Wearing a wig full time is not an easy task. The headache that I got today from wearing the wig was completely unbearable. Wigs and hair extensions, like push-up bras, false nails or make-up, are used to enhance one’s appearance by masking what exists. In some cases; however, masking what exists can be extremely painful. I found this out today. I can only imagine the pain that African-American women go through when getting their hair braided.
Suffering pain to achieve a certain beauty ideal has been around for centuries. Foot binding, corsets and cosmetic surgery are extreme ways in which women discipline their appearance to conform to this ideal of beauty. This ideal stems from what is known as the “beauty myth”. The myth that suggests that women are “subtly coerced to embody beauty and men are encouraged to desire and possess beautiful women” (Howson, 2004: 105). So basically, women endure pain and constantly monitor their appearance to achieve an unattainable state of beauty in order to attract the attention of men. This is just unfair!
- Howson, A (2004). The Body in Society. Cambridge: Polity Press. 105.
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