Preferred Name
Tia Maria Jones
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.
Date of Graduation
5-9-2024
Semester of Graduation
Spring
Degree Name
Master of Arts (MA)
Department
School of Communication Studies
Second Advisor
Kathryn Hobson
Third Advisor
Michael L. Broderick
Abstract
Deliberation of the natural hair movement continues to be an evolving and ever-changing series of expressions and identity. Black folks represent and make sense of their hair by maintaining the standard to upkeep hair textures, sizes, styles, shapes, and colors, to develop social markers about their race, ethnicity, religion, gender, and age. In this way, hair serves as an integral part of one’s identity, especially providing an opportunity to embrace one’s culture while promoting self-expression. This study seeks to answer the overarching question: “How is Black hair, specifically dreadlocks, portrayed to a non-West-Indian society and what is its connection to identity, and self-expression?” Using critical ethnographic interviewing, narrative analysis and critical autoethnographic work, this study focuses on my experiences as a Caribbean woman growing up with locs, Black dreadlocked folks residing in America and their experiences maneuvering through diverse spaces in America. By weaving our stories together, this thesis explores dreadlocks, understanding how Black hair both is performed and understood through representations of identity, resistance, and a matter of (un)belonging.
Included in
Critical and Cultural Studies Commons, International and Intercultural Communication Commons
