Beauty for African-American women has always been a top priority, with hair being the Olympic pinnacle of appearance considerations. In most instances, if a sista’s hair is right, her outfit can be sub-par and the weather can be bleak, but she will still walk with pep in her step and a sparkle in her eyes that reads confidence.
The 2012 London Olympic Games proved to be no different as an arena for black beauty. As our black queens — ranging from Allyson Felix and Gabrielle Douglas, to Serena and Venus Williams — shattered record after record, black women in salons and in homes across the nation not only celebrated their achievements, but also debated their beauty regimens – after all, they represented us — with hair being the primary topic of conversation. The same was true even among the athletes.
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U.S. track phenomenon, Kellie Wells, laughingly talked about getting her “hair done” during a press conference that was otherwise rife with tension, as she and fellow team mate Dawn Harper criticized the media for focusing on their colleague Lolo Jones, rather than their own compelling stories. Hair talk was even a priority during that moment of scandal.
Sixteen-year-old Gabrielle Douglas also had to weigh in on the hair debate as over-zealous “Keepers of the Black Hair Grail” did their best to chip away at the young girl’s self-esteem with their twisted fascination with the lay of her follicles. She should not even have had to say this:
I don’t know where this is coming from. What’s wrong with my hair? I’m like, ‘I just made history and people are focused on my hair?’ It can be bald or short, it doesn’t matter about [my] hair. Nothing is going to change. I’m going to wear my hair like this during beam and bar finals. You might as well just stop talking about it.
But there is something delicious about the story of black women’s hair at the Olympics in the fact that she did. Despite young Gabby’s decision to tell everyone to “runtelldat” over her locks, her mom (perhaps feeling the need to defend her daughter’s Black Beauty Card anyway) laid all the blame on her daughter’s host family for the state of her pony tail.
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Natalie Hawkins told the press, “I don’t think people realize sometimes that she doesn’t live with me,” in defense of her daughter’s style. “She lives with a white host family and they don’t know anything about taking care of her hair. And there’s no black salons in their area [in Iowa] – not one. We had to work really hard to find a stylist to come and do her hair.”
Ah, the humanity. Seriously, this is a moment all black women can identity with: struggling to style, even in a black salon desert.
While Hawkins may have had to find someone to come do her daughter’s hair during her training years, Procter & Gamble Salons in the 2012 Olympic Village offered extensive services, ranging from manicures to highlights, and U.S. Virgin Islands sprinter, Allison Peter, took full advantage. After a disappointing finish to her quest to run in the 100-meter event, Peter said that she immediately went to the salon.
“I don’t normally let just anyone cut my hair, but it was in the Village and it was free,” she said. “I guess it’s one of the perks of being an Olympian.”
As much as the Douglas Hairgate played up the superficial aspects of black women’s fascination with hair, we cannot forget this sense of stillness and self-care that can also be provided by heading to the salon.
In the midst of a world spinning at 1,000 miles per hour that Olympic athletes face, getting your hair done is a chance to relax, focus and gather strength in an environment that simultaneously soothes and stimulates most black women. Even Olympians.
Enter: U.S. Track and Field goddess Sanya Richards-Ross.
With her perfect, contagious grin, well-honed body and flowing locks, we couldn’t help but be drawn to the magnetism of the gold medal winner with the Midas touch. With amber and chestnut brown curls of waist length flying behind her from a French braid drawing back those curls like a crown, this was a sister and she was fierce as she ran.
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But how did she manage to stay so fly in the midst of the most grueling athletic competition of her life? An even better question would be: why was it so important? Was it vanity, self-esteem or public pressure that made her and other black athletes take such care with their appearances? That made Carmelita Jeter rock a carefully gelled short cut? Or inspired Venus Williams’ red, white and blue braids?
TheGrio’s Marcia Dyson describes the motivation as “hairanoia.” I’ll take it even a step further and define it as the state of being in a constant state of obsession – or at the very least acute awareness – of our black hair. And that is not necessarily a bad thing.
We often don’t just throw it into a bun and keep it moving, not when the world is watching, no ma’am. We show up and show out, not because we feel better when other people think we look good, but because we feel better when we feel that we look good. Yes, the primary focus is to thrive and excel, but ever present is the understanding that we better represent while doing it.
Because, that’s what we do.
Denise Jackson, and African-American hair stylist, worked at the All Hair Types salon that was part of the set-up of services offered to athletes and related personnel during the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta. Among her most special memories of that event was the salon being a hub of activity for Olympians and pedestrians alike.
“The opening ceremony was awesome; we saw all of our clients rocking their new styles like [we were] pleased parents,” Jackson told theGrio. “We made sure those athletes represented their countries with beautiful [hairstyles] no matter what country or village they came from.
“Now, we really wanted these athletes looking great, but they did take advantage,” Jackson added. “One girl from the Bahamas — a track athlete – received a cut, [blow-dry] and style, but immediately after went to track practice. Because the services were free, she could return at her leisure. I also cut [gold medalist] Michael Johnson’s hair. He gave me a $20 tip and said it was a lucky haircut. Our team was put together to give the best to the best, and that’s what we did.”
As Denise’s comments revealed, even black male athletes can take extra pains to look great. There is something in our culture that is captivated by coiffure. It has caused some controversy in recent weeks, but we need to look at the bigger picture.
Yes, there are some black Olympians who couldn’t care less about their hair and there are some women of other races who also make beauty a priority. Still, there is a global sisterhood that dictates: no matter what country, what continent, or what city we may find ourselves in, our athletes take the time and make the effort to look their best because our culture demands it — and enjoys it.
The London Games have simply been a reflection of all the games that came before them, and a microcosm of black hair culture worldwide.
Does that mean our sisters are victims of “hairanoia”?
Absolutely not. What it does say is that maybe we – the media, the Games viewers, and the critics – have perhaps delved too deeply into the culture of black hair at the Olympics, when what it boils down to is simple:
Our sisters came, they saw and they conquered. And they all looked damn good while they were doing it.
Follow Kirsten West Savali on Twitter at @KWestSavali.