Abstract
The following paper explores the meanings behind turning "bad hair" into "good hair", the role of the beauty salon in Santiago, Dominican Republic, and the implications this has on Dominican women's ideas of beauty. The data collected through participant observation and interviews revealed three themes: how Dominican women define "good hair" and "bad hair" and the different hairstyles worn in formal and informal settings; conversations within the salon environment between women and how topics change when a male is present; and finally, how the images displayed in the salon communicate a white beauty ideal and the reactions of the women to these images. An unexpected finding that emerged revealed signs of resistance against the white beauty ideal.
Advisor
Frese, Pamela
Department
Sociology and Anthropology
Recommended Citation
Dupper, Amy, "Matando El Pelo: An Ethnographic Study Exploring Dominican Women's Perceptions of 'Good Hair' and 'Bad Hair' Within the Environment of the Beauty Salon in Santiago, Dominican Republic" (2010). Senior Independent Study Theses. Paper 1107.
https://openworks.wooster.edu/independentstudy/1107
Disciplines
Anthropology
Publication Date
2010
Degree Granted
Bachelor of Arts
Document Type
Senior Independent Study Thesis
© Copyright 2010 Amy Dupper