A Hair Brain Idea

One day I was shopping in a drugstore with a friend who is black. I was buying some mousse for my hair. I walked down a center aisle and picked up a canister of styling foam. She pointed to the sign two aisles away labeled, “Ethnic hair products.”

“Now, why,” she asked, “is my Dixie Peach pomade labeled ‘ethnic’ but that gooey stuff in your hand is not?

She was, of course, talking about the one thousand and one ways she as an African American female is made to feel like “the other.” There are “neutral” or “regular” hair products (that is, the majority’s hair care products) in the center aisle and, then, there’s “ethnic hair products” two aisles over on the wall. She, like so many people who are not white, are constantly told that they reside on the periphery. Are they not all hair products and isn’t my red, curly Irish hair also “ethnic”?

I see the same thing happen in schools. In textbooks I read chapters labeled, “American settlers” and, then, a special box labeled, “Black settlers.” Are they not all settlers?

Okay, I’ll admit we have moved a step closer to being an inclusive society because consumer needs or contributions that were once invisible, not even on the shelves or in the books, are now acknowledged, but we haven’t gone far enough. What is considered “white” and everything that goes with it – hair, food, clothing, communication styles, accomplishments – is still central in our culture. In fact so central that it’s not even seen as just one way of doing things. Whiteness just is. It’s neutral. The standard. Normal.

As someone identified as white, having the awareness that I am a multicultural being – not regular, normal or neutral – is the beginning of acknowledging that my experiences and habits are just as unique and quirky to someone else as theirs can be to me. With this increased awareness and our actions to equalize power in our society, no one group will occupy the center. One day, all of us will.

This article may be reprinted when this full byline is used:

Susan O’Halloran is a story artist, workshop presenter, television personality and keynote speaker whose work explores the complex issues of social justice. She is an author of four books plus diversity curriculums, CDs and films. The Chicago Reader says O’Halloran “has mastered the Irish art of telling stories that are funny and heart-wrenching at the same time.” For a copy of a free teleseminar with Susan, go to www.susanohalloran.com

* Photo purchased from istockphoto.com