Conformity to Beauty in the Matrix of Domination

• In Event: 30483 - Producing, Circulating, and Evaluating Culture

Abstract

Traditional beauty standards, often rooted in Eurocentric ideals, marginalize and devalue the physical traits of people of color, which pressures them to conform to dominant aesthetic values. Yet, few sociological studies pay attention to how these conformity pressures operate for Latinx and Afro-Latinx people. By tracing Dominicans’ personal histories of hair, this article explores how the Dominican community sustains and reinforces the Dominican standard of beauty for hair (straight hair for women and short buzzcuts for men). Drawing from 84 interviews with Dominicans and ethnographic observations in curly and natural hair salons in New York City and Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, this article argues that the conformity for hair is maintained and reinforced in the matrix of domination to encourage Dominicans to uphold for themselves and enforce within their capacities to others the Dominican standard of beauty. Through this study, this article develops a new theoretical understanding of how interpersonal and structural processes sustain the cultural status quo.

Author

• Katie Duarte, Smith College