Introduction

This chapter addresses the aforementioned question in the context of hair culture, with the lack of power or freedom, how enslaved women's identities were formed. It argues that patterns set through racial hierarchy and Eurocentric values during enslavement established a polarized aesthetic of hair that Blacks, for the most part, did not meet, and led to an internalized oppression of enslaved Black women. The lack of power during enslavement initiated the indoctrination of Black women accepting that their hair, skin, and personage were less beautiful than that of Whites. The depiction of Black women in enslavement narratives and runaway ads set the tone for future discussions of black aesthetics. The chapter examines the destruction of Black hair from the past: Many enslaved women, who altered their hair by imitating their enslavers, had hopes of appeasing them but such efforts minimize ones value in ones ancestral heritage. It explains the different duties and features of house vs. field servants.