Ah yes, hair, something (mostly) every human on the planet has. Hair itself comes in a variety of classifications, thicknesses and textures, from coily-kinky hair, to pin straight, there’s virtually no limits to what human beings can accomplish with hair.
The expression of hair dates all the way back to ancient Egypt, where art portrayed people with pin straight black hair, paired with iconic black eyeliner. From there, humanity’s obsession with hair has only continued to grow, with other examples being the popularity of dyed hair within the 1920s, to the crazy hair of the 80s.
Hair is more than just something that grows on our heads, it serves as a means for people to express themselves, be it their fashion, or their values. The truth is, how somebody looks has anlatin impact on how they are viewed, and hair plays an important role in that.
Despite all of the various styles that can be achieved with hair, there is no denying that over the course of history, from culture to culture, straight hair has been pushed on young girls all across the world.
In Asia, straight hair is considered the beauty standard, with a notorious modern example of this being K-pop idols. They are constantly pressured to look a certain way and as a result shape the beauty standards. Another example of this in the modern day Hispanic community, with many Latina women often feeling the pressure to conform and look similar to each other, this has been coined as “Latina makeup.”
Junior Mellisa Cromer said “I definitely think that people should embrace their natural beauty, including their hair. It just doesn’t look good when someone with beautiful curly hair straightens it on the daily. It gets all frizzy and they would have looked better had they just left it alone. I’m really happy that the natural hair movement is encouraging people to embrace themselves.”
Latina makeup is essentially a stereotypical modern Hispanic girl, pale skin, pin straight hair, and in addition a thin nose and long lashes. Not only does it take a huge amount of makeup to achieve this look, it also whitewashes the Hispanic community and puts them in a box where they all “look the same.” In reality, this couldn’t be farthest from the truth.
Latina makeup trends make young Hispanic girls who don’t fit the stereotypical beauty standard feel ugly and feel the need to conform. This trend has gone farther than just the comfort of young Latina girls. It has also leaked into the male beauty standards, as now it isn’t uncommon for young men to claim they want a “Latina baddie.” When asked to describe their vision of what a Latino is supposed to look like, they often point towards the stereotypical Latina makeup, completely ignoring the fact that Latinos come in all shapes, sizes and colors, and no two people look the same.
Ultimately, one should embrace their natural hair texture and stray away from the trends that convince them they need to be something that they aren’t. Embracing one’s natural hair texture doesn’t just give someone individuality, it also brings out their inner most beautiful features.
