Asian Hair & Racism
"...white people, Asian people and other ethnic groups don't necessarily have the struggle that [Black people] have, when it comes to, or in relation to hair. So they've never been isolated, discriminated against, or had to encounter/experience racism because of their hair."
This was said by a Black creator talking about the appropriation of African-American styles of braids by Asian people (which I won't get into the weeds of. All in all, Asian people, listen to and RESPECT what African-Americans are saying about THEIR CULTURE and keep your hands OFF it.)
But to address this specific snippet. The first part is true.
Non-Black people have not faced the discrimination directed towards their hair in the same way that it is directed to hair on Black bodies. Hair that is not 4C has not faced the TYPE of discrimination directed towards 4C hair, especially 4C hair on Black bodies.
And this is also mutual: non-Asian people have not faced the discrimination directed towards their hair in the same way that it is directed to hair on Asian bodies. Hair that is not 1A has not faced the TYPE of discrimination directed towards 1A hair, especially on Asian bodies.
But the latter part is ahistorical.
The racial models created by Linnaeus (the most common and popular one that the West adopted), the Bernier descriptions, and the Blumenbach racial models all involved describing hair from different racialised groups, INCLUDING Asian peoples' hair. The Bernier descriptions fetishised Asian fem slaves (yep, sex slaves) for their features including their hair.
Asian hair has always been racialised.
Later, in US, there were policies created to control, humiliate and override the consent of Asian peoples to their hair; such as The Pigtail Ordinance, which mandated that Chinese men cut off their queue. While it was claimed to control "sanitary issues", the actual reason was that white people knew what hair meant to Confucian values (cutting it symbolises severance from one's ancestors and their gift of life) and wanted to humiliate them into submission.
Racist depictions of white slave masters pulling on coolie rioter queues and subjugating them with violence.
Hell, the chopsticks in hair depictions, the bangs on an Asian fem, the "Indian hair is so oily stinky and gross" issue prior to the "clean girl aesthetic slick-back bun".
Even facial hair on an Asian person was discriminated against whether it was Asian men unable to grow a full beard, the Fu Manchu beard to signify a villain, bushy eyebrows, or beards and mustaches on women.
Body hair on Asian peoples have ALWAYS been stigmatised whether we were nypermasculinised "too hairy with dark body hair", or if we were hairless and hyperfeminised + infantilised + fetishised + emasculated for it.
Sinophobic race-motivated hate crimes have involved Asian hair, including the display of it as trophies post-violence, murder, or other methods of dehumanising subjugation.
A hair for masculine people and on Asian mascs, is typically insulted as non-masculine (which is a form of Sinosexism especially targeting EA masculinity). Hair on Asian fems have been fetishised and exoticised which has led to material harm, this has shown time and time again in media, but also in reality.
Asian peoples have had their hair touched and cut without their consent (I personally can attest to this too).
Head coverings for Muslim Asian women, the fetishising of seeing a Muslim Asian woman's hair, and "liberals" forcing Asian women not to wear their hijabs, is also tied to the control and possessing a sensory experience of Asian hair. You wouldn't see this occurring to white people.
Hair and haircare for MANY Asian cultures is deeply significant, and so tight-knit with our ancestry and love for each other, it plays a role even in our cultural festivals, wedding and coming of age ceremonies. And it also has played an undeniable role in our traumas.
