time for blacks to celebrate and to remember important people and events in the history of their people, has just ended.

Four hundred years of slavery, 181 years since its abolition and 52 years since Jamaica's Independence from British rule have left scars.

Many still hold to European ideals, whether it is visible to them or not. Skin bleaching is perhaps an extreme indication of the insecurity of some Jamaicans, however, there are other less obvious examples of what could be seen as an inferiority complex.

Women (and some men) who perm their hair and corporate entities and schools who ask men to cut their hair extremely low to represent decency, may be reflections of the lingering effect of slavery.

The Sunday Gleaner spoke with members of the entertainment industry, where examples of those things that will become social norms are first seen, to hear their views on the concept of beauty.

Not surprisingly, none of the persons interviewed believed they suffered from low self-esteem, however, they did agree that many Jamaicans were still consumed with European ideas of beauty.

According to Serani's Rock Stone Media producer Tiyarro, the breakdown in self-confidence in blacks starts in Jamaica's schools.

"Nowadays, when you see people bleaching it's because dem accustomed to seeing people of light skin getting better treatment. One time when you go into a bank it's only light-skinned women. In the schools, they give students a handbook stipulating how long the hair should be and all male students are supposed to follow this one rule. Yet when I was in high school wearing an afro, I was often told to cut my hair when Indians had hair reaching their backs in pony tails," he said.

The producer, who is now growing locks, says he has never heard a white person or Indians being told that their hair is 'bad'.

"It's a funny thing how a man will tell you that he does not have low self-esteem and how he is black conscious. Yet he will tell yu how much your hair is bad and coarse and you must cut it, but he will not say it about a white man's hair nor an Indian's hair," he said.

Media personality/former Magnum Kings and Queens of Dancehall host Empress, also sports her natural hair.

MEDIA PROMOTION

Ironically, in addition to colonialism and the education system, she believes the media plays a serious role in the promotion of European concepts of beauty.

"People just need to get wise. We need a different kind of education and the media has the power to shape minds and identity. So we need to portray the beauty of the African Negro people and stop telling the history of enslavement. Instead, we should go way before that and show the accomplishments of the great African people of the 20th century," Empress said.

The Afrocentric host says she does not allow society to burden her with its concept of beauty. Instead, she lives her life by her own standards, using her knowledge of black history as her foundation.

"I love my black skin, hair and I know my history. They cannot trick me ... as my concept of beauty is developed by me and my standards. I am disgusted when I hear the 'pretty hair' argument and saddened when I see people bleaching their skin and hurt when I hear people say she 'black and ugly like'," she said.

National Hero Marcus Garvey also sought to repair the self-esteem damage which has plagued blacks for over 400 years, and was instrumental in producing black dolls for African children in the United States.

EARLY INDOCTRINATION

Garvey, arguably more than any other mass leader, understood the need for early indoctrination of the youth. He, too, found it strange that blacks would allow others to judge their worth or beauty and was not very fond of the straightening of hair.

In one of his famous pieces he said.

"We have outgrown slavery, but our minds are still enslaved to the thinking of the master race. Now take these kinks out of your mind instead of out of your hair."

Radio host and Garveyite Steve Golding believes Marcus Garvey was right on point.

According to Golding, the Jamaican society relies heavily on European accepted standards of beauty to validate themselves. He also drew for studies which were done in the United States in the 1940s, studies which were used to critically understand the extent to which blacks accepted European concepts of beauty.

"Studies were done in the US using children as the subjects. Black children were given white dolls and black dolls to see their reactions, and the majority of the black children said they felt the white dolls were prettier," Golding told The Sunday Gleaner.

Hair perming and skin bleaching have been part of the Jamaican society for many years and have been criticised for several reasons. While perming became accepted by society, skin bleaching is largely seen as being too extreme and has ironically received criticism from persons with permed hair.

The 1990s saw various artistes demonising skin bleaching with the release of songs such as Dem A Bleach by Nardo Ranks and Monkeys Out by Mr Lexx, among others.

Fast-forward to 2014 and skin bleaching, perming and wearing false hair are now the face of the entertainment industry.

Empress believes education can restore some of the self-esteem which has been lost.

"Education, new images and only the truth will set us free. Love yourself is easy to say, but not always easy for everyone, as we are all trying so hard to keep up with the Kardashians ... what a joke," she chuckled.

Black History Month began in the United States and is also observed in Canada and the United Kingdom.

"As the issue of low self-esteem stands, many persons who suffer from it are not aware of it. Many people who perm now not even know why it started and they literally think yu hair bad if it's natural ... it set a way," Tiyarro concluded.