Natural

Finalist, 2025 PROSE Awards: Media and Cultural StudiesHow Black women celebrate their natural hair and uproot racialized beauty standardsHair is not simply a biological feature; it’s a canvas for expression. Hair can be cut, colored, dyed, covered, gelled, waxed, plucked, lasered, dreadlocked, braided, and relaxed. Yet, its significance extends beyond mere aesthetics. Hair can carry profound moral, spiritual, and cultural connotations, serving as a reflection of one’s beliefs, heritage, and even political stance. In Natural, Chelsea Mary Elise Johnson delves into the complex world surrounding Black women’s hair, and offers a firsthand look into the kitchens, beauty shops, conventions, and blogs that make up the twenty-first century natural hair movement, the latest evolution in Black beauty politics.Johnson shares her own hair story and amplifies the voices of women across the globe who, after years of chemically relaxing their hair, return to a “natural” style. Johnson describes how