Gerald F. Murray

Department of Anthropology (emeritus)

University of Florida

“Race”, racial mixture, racial classification

Racial classification in the Spanish Caribbean

The racially unique Dominican Republic

“Pelo bueno / pelo malo” – “good” vs “bad” hair

The Dominican hair salon

Evolutionary background of hair.

Evolving functions of hair

Hair as an expression of beauty.

Core theme: decline of skin color, rise of hair style, as criterion of beauty

Methodology: focus groups and data on 100 salones.

Demographic replacement

The Spanish Caribbean

Special demography of D.R.

Shares an island with Haiti.

Has the highest Afro-Caucasian mixture in the world.

Not only is skin brown, hair is also mixed.

Puerto Rico 4%

Haiti 5%

Barbados 6%

Jamaica 6%

Cuba 24%

Brazil 39%

Dominican Rep. 73%

Classifying the species: “Human races”. A fiction. Skin color as a fictitious boundary setter. “African blood”, “Caucasian blood”. (A, B, AB, O blood groups).

Scientifically precise. Doesn’t correlate with skin color or with continents. Practical use: blood transfusions.

Racial differences within the same society. Arbitrary and culture-specific nature of racial

classification Example of mixture of coke and milk. North American bipartite racial system Caribbean tripartite system.

Lacio -- “straight”

Ondulado - “wavy”

Rizado – “curled”

Crespo - “heavily coiled or curled”

3 skin colors. But good/bad dichotomy of hair.

Types 1 and 2 of the preceding chart are “good”

Types 3 and 4 of the preceding chart are “bad”

The purpose of the salon: make “bad” hair look “good”.

But the hair is still “bad”.

“Bad hair” cuts across skin color groups.

Formerly only wealthy went to salons. Hair was treated at home.

There was a concern with whitening skin. Perlinaand other chemicals were used.

In the 1970’s onward two cultural shifts occurred The “rule of skin” yielded esthetically to the “rule of

hair”.

Skin whitening ceased.

The brown skinned “india” became first acceptable, then the preferred norm.

Hair straightening became the esthetic norm.

The salon became popularized.

Every visit: lavado y secado. Two phase drying for more difficult hair.

Use of round brush and blow dryer, perhaps with a “concentrating nozzle”. Goal is to get it bone straight.

(The “paddle brush” is not generally used,.

Occasionally: straightening “unrelaxed hair”

Possible differences with U.S. Black community: No real menu of alternative styles. Can have different lengths

and diff colors. But the norm of straightened hair is strong.

Frequency of visits: the ideal is twice a week. Poorer sectors go once a week.

There are some women who never wash their hair at home.

A major microenterprise in the Dominican Republic.

Prices are cheap, adjusted to the economic level of the salon.

Prices of a simple washing and blow drying.

Poorer sector: 100 pesos = $2.50

Middle sector: 250 pesos = $6

Elite sector: 500 pesos = $12

Additional expenses: straightening, dying, tipping.

“El dinero del salón” is a normal monthly budget ítem

Monthly expenses for the salón.

Poorer sector: 800 pesos = $20

Middle sector : 1400 pesos = $35

Elite sector: 3600 pesos = $90.

No appointments; first come first serve.

Can wait several hours on weekends.

FM: 55,000 salones in the D.R.

Total pop = 10 mill. Total hh. = 2 mill

Gainesville: pop. 130,000, #hh. 32,000

# salones in Yellow pages: = 145

Gainesville has 1 salon for every 221 hh.

D.R has 1 salon for every 35 hh.

More than six times the density per capita.

D.R. may have the world record.

There may be 150,000 women employed.

A female population: owners, employees, and customers are almost all women.

A more lucrative and honorable alternative to other female occupations: Domestic work as a cook, laundress, or nanny

Free trade zone and other factory work

Small business

Sex work

Sexual orientation and female monopoly protection. Two exceptions: foreigners, married owners.

A weekly refuge for women from domestic tasks

A place where women can get together with no male presence.

Chatting, eating, drinking, joking.

“Therapeutic” bonding with a stylist

Female employment

Increasing fame of the Dominican stylist.

Dominican women trust only Dominican stylists.

Many with tourist visas come and go. Many local clients.

The “Dominican salon” is becoming known to African Americans.

The “Dominican hairdresser” now competes with the Dominican baseball player in terms of national image.

Racial issues.

Why is there a Black / White dichotomy in US and a Black / Brown/White system in Carib.?

Good Hair / Bad Hair issue.

Is the phrase heard in the US?

Is the phrase racist?

Some say that Dominican women who straighten their hair “trying to be white”. Do you agree

Are African Americans frequenting Dominicans?

Compare the hair care of the two populations: Esthetic norms and pressure.

Frequency of visits to the salon.

Usual purpose of visit to the salon.

Cost of the average visit.