Visual Representations of Black Hair in Relaxer Advertisements: The Extent to Which It Shapes Black Women’s Hair Preferences and Attitudes towards Hair Alteration

Abstract

This article focuses on how the black body, particularly black women’s hair, is represented in advertisements for hair relaxers published in True Love, a South African magazine directed at black women. Using qualitative visual semiotic analysis, this article focuses on the process of dehumanisation through visual representation by paying attention to hair, a highly politicised subject in South Africa. In addition, using pre-group questionnaires and focus-group interviews, the article examines to what extent the images possibly shape hair styling practices of black female readers, aged between 18 and 45, who live in urban areas in South Africa.

Keywords:

• Visual representation
• True Love
• black hair
• black women
• hair alteration
• hair advertisements
• length preference
• (dis)empowerment