โSweet Dreams explores the intricacies of everyday ableism and everyday ableist comments. Some of the comments recount dialogue said to the artist. Other phrases were submitted by other disabled and/or chronically ill individuals as documentation of comments that have been said to them. Through using recognizable objects associated with disability in correlation with playful colors, Sweet Dreams aims to reclaim objects commonly associated with pain and disrupt the narrative on what it means to be disabled.โ
Fun, someone said the words โprior authorizationsโ around me and now Iโm pissed off at 730am on my day off. I go off on this rant all the time. ALL THE TIME.
In many cultures, ethnic groups, and nations around the world, hair is considered a source of power and prestige. African people brought these traditions and beliefs to the Americas and passed them down through the generations.
In my motherโs family (Black Americans from rural South Carolina) the women donโt cut their hair off unless absolutely necessary (i.e damage or routine trimming). Long hair is considered a symbol of beauty and power; my mother often told me that our hair holds our strength and power. Though my motherโs family has been American born for several generations, it is fascinating to see the beliefs and traditions of our African ancestors passed down. We are emotionally and spiritually attached to our hair, cutting it only with the knowledge that we are starting completely clean and removing stagnant energy.
Couple this with the forced removal and covering of our hair from the times of slavery and onward, and you can see why so many Black women and men alike take such pride and care in their natural hair and love to adorn our heads with wigs, weaves, braids, twists, accessories, and sharp designs.
Hair is not just hair in African diaspora cultures, and this is why the appropriation and stigma surrounding our hair is so harmful.