Draft Feature Story

 

Growing up, the media constantly broadcasted straight hair white women as the beauty standard which was challenging to grapple with as a curly haired girl. Shaony Lopez was consumed by the world around her and the everlasting beauty standards that were filled with people who did not look like her. The lack of representation in the media caused her longing for straight hair to grow. “I used to want straight hair really bad because I never grew up seeing people with hair like mine.” All throughout elementary and middle school she did not know how to tend to her curly hair. Her curiosity surrounding how to style or moisturize her hair caused her to make many mistakes. She went through so much “trial and error” in her terms when learning how to deal with her hair texture. As a child, she did not know that her hair had potential to be healthy and vibrant. Due to her mother not knowing how to deal with her hair texture she was not aware of how to care for her hair. “I did not know I had curly hair.” Shaony expressed how her peers and family members played a role in how she viewed her hair. They categorized her hair as “nappy” or “unkempt” when simply it was just not properly managed. These comments affected er self-esteem and fed into why she preferred to have straight hair. As straight hair was viewed more “manageable” and “attractive” by others. She wanted to learn as a young child how to properly cater this part of herself.