At the end of chapter 3, Malcolm talks about the first time that he conked his hair. Back then, African Americans conked their hair to make it straighter so they would appear to have "white" hair. It was a really painful process, and the men would literally burn their heads to straighten it. Malcolm considered it to be really cool when he was 16 and continued to do it for a few more years. At the end of the chapter, he talks about how stupid it was for him to do it. He even said he was degrading himself.
The irony in the situation is that black people did this to appear more white, and now, white people do things to appear black. In any town, you can find a group of kids who try to be all "gangster," walking around with their pants around their ankles and flashy jewelry. In the early 1900's, black people were inferior, but presently pop culture is influencing all people to act like them. I think it would be really interesting to see Malcolm's reaction to this and hear his opinions.
1 comment:
I really agree with the irony of the situation; it seems the tables have turned completely, and where once blacks were trying to imitate white culture, whites are trying to act like the stereotypical black gangster. We were discussing this sort of thing a while back in Mattessich’s class, though: even though we associate certain stereotypes with skin color, e.g. boxers showing and flashy jewelry=black; it’s actually about how you were raised, and whether you’re just pretending or are being genuine.
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