Bonnets

One thing we have learned about different prejudices is that they can combine.

When we combine the specific aspect of racism that is anti-Blackness with misogyny, we get what Moya Bailey termed misogynoir.

This is an important topic and there are some good options for additional reading in the Wikipedia article. I am linking it here:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Misogynoir 

Bigotry does not always result in a rejection; appropriation is also an option.

We are going to approach this topic by talking about bonnets.

I suspect part of the reason that some practices become accepted is that there are a lot of beauty expectations put upon women. Something that helps may be harder to resist because of that.

Bonnets are eminently practical.

I have mentioned before (though it's been a while) that my hair is very course, thick, dry, and curly, a combination that does not make my hair easily manageable. Most of my better practices have come from Black women.

One of those is putting a silk bonnet over my hair at night. It retains some moisture and prevents some tangling, making my hair a little less wild in the morning. It is good protection against breakage for all hair types.

I also believe that since I generally wear my hair tied back -- pulling away from the scalp -- that having time where the hair is being held in is helpful. 

I realize that I am not known for putting a lot of time or effort into a beauty regime; there are many other things I could do and don't. 

In fact, there are lots of hair options that I don't use, and they might do better with different options. 

For example, with various chemical relaxers and options, you may not be able to get your hair wet. That can lead to a need for bathing caps and shower caps.

If you wear your hair in braids or other styles, different coverings may work better. That is not limited to women. Bedtime Bonnet, a picture book by Nancy Redd and illustrated by Nneka Myers, can be a fun introduction to that.

Discrimination against the hair of Black women was set in enough to require an act of Congress to make it illegal:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CROWN_Act_of_2022

So even though there is this extra pressure on Black women to have their hair look "good", requiring effort and expense, those aids to the hair, like women wearing their bonnets in public, were frequently mocked.

Then it became a Tiktok trend, with white women doing it:  

https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/white-women-just-now-starting-173000764.html

That article references conversations in two directions. 

One is the previously mentioned question of wearing them in public. A lot of people do criticize that one, but I find I don't really care. I mean, it doesn't look "good", but do people have to look good all the time? That's a lot of pressure; I gave up long ago.

(I don't wear my bonnet in public, but I only wear it in bed, so it wouldn't come up. If there are other people who benefit from wearing it more, let them.)

The other question is whether white women should be wearing them at all; that's where we get to the question of appropriation. 

See, we weren't there yet. That's where we are going to pick up Tuesday. 

Obviously I am a white woman who wears a bonnet, and I believe that is fine.

Prepare for some pretty big "but"s.