Why Some Black Women Are Cutting Their Nose to Spite Their Face
Far too often, they are made to feel less than worthy
For centuries, American society has pressured Black women to conform to Eurocentric beauty standards. Of course, a tiger cannot change its stripes any more than a leopard can change its spots. It’s absurd to suggest either animal should. Yet, Black women regularly experience discrimination based on their physical appearance, as if they’re being graded against their proximity to whiteness. While some may view beauty standards as a frivolous matter, the widespread rejection many Black women experience has personal and professional consequences. Some feel they must physically alter themselves to be lovable, hirable, or socially acceptable.
One of the most common features Black women are pressured to change is their hair. Women of African descent typically have hair that can be described as curly, voluminous, and tightly coiled. Sadly, they are often made to feel their hair should be straightened by using chemicals, heat, or a combination of the two. While Madam C. J. Walker (1867-1919), the first woman to become a self-made millionaire, is often credited with her contributions to black hair care, such as developing hair straightening treatments and improving the design of the hot comb, it’s also true that her beauty treatments were designed to help Black women conform with the demands of white-society.
The result Walker and numerous other Black women were trying to achieve was bone-straight hair, a texture antithetical to blackness. That is why Black women who want this style must straighten their hair periodically—their naturally curly hair would never remain in that state. It’s ironic these products are called relaxers because, in its most natural state, a Black woman’s hair is not straight. While Walker and other hair care pioneers didn’t know it then, chemical relaxers designed to straighten hair pose a medical risk. Thus, encouraging Black women to straighten their hair is more than symbolically disrspectful to their natural condition, it’s dangerous. Nkimbeng et al. (2023) found that Black women who straighten their hair either to prevent hair discrimination or conform to discriminatory policies risk developing burns, experiencing hair loss, or developing more serious illnesses.
Researchers have identified a direct connection between the societal demand that Black women should straighten their hair and poor health outcomes. For example, Wise et al. (2012) found that hair relaxer use increases the risk of developing uterine leiomyomata. Coogan et al. (2021) found evidence that the use of hair relaxers with lye was associated with an increased risk of breast cancer. Of course, most Black women do not start their journey of using relaxers as adults but rather as children. Many child-approved formulas, like the “Just For Me” relaxer, were used on their hair during grade school. So, by the time Black women are old enough to make informed decisions about the hair care products they’re using, these chemicals are already in their bodies for years. The effort to conform to white-centered beauty standards starts early and doesn’t let up. Also, companies have a horrible track record for providing Black consumers with risks they need to make informed decisions.
We all know that enough pressure and heat can create diamonds, but these conditions can also bust pipes in other circumstances. In other words, not all pressure is good; not all of it creates something beautiful. Indeed, too much pressure can destroy something, and it’s this risk that conformity carries. At least, this is what comes to mind when considering the rising popularity of ethnic rhinoplasty. Not only are some Black women changing their hair to conform to Eurocentric beauty standards, but some are cutting their noses to spite their faces. It’s an operation called an ethnic rhinoplasty, which refers to a surgical procedure to change the shape and structure of someone’s nose. When Black women pursue this surgery, it’s often to change their wide nose into a thinner one, an effort to diminish their Afrocentric features. Of course, some Black men engage in the practice, too, but so far, this procedure seems more prevalent among Black women.
While there are many reasons why women endure cosmetic surgery, the ethnic rhinoplasty process, in particular, seems driven by internalized anti-blackness. The irony is that many who undergo the procedure have darker skin tones, meaning that regardless of their cosmetic surgery, their black racial identity is easy to spot. Sure, there’s a case to be made about the unique impact of featurism, but there is significant overlap for discrimination based on facial features and skin color. One cannot simply change one's nose and expect to be no longer seen as Black. However, discrimination is a layered experience, as colorism, featurism, and texturism interact with one another to impact an individual. Thus, some Black women feel that enduring an ethnic rhinoplasty and straightening their hair can alleviate some of the discrimination they would otherwise experience.
The use of the word “some” in the title of this article was intentional because, in general, Black girls and women typically have high self-esteem compared to women of other racial groups. This may come as a surprise to some, as they would expect the misogynoir to eat away at their sense of self-worth. Being a Black woman in a society that puts whiteness on a pedestal is not easy. Nevertheless, Bachman et al. (2011) found that African American students had the highest self-esteem scores compared to White, Hispanic, and Asian American students. A longitudinal study (Patterson, 2004) found that Black women, over three decades, had very high self-esteem. So, while some women are changing their hair or even their faces to align more with Eurocentric beauty standards, it’s clear the vast majority of Black women love their Afrocentric features. They look in the mirror and love what they see. Their curly hair, broad nose, and brown skin are treasures to be adorned instead of features to hide. And yet, the high self-esteem among most Black girls and women cannot justify ignoring those who suffer from low self-esteem because of the racism they experience.
In a society that positions “white as right,” Black women are often left to fend for themselves and navigate hostile environments. And this pressure can make some decide to alter themselves rather than demand respect or acceptance. Americans, in particular, should be more aware of the way anti-blackness impacts beauty standards and how these standards impact who Black women date and where they attend school, work, and socialize with. Far too often, women with Afrocentric features are made to feel less than worthy in their natural form, a phenomenon with a disastrous impact.
References
Bachman, J. G., O'Malley, P. M., Freedman-Doan, P., Trzesniewski, K. H., & Donnellan, M. B. (2011). Adolescent Self-Esteem: Differences by Race/Ethnicity, Gender, and Age. Self and identity: the journal of the International Society for Self and Identity, 10(4), 445–473. https://doi.org/10.1080/15298861003794538
Barjon K, Mikhail LN. Uterine Leiomyomata. [Updated 2023 Aug 7]. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2024 Jan-. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK546680/
Coogan, P. F., Rosenberg, L., Palmer, J. R., Cozier, Y. C., Lenzy, Y. M., & Bertrand, K. A. (2021). Hair product use and breast cancer incidence in the Black Women's Health Study. Carcinogenesis, 42(7), 924–930. https://doi.org/10.1093/carcin/bgab041
Henning, T., Holman, M., Ismael, L., Yu, K. Y., Williams, L., Shelton, S. J., & Perez, M. (2022). Examination of hair experiences among girls with Black/African American identities. Body Image, 42, 75-83. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bodyim.2022.05.009
Nkimbeng, M., Malaika Rumala, B. B., Richardson, C. M., Stewart-Isaacs, S. E., & Taylor, J. L. (2023). The Person Beneath the Hair: Hair Discrimination, Health, and Well-Being. Health Equity, 7(1), 406-410. https://doi.org/10.1089/heq.2022.0118
Opie, T. R., & Phillips, K. W. (2015). Hair penalties: the negative influence of Afrocentric hair on ratings of Black women's dominance and professionalism. Frontiers in Psychology, 6, 1311. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2015.01311
Madam C.J. Walker - products, daughter & hair products. (n.d.). https://www.biography.com/business-leaders/madam-cj-walker
Patterson, K. L. (2004). A Longitudinal Study of African American Women and the Maintenance of a Healthy Self-Esteem. Journal of Black Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1177/0095798404266065
Wise, L. A., Palmer, J. R., Reich, D., Cozier, Y. C., & Rosenberg, L. (2012). Hair relaxer use and risk of uterine leiomyomata in African-American women. American journal of epidemiology, 175(5), 432–440. https://doi.org/10.1093/aje/kwr351
Zota, A. R., & Shamasunder, B. (2017). The environmental injustice of beauty: Framing chemical exposures from beauty products as a health disparities concern. American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, 217(4). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajog.2017.07.020
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Thanks so much for this article and your work! Part of the struggle with "going natural" is that it reveals all of your own self hate and also reveals how deep featurism really goes because you are treated very very differently. And I can definitely remember trying to get my nose to look smaller with makeup when I was younger. Going natural pushed me outside of many elite white dominated groups that I felt at home in with texturized hair and I had to really fight not to go back to using lye. This is something we have to do for each other, so that future generations don't have to compromise their health for access and acceptance.
I’m glad you bring this to light for Black women and to open the eyes of white women too. It’s already an impossible standard for a white woman in American (exposed to the gloss of magazines in the checkout aisle, Insta filters, and the constant barrage of how ads telling us we need to look younger, etc) to live up to but women of color face further intersectionality as you point out- hair treatments, skin color, facial structure, etc. I have had to turn off most of this advertising media in my life for my own health and sanity because I am the way I am and I’m grateful to have this body to inhabit even though I’ll never life up to a single beauty standard (I have a large frame, thin hair, wide feet, and am only 5’1” for example).
When it comes to the hair dyes and chemicals, they are also filled with teratogens and mutagens, which can potentially hurt our offspring or health as we age. I would like to see women of all sizes and backgrounds step up in the modern beauty industry to create many realistic models of beauty with health at the center. The current model is built on shaming women into believing there’s something wrong with us so we’ll shell out dollars to fix our imperfections. I’d like to think that without living under the thumb of a critical patriarchy, all women could step forward and claim their unique identity and beauty in a more dignified way. After all, we want to be human first and have others recognize us for our minds and hearts and actions rather than have to perform “femininity” as a mindless Stepford act for the comfort of men. I think more women of all backgrounds are slowly creating kinder and more environmentally friendly products for women, but still, I’d like to see more acceptance of women the way that we are being recognized as beautiful. (call me a dreamer…)