I Am Not My Hair: How YouTube Culture Powers Change. public has roots that run as deep as the Christian Bible. Verse 9 of the second chapter of 1

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1 Scruggs 1 Tricia Scruggs Knight EMAC May 2012 I Am Not My Hair: How YouTube Culture Powers Change A woman s physical appearance and how she chooses to represent herself to the public has roots that run as deep as the Christian Bible. Verse 9 of the second chapter of 1 Timothy implores women to adorn themselves in respectable apparel, with modesty and self-control, not with braided hair and gold or pearls or costly attire Biblical interpretations aside, it s worth noting that centuries have come and gone, yet the subject of what females communicate through clothing and hair-styling continues to be highly discussed, debated and critiqued. This very issue has put women in bondage and weakened their financial condition, while fueling large profits for corporations. Will this persist? Will today s YouTube culture assist in transforming self-perception and ideals? Of particular interest and for purposes of this document is the attention given to hair, specifically the crowns of Black women in America. The authors of Hair Story: Untangling the Roots of Black Hair in America insist, the dense, spiraling curls of African hair demonstrate evolutionary genius. Like natural air conditioning, this frizzy, kinky hair insulates the head from the brutal intensity of the sun s rays. In essence, these distinct characteristics are nature s way of protecting the body s most exposed portion. Many decades after the slave trade, descendants of African tribes living in the United

2 Scruggs 2 States began a quest to assimilate with White culture. Both men and women sought more manageable, good hair by using oil-based products like bacon grease and butter in an effort to soften their thick masses. To cleanse the hair, a concoction of cornmeal and kerosene was used and some women took to using coffee as a natural dye (Byrd & Tharps, Hair Story 17). Black hair care experiments and methods evolved and during the 19 th century, Sarah Breedlove, better known in the annals of history as Madame C.J. Walker, introduced the shampoo-press-and-curl as a hair straightening method (Byrd & Tharps, Hair Story 35). By the revolutionary 1960 s and 1970 s, Black women s focus on elongating and manipulating their crowning glory into submission took a momentary backseat to the powerful political statements of tiny braids and the natural also called an afro. Once a symbol of African pride, these iconic expressions mostly dissipated in the 1980 s and 1990 s, giving way to chemical combinations, like the Jeri curl, aimed at loosening tight coils, and again lye-based relaxers or perms believed to be a more conservative and socially acceptable look. Yet, the millennium has ushered in a new generation of Blacks who seek to understand and accept the hair as it lives and grows without interference. Braids have resurfaced, but the popularity of their cousins, the larger, frizzier dreadlock and smoother, two-strand twist seems more epic and viral. Along with these widely worn styles, scores of women choose to simply wash-and-go, truly allowing the hair to exist in whatever form it takes. Less political, the new natural for many is a way of freeing

3 themselves from lives as imposters and social conformists. Rather than fuel a Scruggs 3 multibillion-dollar industry, built on chemically modified strands, many create their own cleansers and moisturizers, often using natural products like Shea butter and coconut oil. It is interesting to note that during this period the neo soul movement presented images of singers, such as India.Arie, living out the hair revolution. In 2007, the artist gained much attention with a Grammy-nominated song titled I Am Not My Hair in which she proclaimed her journey: A little girl with a press-and-curl, age 8, I got a Jheri curl 13 and I got a relaxer, I was a source of so much laughter At 15 when it all broke off, 18 when I went all-natural February 2002 I went on did what I had to do Cause it was time to change my life, to become the woman that I am inside, 97 dreadlocks all gone, I looked in the mirror for the first time and saw that hey, I am not my hair, I am not this skin, I am not your expectations no, no (India.Arie, neo soul singer, songwriter) Shortly before the song s release, in 2005, along came a trio of former employees of online commerce website PayPal who launched YouTube. The Internetbased, video sharing website set no limits on the number of videos users could upload and offered basic community functions (Burgess and Green, YouTube: Online Video and Participatory Culture). In this environ, with its mantra of broadcast yourself, Black women began filming and posting footage of themselves cutting off their chemically suppressed coifs and chronicling their journey toward nappy freedom. Some gave up while others persisted. A few parlayed their amateur attempts into professionally styled how-to productions, including fashion tips, and peddled their own products. A New York Times article about going natural discusses this niche video community built on the common ground of Black hair woes, explaining:

4 Scruggs 4 Many women with Afro-textured hair have not seen it in its unadulterated state since childhood. And even some who are acquainted with the texture of their untreated tresses are not comfortable styling their hair in ways they believe are fashionable and appropriate for them. Figuring out which of the countless haircare tools and products on the market might work can make the undertaking even more overwhelming. Tired of expensive, time-consuming salon visits, many would-be naturals are searching YouTube for inspiration, instruction and other people who have made peace with their kinks and curls. (Bey, 2011) Like the latest hair movement, these vloggers and their videos have gone viral. Among them is 30-something Kim Love whose channel KIMMAYTUBE leads the pack of natural hair care posters with nearly 105,000 subscribers and more than 11.3 million video views. After documenting her transition, Love founded LUVNaturals.com and recently began advertising the company in major publications, such as Essence Magazine, which in 2011 had a monthly circulation of 1.5 million. YouTube provided Love a platform to connect with other women seeking to grow healthy hair. According to the New York Times piece, she left a six-figure management consulting career to devote herself full time to making how-to videos on natural hair. Her initial video displayed little of the first-time jitters Michael Wesch associates with the aspiring YouTube user s early experiences. From the start, Love seems to embrace the fact that on the other side of the lens is everyone who has or will have access to the Internet billions of potential viewers, and your future self among them (Wesch, YouTube and You 22). Perhaps this confidence is born out of Love s approach to filming herself. She uses footage and

5 Scruggs 5 photographs but then inserts her own voice over the videos, giving them a more tutorial feel by explaining step-by-step what viewers see. Other vloggers speak while demonstrating hair care routines, often fast-forwarding footage and talking directly to viewers. Women seeking help, encouragement and inspiration as they begin the marathon of transitioning from relaxed to natural hair often have little patience for unorganized or confusing presentations. Since Love s videos tend to be brief, informative and structured, I believe this has contributed to her channel s popularity. Her confidence and authoritative tone flows throughout the channel, even tainting her replies to comments from viewers and subscribers. In a more recent video, she offers a length check. For decades in Black culture it has been a commonly held belief that women struggle to grow tresses to shoulder length and beyond. Within two years, learning and borrowing from other vloggers, Love s chin-length hair stretched to her waist. She tells viewers that despite achieving such growth, her strands spend the majority of time in twists or other styles that do not necessarily accentuate the natural curl pattern. This fact prompts one woman to ask: what is the point of having it that long when you have it in protective styles 99% of the time and hardly ever get the joy out of FLAUNTING IT? I mean, that s like someone hoarding millions of dollars and never spending it. (HappyHooker83) This comment receives 151 likes. Love responds with an analogy of her own. In part, she says: You can spend & flaunt your money all the time trying to impress people that you

6 Scruggs 6 have something & you ll wind up broke. Or you can spend SOME of it, but save & invest & you ll NEVER go broke. (KIMMAYTUBE) Her response garners 353 likes. There is a clear and calculated degree of participation between Love and other YouTubers. As she moves towards selling her own products, which she mentions consistently, though they are not yet available, Love is careful to maintain a relationship with other community members. This is critical to her ability to sustain or surpass the number of current followers and to obtain additional subscribers and remain relevant because the practice of audiencehood quoting, favoriting, commenting, responding, sharing, and viewing all leave traces, and therefore they all have effects on the common culture of YouTube as it evolves. Those who insist on treating YouTube as if it is a broadcasting platform are probably less likely to achieve the aims of their participation, whatever they may be (Burgess and Green, YouTube and You 57). Love did not set out to establish herself as a premier vlogger. In her own words, her foray into this particular YouTube community was purely an accident: In late 2008, that was when I discovered YouTube. I mean, I had been on YouTube. I had a renovation channel, but I didn t know that people were using YouTube to showcase their natural hair styles and hair care. I forget how I stumbled upon it. I think it was purely by accident, to be honest with you, but that one accident it just changed everything. For the first time I was able to see how other women handled their hair There s nothing like actually watching

7 Scruggs 7 someone handle their hair. It s like magic. It just helps you to better understand what they re doing and how you can do it. (KIMMAYTUBE) Prior to finding the natural hair care community Love already had been wearing her mane in its raw state for nearly a decade, having transitioned in the late 90 s. However, one could argue that seeing other women handle their hair wasn t only magic but also was the point of transmission. Like a virus, the desire to host her own videos had infected Love. She followed three women, crownofhisglory, curlychronicles and RusticBeauty. Today, Love s channel exceeds the combined video views for her early mentors by three million. This fact seems in line with her stated ambition: It is my personal goal to become the most visible, knowledgeable, spokesperson on the subject of natural hair care globally. That is a lofty goal, I know, but I have the passion and drive for it My goal does not conflict with supporting other YouTube naturals or YouTube ladies in general. In fact, diversity of thought, drives innovation. So many of you have taught me so much. We are a learning community and there s never been anything in human history like video- sharing. Sometimes, I think to myself how this internet tool is going to have greater outcomes than any of us can imagine. You can be a part of it, too. There is nothing stopping you. (KIMMAYTUBE) In this quote lies a glimpse of what sets Love s videos apart. She remains positive, optimistic and encouraging as she boldly proclaims her aspirations. Not only does she maintain a widely viewed channel that promotes natural, healthy hair, she incorporates

8 Scruggs 8 life lessons and postures an attitude of self-control, self-expression and independence of thought. The lack of these traits often plague Black women aspiring to obtain the good hair trait, while others, like Love, shed the need to straighten hair or, as some critics describe, the desire to appear White. In a study of more than a dozen African American women, researchers found that younger respondents say they no longer follow historical norms of wanting to appear White but insist changing their hair s chemical make-up is more about time, ease of styling, and the creation and perpetuation of healthy hair. Yet, those who opt for unaltered textures do so based on racial pride taught to them by their mothers. (Bellinger, Why African American Women Try to Obtain Good Hair, 63) It is this researcher s experience that many Black women choose relaxers because they believe themselves to be more attractive with straight locks and want to avoid being associated with what have come to be known as negative terms like nappy and kinky. One respondent, named Olive, in Bellinger s study confirms this by saying: The standard of beauty in our society is straight hair, and anything that deviates is considered ugly. To conform to this, many African American women will straighten their hair and learn to dislike its natural state. (Bellinger, 2007) Women can spend upwards of $80-90 in a professional salon for a permanent process every 4-6 weeks. Maintenance between relaxers might include weekly wash and blow dry treatments ranging from $ Sacrifices to achieve and protect the desired straightened look sometimes lead them to forgo other essentials, such as utility bill payments or even groceries. These habits contribute to big gains for the companies that

9 Scruggs 9 manufacture perm. For a 12-week period in late spring and early summer of 2010, the top 10 brands sold $9.6 million in hair relaxer kits (MMR, 2010). These sales are for storebought products and do not include the professional-grade perm sold to only licensed stylists. Family members generally contribute to a woman s perception of her hair from a young age and even throughout adulthood. Black women with straight hair often cannot remember the last time they saw and felt the hair in its true state, having experienced the perm process at ages as young as six to eight-years-old. Love and others who share videos on YouTube have a platform that over time can help future generations better understand and accept the state of what grows from their scalp. Love believes YouTube is the future of natural hair care because it is the fastest growing natural hair community on the Internet, video is the most universal language for communicating with others and online video sharing allows people to follow your progress. At one point, the vlogger asserts there is more to life than what sits atop your head: Your hair shouldn t be the only thing you have going for you. There are other areas that all women should be working on, staying healthy, looking good and feeling good about yourself. (KIMMAYTUBE) One subscriber spoke to the future and the legacy of Love s and others videos: I love your texture.. Your hair always looks so moisturized, I am so grateful for Black women like you who are showing the next generation that we are naturally beautiful!!!! (kinkycurlyhair)

10 Scruggs 10 Ultimately, this healthy attitude is detrimental to a woman s overall existence. Whether she chooses to straighten or lock her hair, a woman s motive is at the heart of this hair debate. It is arguably best to choose relaxing for practical reasons, such as ease of styling, versus psychological ones based solely on negative connotations passed down from a slave-era mentality. If Love s assertion about YouTube s future as it relates to natural hair is accurate, there is no doubt future viewers and hopefully generations of young Black girls will possess a strong sense of self from the inside out. With such great access to others who practice self-acceptance, more than just hair styling will benefit. Women will esteem and define themselves, abolishing the viral messages of our ancestors that Black hair is bad and White hair is good.

11 Scruggs 11 Works Cited Bellinger, Whitney. Why African American Women Try to Obtain Good Hair. Sociological Viewpoints. Pennsylvania Sociological Society. Fall 2007: Print. Bey, Jamila. Going Natural Requires Lots of Help. New York Times 8 June Fashion & Style. Print. Burgess, Jean and Green, Joshua. YouTube: Online Video and Participatory Culture. Cambridge, UK: Polity Press, Print. Byrd, Ayana D. and Tharps, Lori L. Hair Story: Untangling the Roots of Black Hair in America. New York: St. Martin's Press, Print. Ethnic Consumers Earn Share of Spotlight. Mass Market Retailers, Racher Press, Inc. (2010): 38. Print. Wesch, Michael. YouTube and You: Experiences of Self-Awareness in the Context Collapse of the Recording Webcam. Explorations in Media Ecology 8.2 (2009): Web. 26 March KIMMAYTUBE. "LUVNaturals #1 Wash, Tuck and Go Protective hairstyle YouTube. 1 April Web. 28 April KIMMAYTUBE. My Hair Growth Journey Part 6 YouTube. 14 May Web. 6 May KIMMAYTUBE. LUVNaturals #17 My Youtube Hair Journey part 1 YouTube. 15 March Web. 5 May KIMMAYTUBE. LUVNaturals #18 Youtube Hair Journey Part 2 YouTube. 16 March Web. 5 May 2012.

12 Scruggs 12 KIMMAYTUBE. LUVNaturals #24 My Youtube Hair Journey Part 3 YouTube. 20 June Web. 6 May 2012.