This is an issue that really bugs me!

I did an internship last summer with an investment bank in the City and I’m happy to say that they offered me a job to start this autumn. As excited as I am, people are telling me that my natural locks will have to go, in favour a a straightened style/sleeker look.

The first person to tell me this was a guy at uni who laughed at my “dreadlocks” - which were actually single plaits, but whatever.

Upon mentioning this to my mum, she was like - oh yeah, it will have to go; relax it, or put a weave in

My aunties said the same thing.

My dad concurred.

Am I being really naive? I would love to hear your views on this.

My hair is currently 4a/b, nearly shoulder length, never been relaxed, texturised or coloured.

bubbadee - 24 February 2010 08:55 PM

This is an issue that really bugs me!

I did an internship last summer with an investment bank in the City and I’m happy to say that they offered me a job to start this autumn. As excited as I am, people are telling me that my natural locks will have to go, in favour a a straightened style/sleeker look.

The first person to tell me this was a guy at uni who laughed at my “dreadlocks” - which were actually single plaits, but whatever.

Upon mentioning this to my mum, she was like - oh yeah, it will have to go; relax it, or put a weave in

My aunties said the same thing.

My dad concurred.

Am I being really naive? I would love to hear your views on this.

My hair is currently 4a/b, nearly shoulder length, never been relaxed, texturised or coloured.

Love this Poll and I have to say hand on heart you must wear your natural hair. Your hair sounds gorgeous and I am so proud of you for keeping it real! Please don’t feel like you need to change your hair to fit in. They loved you as an intern and will love you as a regular employee. Congrats! I am so thrilled for you and it is women like you who will make it different “normal” for the next generation to not even ask this question

bubbadee I would hope that it wouldn’t matter at all and as the bank have offered you a job it doesn’t seem like it matters as far as they are concerned.  You are you and you wont do a better job with different hair. (congrats on the job by the way!)

I also need to add that when I had my relaxed hair it certainly did not make me feel more confident (or fit in) in fact I felt like a fraud! I hated my relaxed hair and the day I left that behind was one of the best decisions I could have ever have made for myself. Now I feel confident and empowered because I am comfortable enough in my own skin to be my true self curly hair and all! Be proud of you my sister and don’t let anyone make you feel you can’t be you

I would like to say it doesn’t matter but I think to some people it does. I work in a psychiatric hospital so for safety wear my hair pulled back in a bun, when my hair is pulled back it appears straight so unless people I work with see my outside work they wouldn’t know how curly it is.
having a conversation with a friend that a wig wearing nurses butted herself into and told me “oh when you qualify as a counsellor you’ll have to straighten your hair because you’ll be a professional”
Comments like that never used to bother me, but that really did, it’s weird that curly wigs, or tonged curled hair is acceptable but natural curly hair isn’t.
I love when I’m seeing my counselling clients and can wear my hair all out and flowing, I even like it if it looks a little wild, how can I be promoting acceptance if I’m not accepting who I am.

You got the job because you can perform, I’m sure they weren’t thinking about your hair. Well done by the way

Any suggestion of this to me is sub conscious racism!

I was chatting to a girl in work who has started to go natural just last week and was trying to get her to wear it really curly for work. We weren’t
sure what peoples perceptions of it would be as we work for a massive corporate city firm. Perhaps my radar became sharper as that very afternoon I saw a girl at work with a really cool short twist out!! Since then I’ve seen many more, and since my firm has a firm diversity policy, it obviously isn’t an issue!

In the UK (other cultures are different and I don’t have the experience of living for any length of time in other countries eg US) I think it is more about what people perceive as the ‘norm’ rather than racism. And the reason straight hair is perceived as the ‘norm’ is because a lot of naturally curlie’s straighten - so in general, we all see more straight hair - therefore this has become the ‘default’ for how to wear your hair. One could argue, that curlies straighten because it is deemed a more professional look - but that could stem from the fact that it can be more difficult and time consuming to ‘groom’ curly hair - especially with the dearth of professional hair services and, until recently, decent products (and British Curlies!) - so it is easier for some to straighten and be done!

However, IMO, the way forward is for more curlies, of all ethnicities, to wear their hair in its curly state - We will then have more of a mix of hairstyles/types wandering around (attached to heads obv! lol) and can move away from ‘straight is normal’. 

By no means would i say that it was an issue of race, but i just think that certain hairstyles convey certain personalities about people (rightly/wrongly)

So some huge terrible stereotypes:
  bone straight hair in a bun - uptight, serious
  head full of curls, young at heart, carefree
  blondes - dumb
  brunettes - a bore

These last two are obviously less widely accepted now. And while I’d love to think it doesn’t matter, I don’t want it to come back and bite me in the bum either :p

I guess the most important thing is that however I choose to style my hair, it should be a reflection of who I am. I’m capable of doing the work regardless of what my hairstyle is but you’d be surprised at how much little details like that impact perceptions (which are again down to the perceiving individual).

For instance, some people feel that they can trust someone in a suit - they are dressed like they take their job seriously. Whereas others feel they can relate more to someone who’s dressed relaxed and down to earth… It’s so confusing.

Keisha Jo - 24 February 2010 09:08 PM

I also need to add that when I had my relaxed hair it certainly did not make me feel more confident (or fit in) in fact I felt like a fraud!

I would hate to have anyone/thing make me feel that way, but I sometimes get the impression that I’m being too naive/idealistic about it. At the end of the day, there are social norms anywhere you go.

Thanks for all your feedback anyways. It’s definitely something I’m researching (follow my hair diary if you wish), and if you have any ideas, I’m more than open to them!

I woke up thinking about your hair!! Whatever you do don’t relax it - find a way of styling it that you feel is a good work style if you don’t want to wear it how you usually do.  (Relaxing will do so much damage.) 

bubbadee - 25 February 2010 12:59 AM

By no means would i say that it was an issue of race, but i just think that certain hairstyles convey certain personalities about people (rightly/wrongly)

So some huge terrible stereotypes:
  bone straight hair in a bun - uptight, serious
  head full of curls, young at heart, carefree
  blondes - dumb
  brunettes - a bore

These last two are obviously less widely accepted now. And while I’d love to think it doesn’t matter, I don’t want it to come back and bite me in the bum either :p

I guess the most important thing is that however I choose to style my hair, it should be a reflection of who I am. I’m capable of doing the work regardless of what my hairstyle is but you’d be surprised at how much little details like that impact perceptions (which are again down to the perceiving individual).

For instance, some people feel that they can trust someone in a suit - they are dressed like they take their job seriously. Whereas others feel they can relate more to someone who’s dressed relaxed and down to earth… It’s so confusing.

Keisha Jo - 24 February 2010 09:08 PM

I also need to add that when I had my relaxed hair it certainly did not make me feel more confident (or fit in) in fact I felt like a fraud!

I would hate to have anyone/thing make me feel that way, but I sometimes get the impression that I’m being too naive/idealistic about it. At the end of the day, there are social norms anywhere you go.

Thanks for all your feedback anyways. It’s definitely something I’m researching (follow my hair diary if you wish), and if you have any ideas, I’m more than open to them!

I have no regrets in sharing that bubbadee that was how I felt. I would get ton’s of compliments about how beautiful my hair was but because it was relaxed I never really felt My hair was beautiful…now when someone tells me they think my hair is fabulous I feel great cause I know it’s my natural hair that they are complimenting not a chemically altered one. We all have our different journeys in life and I am at a place now where I am entirely at 1 with myself and my choices. The fact is I would have no hesitation in wearing my naturally curly hair in a corporate environment and did so before I started BritishCurlies

I agree with everything said above.

You got the job on merit, based on your abilities and capabilities. End of story.

I work in a large organisation (over 70,000 employees) and if anyone was told to change their hair to make it ‘acceptable’ they’d have the grounds for a grievance case.

I’m a type 4 and I have had no problem wearing my hair in its natural state in a coroporate setting! You see a lot of people with damaged straight hair in an awful state going to work, so I don’t seee why I shouldn’t wear my natural hair. If u look pretty and nice people won’t care. There are some hairstyles I wouldn’t wear to work, e.g. a big picked out afro. But there are a million and one styles u can do! Most of the people who willl slag u off do it because they don’t know how versatile our hair is. Some of my family were the same until I converted them! Using youtube vids I showed what I could do and now they are 100% against me wearing a weave! The basic social norm is too look, clean, presentable and attractive, this doesn’t necessarily mean wear straight hair. Do people like leona lewis, neomie lenoir look inappropriate for a business setting when they wear there hair curly?  I have found with the predominance of black / mixed people with type 4 wearing their hair natural, people aren’t as bothered anymore.

Interesting…..perhaps it’s more of an issue in the US?

http://alayadawnjohnson.wordpress.com/2007/10/15/get-your-corporate-ladder-off-my-afro/

I’m a complete non-confirmist…..I say wear your hair as nature intended.  My hair is huge and I never wear it straight and no-one’s ever told me different…..hence why is it different when it’s an afro?

I agree with you, Bubbadee.  I think it’s just a case of general stereotypes, rather than a racial issue specifically.  Certainly I’ve experienced it too - I’ve always worn my hair clipped back for a job interview, just to try to look the part, but they have to accept my hair for what it is once I’ve got the job!!  I’ve noticed it to be more prevalent in the private sector than the public.

It’s similar to the whole ‘brainy people wear glasses thing’, as people wearing glasses in an office environment are also deemed to look professional.

I can’t wait to get into the corporate workforce, I’ll be strutting around in a big ass ‘fro (I’m in Computing, we’re meant to be ‘eccentric’) to quote one Mr. West ‘You can’t tell me nothing!’ 

pelicano - 25 February 2010 11:47 AM

It’s similar to the whole ‘brainy people wear glasses thing’, as people wearing glasses in an office environment are also deemed to look professional.

Glasses are for the hipster ‘arty’ types now! I see a lot of people walking around with chunky frames that have no lense

I’ve been mulling over this all day and feel I am now ready to write an answer! 

From my experience, and particularly in my line of busines which is male dominated so women tend to look very severe to try and get ahead, straight hair is more common.

To try and illustrate my point I’m going to talk about clothes for a bit….

I don’t wear suits to work.  The men in my office do, and some of the women too but I feel a fraud in a suit so I don’t even bother with them (not to mention that I can never find one that fits!).  I do however wear tailored trousers, shirts, pretty tops, full box pleat skirts, cropped trousers, sky high heels, red ballet pumps, etc.  Pretty much anything that looks smart and reflects my personality a bit.  I don’t look out of place because its evident from what I wear that I have made just as much effort, perhaps more even, than the guy sitting at the next desk wearing a suit.  I feel that looking professional or corporate is something that I should aim to acheive.  It shows respect for my position, respect for the people that I work with and sets an example to people I mentor as well.

So, relating this back to hair, I will not straighten my hair for work anymore because its not who I am.  So long as my hair looks tidy, and I look like I’ve made an effort, I think I look sufficiently professional.  If I did nothing with my curly hair before I went work I’m sure people would think it was not an approapriate look for the office, but similarly if I had straight hair and didn’t comb it before I got to work then that would raise a few eyebrows too.

And for me that is what this site is all about, falling in love with your kinks and curls and wearing them proudly wherever you go.

Edited:  Just read back though the other posts, I must be a carefree bore, who was smart but is now arty.  lol!!! I sincerly hope people do not employ you purely by the image you project!