Banks, Patricia A. 2021. 'Hair Rules: Race, Gender, and Stigmatization in Schools.' The University of Pennsylvania Journal of Law and Social Change 25 (2)- 1-9.
9 Pages Posted: 5 Mar 2021 Last revised: 27 Dec 2021
Mount Holyoke College
Date Written: March 4, 2021
As laws banning racial hair discrimination in schools are proposed across the United States, it is increasingly important to understand how grooming policies can stigmatize students. This essay engages social science theory and research on stigmatization and the case of Arnold v. Barbers Hill Independent School District to investigate the cultural constructions of male students who wear long locks. Drawing on content analysis of court documents around this Texas lawsuit involving two black male cousins who were disciplined in school because of refusing to cut their locks, I examine how school officials justified the school district’s hair rules through associating the defendants’ hairstyle with a range of stigmatizing attributes. The conclusion considers the potential for this court case, as well as hair discrimination legislation, to mitigate the stigmatization of boys who wear long locks, long braids, and long twists. I argue that to fully address the stigmatization of boys who wear these styles, laws and policies must be attentive to race as well as gender.
Keywords: hair discrimination; dress codes; natural hair; culture; law; policy
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation
Banks, Patricia A., Hair Rules: Race, Gender, and Stigmatization in Schools (March 4, 2021). Banks, Patricia A. 2021. 'Hair Rules: Race, Gender, and Stigmatization in Schools.' The University of Pennsylvania Journal of Law and Social Change 25 (2)- 1-9., Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3798082 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3798082
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