EUROCENTRIC HAIRSTYLES - NEW BLACK FEMALE IDENTITIES. THE CASE OF BIG BROTHER AFRICA ‘STAR GAME’ HOUSEMATES 2012

This study examines the hairstyles of black African women contestants in the reality show, Big Brother Africa “Star Game” 2012 that comprised of 28 male and female television stars from 14 African countries. It focuses on how the majority of the women contestants as well as those in the wider African societies embrace western hairstyles to the detriment of their own identities. The study highlights the view that Eurocentric hairstyles by Africans conform to mainstream notions of beauty upheld by global media which represents European looking hair as the epitome of beauty and attractiveness and fashion and hair industries that pressurize westernized Africans to buy and consume weaves and hair extensions. It concludes that Eurocentric hairstyles play a significant role in damaging the African women identities and destroys their self image by denying them genuine experiences of their bodies as they yearn for values alien to themselves. Thus, the study recommends the need for black African women to shun western values of fashion towards a construction of Afro-centered trends, with their natural hair as the model of their own beauty as appreciation of African hair is vital towards restoring long lost African identities. Key Words: Black, Female, Eurocentric Hairstyles, Identity, BBA Star Game JCMRJournal of Communication and Media Research, Vol. 6, No. 1, April 2014, 109 – 118 ©Delmas Communications Ltd. About the author *Clemenciana Mukenge is with the Department of Linguistics, University of Zimbabwe, Harare, Zimbabwe.