News Hairstyles

While going into naming and describing each of the numerous African-American hairstyles would be a huge task enough to make a several thousand page thesis, a number of things can be said in general about the African American hairstyles.

One is that, as would be expected, there seems to be a greater variety of such African-American hairstyles for women that there are for men – though the African-American men are not altogether bereft of ‘outstanding’ hairstyles. One of the most remarkable of these African American hairstyles of men (which by and large remained an African American hairstyle because other hair types could simply not accommodate it) is the so-called ‘Afro’ hairstyle that rocked most of the 70s and 80s: where the hair was let to grow tall and thick (but not long enough to fall over), then combed thoroughly and (vertically) straight to come up with a very outstanding look on the part of the wearer that worked wonders; especially when worn with the ‘belly bottom’ trousers of that age when the ‘Afro’ ruled African American hairstyle circles. Among the women in the African-American society, braids (and the whole range of braided hairstyles) are extremely popular – with some of these even finding acceptance among men who ‘are in touch with their feminine side.’ Closely related to the braids are the African-American hairstyles based on weaves – since the strength of the African American hair makes it possible to weave it into various shapes.

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African American culture can be regarded as both part of, and distinct from American culture. From the days of the slave trade, Africans and African Americans have contributed by means of literature, art, agricultural skills, foods, music, and language to American culture. Today, perhaps the most definitive form of African American culture can be seen through their expression of the musical art form.

The forms of music that best typify African American culture are those of Hip Hop, Rap, Blues, R&B and Gospel. The emphasis on language clearly illustrates how African-American communities have defined themselves and their relations to the dominant white culture in America. In fact many of the lyrics in African American music seek to investigate the relationships the white community has shared with African Americans for several generations until today.

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