Letter of the Day | Do not repress creativity of hairstyles

THE EDITOR, Sir:

Hairstyles are a form of body art. Like all art they can be vehicles of expression, meaning and truth, as well as forms of adornment that satisfy aesthetic needs.

In traditional African societies they functioned as markers of age, social status, duties and roles. In Jamaica these functions were thwarted by slavery and colonialism. Imitating the hairstyles first of the British, then of African-Americans became dominant. Rastafarians rebelled against all this and grew their hair naturally, and this has had a big impact on the hair culture of peoples of African descent everywhere. Other religious groups also promote natural hairstyles. There may also be other indigenous hair designs that I am not aware of.

The place of hairstyles in Jamaican education has become a matter of heated debate. It is not a new issue. I remember when the first young woman to return to college after the weekend with an afro hairstyle caused quite a commotion. It is astonishing that some six decades later this is still an issue in education. It is my view that the banning of hairstyles on ethno-racial grounds is wrong everywhere, and especially in a region that is as cosmopolitan as ours.

It becomes even more so when we reflect that the encouragement of artistic expression is and ought to be an important part of the curriculum in our schools, especially in subjects such as the visual arts, creative writing, music, dance and vocational studies. At the heart of the problem, I think, is the fact that hairstyles are part of dress, and that great diversity in them seems to clash with the restrained and closely regulated patterning of school uniforms. The school uniform is the most egalitarian part of the educational system, since rich and poor students are required to wear the same uniform. I believe the required school uniform is one of the things keeping this society together. Creativity and diversity in hairstyles fight against the conformity that is the spirit of the school uniform. According to this spirit, students in the classroom distinguish themselves by their academic and creative achievements. and not by the originality (and expense) of their hairstyles.

The question of how to balance hairstyles as artistic expression and the educational value of the uniform is the challenge facing the educational authorities. Perhaps there is a need for moderation, do not repress the creativity of hairstyles, but restrain their exuberance so that they do not overwhelm the egalitarian spirit of the school uniform.

EARL MCKENZIE