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Jet Mag and Natural Hair (Part 1)

Saturday, July 4th, 2009

I scanned through old Jet Magazine covers from the time that Jet Magazine was first released in 1951, all the way up until now. In the Al Sharpton beginning, the beauty standards pretty much coincided with European standards, and there were virtually no sign of kinks on the covers when it came to women. (As for the men, it was pretty much half and half.) In fact, we were so good at it that half the time, I couldn’t even tell I was looking at a black person (the pictures were in black and white).

I didn’t see a woman with visibly unaltered hair on the cover until I came across Cicely Tyson rocking a twa. It was on a Jet cover that was dated April 5th, 1962. We wouldn’t see another female wearing an afro on the cover until 1966 with Joanna LaSane.

On August 10th, 1967, Jet released a special issue called “BLACK IS BACK!” Black is Black! The following year, more covers were released of black people showing their natural beauty. (Could this have been influenced by the Black Panther Movement that began in 1966?) For the most of the next decade, I saw a mixed representation of relaxed, pressed, and natural hair.

Around 1979, most of the naturally kinky textures began to disappear among black women. This was shortly after the Black Panther craze disintegrated. I noticed that throughout all the changes, chemically altered hair always remained, keeping its share of the representation, while natural hair didn’t. Why is that? Why did it have more of an impact on our community? Why is natural hair is often seen more as a trend, while chemically altered hair isn’t?

Aside from the physical, I came across some rather good topics that surpassed the issue of beauty. Some of the many great features included a story about a white minister who died fighting for integration in schools, the first black woman to serve in a nation’s capital embassy, a unique law that allowed single women to adopt black babies no matter what the race, a school that helped pregnant students from ages twelve to eighteen, and various features on interracial couples and families at a time when interracial dating was taboo.

Series such as these are bought about to spark a discussion on how black media saw beauty then, how they see it now, and how they may see it in the future. Will the “natural” black women ever be represented equally in black media for good, or will we only be showcased more when natural hair is a trend as opposed to a lifestyle? We will forever remain “tokens?”

Jet Magazine Cover

Tags: 1960's, afros, black panther, Black Panther Movement, Jet Magazine, natural hair
Posted in 1900's, 1960's, Magazines, Vintage | 3 Comments »

Vintage: New Guinea (Part 2)

Monday, June 22nd, 2009

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In part 2 of the Vintage: New Guinea series, I gathered some pictures of New Guinean men. The ones in this post were used on postcards in the early 1900’s. Here is some neat tidbits about men in New Guinea around this time:

Typically, adult men of the Iatmul tribe, lived in men’s houses, while the women and children lived in a separate home. Men’s houses were created as a means to protect their communities from other groups. The house is similar to both a church and a club. In this house, men did things like perform rituals, socialize, and debate over political matters. Although women aren’t allowed in this house, they are meant to listen outside whenever the men prepare for rituals. If women are to ever step foot in this house, it’s taken as a sign that their community is disintegrating. (Keep in mind that some or all of the men in these pictures may not be of the Iatmul tribe, or even of a tribe that have men’s houses. The postcards were not specific in what tribe these men were from, and being that there are many tribes who have similar styles, it’s hard to tell. I just thought this was a neat tidbit on some of the men of New Guinea.) If you want to read more about men’s houses in different places of the world, a good book to check out is Women and Space: Ground Rules by Shirley Ardener.

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Tags: Iatmul, New Guinea, Series, tribe, Vintage
Posted in 1900's, Loose Hair, Series, Tribes, Vintage | 1 Comment »

Vintage: New Guinea (Part 1)

Friday, June 19th, 2009

Papua New Guinea

This is part 1 of Afro Glitz’s New Guinea series. (I have so many pictures to show, that I had to break them up.)

New Guinea is the world’s second largest island, located north of Australia. (It’s actually a piece of land that was broken off from Australia.) The pictures in this post are specifically of those from Papua New Guinea in the early 1900’s. The country of Papua New Guinea takes up the eastern half of New Guinea. It has over 1,000 ethnic groups.

Here’s some neat information about the tattoos according to this website (you can also find more of these pictures on there as well):

As far back as the old men and women can remember, tattooing has been a tribal custom of the coastal peoples of Papua New Guinea. Among the Motu, Waima, Aroma, Hula, Mekeo, Mailu and other related southwestern groups, women were heavily tattooed from head to toe, while men displayed chest markings related to their exploits in the headhunt. By World War II, however, tattooing traditions largely disappeared in these areas and today only the Maisin and a few neighboring peoples of Collingwood Bay in southeastern Papua remain as the last coastal people to continue tattooing itself.

Tattoos were generally inked upon women in a fixed order among all coastal Papuans. First, girls between five and seven years of age were tattooed on the backs of hands to the elbows and from the elbows to the shoulders. Girls between seven and eight were tattooed on the face and lower abdomen, the vulva and up to the navel, then the waist down to the knees and the outside of the thighs. At ten, the armpits and areas extending to the nipples were tattooed with the throat done shortly thereafter. When puberty approached, the back from the shoulders down, then the buttocks, back of the thighs and legs were marked. When ready for marriage, V-shaped designs from the neck down to the navel were tattooed. Sometimes, special tattoos could be added if the father, brother, or close relative of the girl killed another man, or if they showed prowess in fishing or trading expeditions. All of these markings were ritualistic, and in some cases erotic. If a girl did not have them, she was not acceptable for marriage.

Ouch! So if you’re a teen wanting a tattoo and your parents won’t let you get one, just say “Well, the Papuans allowed their children to get tattoos!” (Haha…just kidding.) Here are some more neat photos.

Papua New Guinea

Tags: Australia, island, New Guinea, Papua New Guinea, Series, tattoos, Tribes, Vintage
Posted in 1900's, Series, Tribes, Vintage | 2 Comments »

Afro Hair in 1930’s Eritrea

Tuesday, June 16th, 2009

Vintage Photos: 1930's Eritrea

Eritrea is a country located in Northeast Africa. It’s bordered by Djibouti, Ethiopia, and Sudan. Aren’t these photos something? If you look at the arrows that I put on some of the pictures, you will see that they’re pointing at hair sticks. These are typically carved out of bone, ivory, or wood. Throughout history, they have either been used to part and pick out the hair, or as a hair accessory. In Egypt, the more flashy hair pins (sometimes carved out of gold) adorned with jewels showed a status of wealth. The theory that Africans didn’t have tools to groom their hair is a myth, as hair picks and combs have been around in Africa since around 5500 B.C. (I’ll be making a post on that soon.)