NYC Art Exhibit Lets Strangers Touch Varied Textures of Black Hair

[ellebelle88]

from: Clutch Magazine

Touching hair is a controversial topic within the natural hair community. Several women with natural hair have to deal with unwelcome touches or various requests to discover what their hair texture feels like. Some are perhaps happy to oblige but most compare the experience to feeling like an animal at a petting zoo.

An editorial site that focuses on the black hair experience, un-ruly.com is exploring the touching phenomenon in an unconventional way. They are launching an interactive public exhibit called “You Can Touch My Hair,” which will take place today and on June 8th, 2013 from 2-4pm in New York City’s Union Square.

The exhibit is being touted as their effort to “take one for the team and explore the tactile fascination with black hair.” As part of the project, “strangers from all walks of life will have the welcomed opportunity to touch various textures of black hair.”

It will be fascinating to see how the touching strangers and participating subjects feel about their experience once the exhibit comes to a close. What do you think about “You Can Touch My Hair,” Clutchettes?

RSVP here and get more information about the exhibit here.


One reader posted this response:
This sounds like another way to fetishize black women.

Another said this: why the hell is there an art exhibit appeasing white women’s desire to touch my hair? So what if they are curious? Is it the black woman’s job to bend over backwards in an attempt to explain ourselves everytime a person of another race acts like we’re aliens? This is stupid stupid stupid.


I have to say I agree with the comments. Thoughts???

 

[MizzBFly]

I have to agree with the comments as well. Maybe, because we always get flack for our hairs' appearence- so to appease the masses is not the antidote I want to give for ignorance/curiosity. Next thing you know Seventeen, Cosmo and everywhere else would be analyzing our hair and can do so since a writer has "evaluated" the source(our hair) and can pass their judgment on one topic or another.:swordfigh uh.. no ma'am.

One thing is for sho' " back back, back back, give me 50ft-

 

[LdyKamz]

This was posted in the Off Topic Section and most people here seem to agree with the comments above. I suppose I understand the upset over it but I personally don't feel it is a big deal. Black hair is unique, pretty, fascinating, and just plain cool. I understand the curiosity.

Curiosity is ok. Rudeness is not. I think this is a better, more open way to have a real discussion about our hair instead of all the rude stares and uninvited touching. The only thing I don't like about this exhibit is the way it seems to be put out there as though we have to "explain" our hair. I don't agree with that. And I don't think this should be advertised that way. It is more about learning about our hair and appreciating that difference/uniqueness

 

[LdyKamz]

I have to agree with the comments as well. Maybe, because we always get flack for our hairs' appearence- so to appease the masses is not the antidote I want to give for ignorance/curiosity. Next thing you know Seventeen, Cosmo and everywhere else would be analyzing our hair and can do so since a writer has "evaluated" the source(our hair) and can pass their judgment on one topic or another.:swordfigh uh.. no ma'am.

One thing is for sho' " back back, back back, give me 50ft-

Well, don't people already do this anyway? Isn't this a better way...on OUR terms.

 

[geejay]

I can completely appreciate the commenters disdain for the project...but a part of me feels that our hair is worthy of all kinds of art and science projects. We should have whole museums devoted to such unique visual and tactile beauty.

I think our hair is amazing and beautiful and fascinating. And while some of the interest may be coming from an exploitative and demeaning place, so what. Do we always have to do or not do something because white people might be watching? Yes, their interest might be petty or small but that doesn't make the project unworthy.

Anyway, my first thought was "cool performance art" and my second thought was how interesting to experience hair as tactile and how personal and transgressive that seems. Like it's about hair AND personal boundaries. Only after reading the comments did I think about how white people might engage with that experience.

So I guess I had a me first approach to it...hehe.

 

[AmiJay]

My son has always gone to schools where there aren't that many black kids. For whatever reason, he says the other kids like to touch his hair. They say they like how it feels.

 

[Ari8]

This was posted in the Off Topic Section and most people here seem to agree with the comments above. I suppose I understand the upset over it but I personally don't feel it is a big deal. Black hair is unique, pretty, fascinating, and just plain cool. I understand the curiousity.

Curiousity is ok. Rudeness is not. I think this is a better, more open way to have a real discussion about our hair instead of all the rude stares and uninvited touching. The only thing I don't like about this exhibit is the way it seems to be put out there as though we have to "explain" our hair. I don't agree with that. And I don't think this should be advertised that way. It is more about learning about our hair and appreciating that difference/uniqueness

Why do we need to have a discussion about our racial features? Whose understanding are we seeking about them and why does anyone need to understand them? Actually, what is there to even understand?

These are honest questions. I hope you do not feel I'm attacking you. It's just I've seen your sentiments expressed by other black women and I want to understand them.

 

[MizzBFly]

KammyGirl

You are correct that this is being done currently. I do think this would open a broader platform and education on our hair which is better than ignorance concerning our hair.
I don't appreciate the fact that it is on display, those ladies that are participating in this must be comfortable, but living in TX-(born in South America -lived in different states) in my opinion, brings a distate to alot of things racially inclined. Having to "explain" as said by the others, I mean in this day an age come on, were not an alien species. It leaves an unsettling feeling, I do have other layers to this explaination but..

Like, please accept that we are different, alot of therioes and studies have been conducted to understand the vast difference in appearance that most Asians have, but they are still respected. I don't get this as being the best representation.
This just my opinion on the matter

 

[Foxglove]

Why does it feel like some sort of petting zoo where you can go and pet the exoticals? No thanks

 

[geejay]

Why do we need to have a discussion about our racial features? Whose understanding are we seeking about them and why does anyone need to understand them? Actually, what is there to even understand?

These are honest questions. I hope you do not feel I'm attacking you. It's just I've seen your sentiments expressed by other black women and I want to understand them.

I'm interested for me. I'm seeking MY understanding. I have this type of hair and am keenly aware that everyone's is different and I find the differences fascinating. I spend a good deal of my time on LHCF not just researching my hair issues, but reading about hair experiences different from mine.

We don't really invite tactile exploration even among ourselves...The only people who have ever touched my hair is my mama, my hairdresser, and my husband. I don't get to touch other women's hair, but if I'm honest, I would like to.

I think the taboo of touching hair and breaking that taboo is exactly what art should be exploring. Clearly this is intimately tied to issues with being black in a white dominated society which to me makes it all the more interesting. Not for what whites experience from it. But for what WE experience from it...both as the subject of the art and as the observer.

 

[koolkittychick]

I'm interested for me. I'm seeking MY understanding. I have this type of hair and am keenly aware that everyone's is different and I find the differences fascinating. I spend a good deal of my time on LHCF not just researching my hair issues, but reading about hair experiences different from mine.

We don't really invite tactile exploration even among ourselves...The only people who have ever touched my hair is my mama, my hairdresser, and my husband. I don't get to touch other women's hair, but if I'm honest, I would like to.

I think the taboo of touching hair and breaking that taboo is exactly what art should be exploring. Clearly this is intimately tied to issues with being black in a white dominated society which to me makes it all the more interesting. Not for what whites experience from it. But for what WE experience from it...both as the subject of the art and as the observer.

I totally agree with you. I am fascinated by our hair. When I was natural, I welcomed people touching it, just like I have gone around touching other people's hair since I was a child, because I thought it was pretty and I wanted to see what it felt like. Maybe you think I'm naive, but every time someone asked to touch my hair, I thought it was because they thought it was pretty/different and wanted to see what it felt like too. And I always got positive responses from the people that did touch my hair.

We may lose sight of this fact, but population wise, we only make up 10-12% percent of the population on this planet. And we are the only race of people who have this kind of hair. Of course most folks are going to be curious when they see our natural hair! Most people, including us, hardly ever see it! I think an exhibit like this opens the door for discovery, and even positivity about a part of our identity that has been for too long shrouded in secrecy and shame, even to this day. For many women, wigs, weaves and even relaxers are the modern-day "field-hand head rags" we were forced to wear centuries ago, and like them, serve to fuel our defensiveness about our hair in ways that only feed the cycle of dysfunction.

I think it's sad that a lot of the women commentators on that article seemed to have projected their insecurities about their hair onto this exhibit to the point of having such a negative view about its purpose and goal. Why assume it's about viewing us as animals? Natural Redheads are the rarest people on earth (only 1% of them worldwide), and they have been subjected to a lot of bias and prejudice throughout history over their hair as well, yet most of the gingers I've known don't have an issue when people look at, ask, and want to touch their hair. They understand the curiosity. And every time I meet a redhead, especially if they have a particularly stunning head of hair (as in the case of a natural, African American real redhead I met once!) I most certainly want to touch their hair. To me, it's so out of the ordinary and visually striking to me, and I love to experience that which is exceptionally beautiful with as many senses as I can.

Truth be told, most of the complexes that we have about our hair are now self-inflicted; the ONLY people who ever gave me flak about going natural have been Black people, and to this day, the only people who still have something to say to me about my hair if they feel it is not "on point" are Black people. The sooner we really get over our insecurities about our hair, the sooner we can get to the place where when we say "it's just hair," we won't have people giving us the side eye. And we (as well as other people) can get to the place where we can truly enjoy it, and enjoy that other people enjoy and and admire it too.

 

[chebaby]

i am not an animal and will not stand around while strangers pet my hair.

 

[delitefulmane]

I totally agree with you. I am fascinated by our hair. When I was natural, I welcomed people touching it, just like I have gone around touching other people's hair since I was a child, because I thought it was pretty and I wanted to see what it felt like. Maybe you think I'm naive, but every time someone asked to touch my hair, I thought it was because they thought it was pretty/different and wanted to see what it felt like too. And I always got positive responses from the people that did touch my hair.

We may lose sight of this fact, but population wise, we only make up 10-12% percent of the population on this planet. And we are the only race of people who have this kind of hair. Of course most folks are going to be curious when they see our natural hair! Most people, including us, hardly ever see it! I think an exhibit like this opens the door for discovery, and even positivity about a part of our identity that has been for too long shrouded in secrecy and shame, even to this day. For many women, wigs, weaves and even relaxers are the modern-day "field-hand head rags" we were forced to wear centuries ago, and like them, serve to fuel our defensiveness about our hair in ways that only feed the cycle of dysfunction.

I think it's sad that a lot of the women commentators on that article seemed to have projected their insecurities about their hair onto this exhibit to the point of having such a negative view about its purpose and goal. Why assume it's about viewing us as animals? Natural Redheads are the rarest people on earth (only 1% of them worldwide), and they have been subjected to a lot of bias and prejudice throughout history over their hair as well, yet most of the gingers I've known don't have an issue when people look at, ask, and want to touch their hair. They understand the curiosity. And every time I meet a redhead, especially if they have a particularly stunning head of hair (as in the case of a natural, African American real redhead I met once!) I most certainly want to touch their hair. To me, it's so out of the ordinary and visually striking to me, and I love to experience that which is exceptionally beautiful with as many senses as I can.

Truth be told, most of the complexes that we have about our hair are now self-inflicted; the ONLY people who ever gave me flak about going natural have been Black people, and to this day, the only people who still have something to say to me about my hair if they feel it is not "on point" are Black people. The sooner we really get over our insecurities about our hair, the sooner we can get to the place where when we say "it's just hair," we won't have people giving us the side eye. And we (as well as other people) can get to the place where we can truly enjoy it, and enjoy that other people enjoy and and admire it too.

TRUUUUE!!

koolkittychick, I agree with you. To me it seems like someone got fed up with people coping a feel of their hair and said, "look I will give you 30mins to touch and examine all you want.!"

For the text in purple you hit the nail on the head. It seems like up until now blacks have been running away from the hair God blessed us with. Now, there seems to be some kind of enlightenment where we are finally embracing and accepting our hair. Shoot, even companies have caught on to this and are now marketing to us. They saw the opportunity and they also realized the power of the black dollar but I digress.

 

[LdyKamz]

Why do we need to have a discussion about our racial features? Whose understanding are we seeking about them and why does anyone need to understand them? Actually, what is there to even understand?

These are honest questions. I hope you do not feel I'm attacking you. It's just I've seen your sentiments expressed by other black women and I want to understand them.

Ari8

I don't think it so much as us seeking understanding from others about our racial features. I don't feel as though we as black people should have to explain why we are different. But the reality is, people see black women and all of our hair is different from each other. White people have straight and curly hair. And to me it all looks the same. Therein lies the curiosity for most people and to me that is ok.

I think opening up a discussion about this will help non-blacks and blacks alike. Even amongst ourselves we are curious about each others hair texture and as someone else said here, there are even black women that don't know what their hair looks and/or feels like. When I was natural - but under weaves my own sister saw my hair and was asking to touch it. She was so surprised at how soft it was and couldn't stop playing in it.

I think the upset for some comes from the fact that we have conformed to the European standard of beauty for so long that most are a bit self conscious when others comment or look or want to touch. No, I do not feel we should be on display and willing to satiate the white world's interest in every single thing about us that is different from them. But I do feel exploring those differences in a polite and healthy way is worth it. Black women and our hair are freaking awesome and we should be celebrating that and showing it off.

 

[Froreal3]

Umm no...just like I said in the other thread. I agree with the comments.

Yes, I understand that we are only a small amount of the population here, but frankly, I couldn't care less if we were .000005% of the population. White people make up a small amount of the population in African countries and I'm sure as hell they don't feel the need to help the black population explore anything about them.

People just need to accept that others are different from them and keep it moving. Keep your grubby arse hands to your self. I'm wondering if they have somewhere for these people to wash their nasty hands before touching these ladies' heads. This is fetishization plain and simple. I don't care how we try to spin it. I understand the fascination with different types of people, but do I feel like I have the right to touch upon their person? No. I'll look and keep it moving...perhaps engage in a genuine dialogue with that person...not sit up there and try to touch them like they are Sara Baartman in some type of human zoo.

We have to ask ourselves why do white people feel the need or the right to even come up and touch without asking. It's because of the inherent entitlement here. I don't think we should be responding or acknowledging that. No thank you. They can go somewhere with that mess.

 

[koolkittychick]

Umm no...just like I said in the other thread. I agree with the comments.

Yes, I understand that we are only a small amount of the population here, but frankly, I couldn't care less if we were .000005% of the population. White people make up a small amount of the population in African countries and I'm sure as hell they don't feel the need to help the black population explore anything about them.

People just need to accept that others are different from them and keep it moving. Keep your grubby arse hands to your self. I'm wondering if they have somewhere for these people to wash their nasty hands before touching these ladies' heads. This is fetishization plain and simple. I don't care how we try to spin it. I understand the fascination with different types of people, but do I feel like I have the right to touch upon their person? No. I'll look and keep it moving...perhaps engage in a genuine dialogue with that person...not sit up there and try to touch them like they are Sara Baartman in some type of human zoo.

We have to ask ourselves why do white people feel the need or the right to even come up and touch without asking. It's because of the inherent entitlement here. I don't think we should be responding or acknowledging that. No thank you. They can go somewhere with that mess.

Um, you're wrong. Most of the white people I know who have gone to Africa and gone on safari have had no problems interacting with people on that level (one of the first things the children and women there would ask is if they could touch their hair or skin) and it did not make them feel like animals or fetishized in the least.

And none of the participants in this exhibition are there against their will; they are inviting people to come up, interact, and hopefully engage in a dialogue towards better understanding. I don't know where you are getting all these negative connotations from.

 

[LdyKamz]

..........

 

[geejay]

My understanding that the people are exhibiting their hair voluntarily, so I feel very uncomfortable with characterizing that behavior as being like animals in a petting zoo. I can see disagreeing with the decision the person has made if you feel it is wrong. But I don't care for dismissing their agency. This is not something white people are doing to them. This is something they are deciding to do. Their body. Their decision. At minimum respect the participants decision and not argue against them like they are not participating as conscious adults.

Also white people are not the only audience in the world. Not everything is about them.

 

[Lita]

No thank you..Not going to back/allow them to place me a exhibit,for their understanding once again.200 yrs ago,didn't have a say....Know I do..So,I'll pass.


Happy Hair Growing!

 

[koolkittychick]

No thank you..Not going to back/allow them to place me a exhibit,for their understanding once again.200 yrs ago,didn't have a say....Know I do..So,I'll pass.


Happy Hair Growing!

No thank you..Not going to back/allow them to place me on exhibit for their understanding once again. 200 yrs ago, I didn't have a say...Now I do..So, I'll pass.

Sorry, but I was an English major, and I saw that you had actually tried to edit this, and this is one of my pet peeves.

 

[Foxglove]

Would Asian people go stand in a square and let you examine their eyes/hair/skin? Would Native Americans stand around and let you feel their hair and skin? I know it's not the norm for a lot of people but I still don't understanding the standing there and letting people examine you like some sort of weird spectacle

 

[BlackHairDiva]

I don't like this idea....the words human zoo comes to mind...I will never forget what I read and saw. Those of you who don't know google human zoo (France).

from: Clutch Magazine

Touching hair is a controversial topic within the natural hair community. Several women with natural hair have to deal with unwelcome touches or various requests to discover what their hair texture feels like. Some are perhaps happy to oblige but most compare the experience to feeling like an animal at a petting zoo.

An editorial site that focuses on the black hair experience, un-ruly.com is exploring the touching phenomenon in an unconventional way. They are launching an interactive public exhibit called “You Can Touch My Hair,” which will take place today and on June 8th, 2013 from 2-4pm in New York City’s Union Square.

The exhibit is being touted as their effort to “take one for the team and explore the tactile fascination with black hair.” As part of the project, “strangers from all walks of life will have the welcomed opportunity to touch various textures of black hair.”

It will be fascinating to see how the touching strangers and participating subjects feel about their experience once the exhibit comes to a close. What do you think about “You Can Touch My Hair,” Clutchettes?

RSVP here and get more information about the exhibit here.


One reader posted this response:
This sounds like another way to fetishize black women.

Another said this: why the hell is there an art exhibit appeasing white women’s desire to touch my hair? So what if they are curious? Is it the black woman’s job to bend over backwards in an attempt to explain ourselves everytime a person of another race acts like we’re aliens? This is stupid stupid stupid.


I have to say I agree with the comments. Thoughts???

 

[summertimewine]

What. No. Ya'll wanna sit here and pressure us to get perms and kill our hair. Then ya'll want to complain even when we got the best weave in, because its "fake". And now that we have our natural hair out it needs to be on display so ya'll can poke and prod and treat us like animals? Stay the heck away from me cause you sure as hell didn't "enjoy" and "bask" in the excellence of our hair while we were picking your cotton.

 

[koolkittychick]

Would Asian people go stand in a square and let you examine their eyes/hair/skin? Would Native Americans stand around and let you feel their hair and skin? I know it's not the norm for a lot of people but I still don't understanding the standing there and letting people examine you like some sort of weird spectacle

If you visit Eastern Asia, especially the rural parts, if you seem friendly and approachable they will very politely ask to examine you, and let you do the same to them, although they would think it's weird, since they are the majority race on the planet, population-wise, and they would assume you would have encountered at least one of them, statistically speaking. They do not have issues about personal space like Americans do.

I don't know about Native Americans today after the white man's tyranny of them. I only know historically speaking, they had similar cultural attitudes about personal space and curiosity about other peoples.

At any rate, the answer to your question is that all human beings are naturally curious, especially about the diversity that can be found within their own species. And no where is that more evident than among people of African descent. We literally encompass every shade on earth that human beings come in, and we are capable of all textures possible. But our type 4 hair is what makes us unique. And instead of celebrating it as we should, we accepted the mantle of shame that our masters put on us 400 years ago and refuse to put it down. It's exhibits like these that will hopefully help us to put that mantle away for once and for all.

Man, if I were curating this, I would have fun with ti! I would include the darkest-skinned straight-haired Black girls I could find, add some pale blondes with 4z hair in all their kinky glory, find a redhead with green eyes and a 4a wash 'n' go, and even throw in a nearly bald albino whose texture you can't even guess at. I would blow people's minds with our diaspora, and get them to thinking about race, appearances and perceptions in a whole new way.

 

[LdyKamz]

.........

 

[Ogoma]

Anyone that wants to stand there and have their hair "blessed" by white people: do you.

For some of us, our hair is just that HAIR. Whatever issues you have worked through with your hair is your own. That we have the same hair type or share a skin tone range does not take away our individuality. Stop projecting your issues and navel gazing unto the rest of us. I am not a visitor to my own my country; I am home. I am not sure why we are being compared to tourists on safari trips . I am allowed to not let myself be treated as an other in my own country.

Again, if it works for you, please do you.

 

[ManeStreet]

It doesn't bother me. Heck I'd even be one of the exhibit creatures, lol.

Someone staring at me doesn't bother me. It's like being a model posing for a nude an art class. Being nude & on display would make me uncomfortable but people touching my hair (with my permission) isn't an issue to me.

There's white, Asian & Latino hair I've wanted to touch. I also want to play in 4a, 4b & 4c hair. Unless someone is a hair stylist we don't often get a chance to touch other people's hair & most times it's even rarer to touch hair of another racial group. I don't see the fascination as negative but rather curiosity for what is considered different.

There's so much diversity with black hair. I still haven't found a "hair twin". I think it's kool that if (for example) we had 100 people from this board on display, all of their natural hair would be unique in texture & feel. You can't say that for any other group on this planet. That's muse worthy.

 

[koolkittychick]

Anyone that wants to stand there and have their hair "blessed" by white people: do you.

For some of us, our hair is just that HAIR. Whatever issues you have worked through with your hair is your own. That we have the same hair type or share a skin tone range does not take away our individuality. Stop projecting your issues and navel gazing unto the rest of us. I am not a visitor to my own my country; I am home. I am not sure why we are being compared to tourists on safari trips . I am allowed to not let myself be treated as an other in my own country.

Again, if it works for you, please do you.

No one mentioned being "blessed" by white folk because no one thinks it's important, but you seem to have placed some significance on that act, even in derision. And truth be told, since this is taking place in NY, I imagine that the majority of the people who would be doing the touching would be Asian tourists, wondering why we buy so much of their hair to attach to our heads.

And the fact that you mentioned my post in the wrong context shows that you didn't take the time to really read it, but you sure got mad about it for some reason.

And sadly, yes, even though you are home in your country, it's attitudes like this, this setting yourself apart in anger over stuff that happened centuries ago, is what will forever have us be treated like the "other,' like people who can be feared, ignored, or even heckled, even if they are the president or his wife.

But as you say, you do you, and if you vehemently proclaim IT'S JUST HAIR, then for you, it is. *iniest bit of side eye *

 

[Ogoma]

Ah, yes. Racism is our fault. I knew you would get there eventually.

This type of issue can never make me angry because I know the type that revel in it and I am happy for them. Everyone that needs it should enjoy it. That you went to angry plus your comment that racism is black people's fault is so beyond telling.

Do you. Stand there and let them massage your hair.

Enjoy. In my own home, I am not treated like an other. My hair is just that hair; covering at the top of my head. I have never worn weaves and I didn't have any dramatic moments when going natural. Decided I loved all the natural hair I was seeing around me and stopped relaxing. It was never even a difficult decision. I didn't even know anything about hair types until after when I was researching how best to take care of it.

We all don't have the issues you really seem to have.

 

[koolkittychick]

Ah, yes. Racism is our fault. I knew you would get there eventually.

This type of issue can never make me angry because I know the type that revel in it and I am happy for them. Everyone that needs it should enjoy it. That you went to angry plus your comment that racism is black people's fault is so beyond telling.

Do you. Stand there and let them massage your hair.

Enjoy. In my own home, I am not treated like an other. My hair is just that hair; covering at the top of my head. I have never worn weaves and I didn't have any dramatic moments when going natural. Decided I loved all the natural hair I was seeing around me and stopped relaxing. It was never even a difficult decision. I didn't even know anything about hair types until after when I was researching how best to take care of it.

We all don't have the issues you really seem to have.

How in the world did you get all that from what I said? You want to talk about racism and issues, let me ask you, have you ever had an honest conversation with a white friend of yours about the "white privilege" they enjoy and are oblivious to? I have, on numerous occasions. Have you ever talked to your Hispanic and Asian friends about how they're considered "honorary whites" by white people until it doesn't suit their agenda, as in the case of immigration or foreign trade? I have, because I'm not afraid to go there, because that's how we get rid of all this racism nonsense, by getting it out in the open and seeing it for the stupidity it is.

We are not responsible for racism. But we are responsible for being part of the solution. And part of that is reaching out to other people and showing how our differences make us more alike than not, and that this world would be quite the boring place without our differences to appreciate. That is never going to happen if I am sitting in my own home, accusing people of saying things they didn't say.