Natural hair is not only booming in the United States but it is big business and slowly losing the stigma of being just a trend. Natural hair, however, is not limited to the United States and gaining ground in places like London where approximately 7% is Black African. YouTuber, Zindzi Rocque Drayton, wanted to share this discovery in a new BBC Pilot Project for socially and racially diverse young people who want to develop as digital filmmakers.
“Natural hair’ is defined as Afro textured hair that isn’t chemically straightened,” says Zindzi who lives in South West London. “In our society and throughout the world, straight hair is so normalized that a large number of black women chemically straighten their Afro texture. Touching on topics from rocking an Afro in the workplace to the legacy of slavery, I find out the pressures and joys of women who have embraced their ‘natural hair”.
The documentary is very telling of how women are facing natural hair from co-workers and strangers to remarks from family members. One woman in the documentary shared her family experience. “My aunt said, ‘you have slave hair,’” she said.
Check out the mini-documentary and let us know what you think!