Researcher ORCID Identifier
0000-0002-7383-4853
Graduation Year
2021
Document Type
Open Access Senior Thesis
Degree Name
Bachelor of Arts
Department
Environmental Analysis
Reader 1
Jennifer Armstrong
Reader 2
Melinda Herrold-Menzies
Terms of Use & License Information
Rights Information
© 2021 Dafina N. Matiku
Abstract
Currently, we are facing several global crises that include but are not limited to climate change, food insecurity, pollution of the body and environment, as well as racial, gender, and class inequities. This thesis seeks to understand how the natural hair movement, which strives to omit toxic chemicals while embracing textured hair, can be a tool of reconnecting to nature. As humans we are intrinsically part of ecosystems and nature, we must find our niche in it instead of occupying and destroying our environment entirely. The methodology includes compiling a small array of experiences that show the nuance of hair and how individuals may or may not use it to accept themselves intrinsically and thus find a way to uphold nature in all of its forms. African ecofeminism, the history of hair and corresponding environmental racism, health studies, and an anthology are used to flesh out the existence of this phenomenon. The conclusion suggests that this study warrants further research by further exploring the unique experiences of Black people in relation to their hair and nature.
Recommended Citation
Matiku, Dafina, "The Intersection Between Black Hair and the Environment: Hair as a Site for Environmental Justice and Sustainability" (2021). Scripps Senior Theses. 1991.
https://scholarship.claremont.edu/scripps_theses/1991
Included in
Africana Studies Commons, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Commons, Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Commons
