Discussion: Should Black Female Athletes Care For Their Outer Appearance During A Global Competition

It is 2012 and many black women are allowing themselves to be in bondage. From Beyonce to many actresses out there black women and hair is an "issue", and its even an issue at the 2012 Olympics in London. Even though all the black female athletes are spectacular, champions, strong confident and absolutley amazing, the buzz on the internet is that most of the black female athletes hair is ugly. (like Gabby Douglas, Christine Ohuruogu, Perri Shakes-Drayton etc.). Should black female athletes take more care of their outer appearance during a global competition - while "representing" black females around the world?

A lot of people made comment about black female athletes hair while participating in the Olympics in london. For instance, a person had the audacity to say that Gabby needed to “represent” and should change her hair do ASAP. I thought it was about 'WINNING" a gold medal not being on a fashionshow.

Research concerning women of color in sport tends to center around several topics: barriers to participation, racial stereotyping, symbolic annihilation, and the intersecting axes of power that influence their involvement and representation. Furthermore, while there exists a rich body of literature that hair has inspired in black feminist scholarship, these works have overlooked the experiences of black female athletes.

Hair is always a sore spot for black women culturally, but it has often reached a fever pitch when it involves women of color engaging in sports and other demanding physical activities. Gold-medal-winning track star Wilma Rudolph rocked a frizzy short perm during the 1960 Rome Olympics, while Flo Jo began her Olympic journey with a cropped cut layered perm on the track. By the 1984 Games in Los Angeles, the iconic late track star progressed to a flowing mane of hair extensions and even longer fingernails that became her trademark.

Venus and Serena Williams have worn beaded braids on the tennis courts for years and faced critical commentary about their looks as a result. The question is when will critizing ever stop? Do the athletes need to stop every five minutes to check their hair while participating back-to-back intense workouts?