Lenondree King

FIQWS 100113 – MED4

Professor Gina Ryder

1 November 2019

Critical Lens

Words can be expressive, connotative, controversial, emotive, etc. However, words can be deceptive, egocentric, and condescending. We assemble these words together in many ways, one of them being the use of prefixes. This approach provides a group of letters before the root of the word to change the connotation and could ultimately the readers perspective of the world. One such prefix is “de-“, which is used to indicate privation, removal, separation, degradation, and so on. T. Benjamin Singer’s “From the Medical Gaze to Sublime Mutations” introduces the idea of dehumanizing transgender individuals through the common act of photography and it’s showcase in medical textbooks. This correlates with the hair discrimination presented in today’s society where it’s observed that colored people carrying natural hair can have drawbacks as it may seem unprofessional. Many states and regions are currently trying to provide awareness on hair discrimination though various articles, ads and commercials. Sources such as Steven Reidy’s and Meher Kanigiri’s “How are Ethnic Hairstyles Really Viewed in the Workplace?”, Jena McGregors article “More States are Trying to Protect Black Employees Who Want to Wear Natural Hairstyles at Work”, and the popular television show Glee provide agreeing perspectives on dehumanization through hair discrimination.

         In Singer’s “From the medical Gaze to Sublime Mutations”, he presents photography provided in medical textbooks to convey ideas backed up by science to the public. Being that science justifies universal ideas across the globe, the medical photography presented was suggested to be something undisputable and backed up by science. However, the goal of these images was to discriminate against the transgender community and affect how they are viewed by others.

Singer begins by discussing how “medical textbooks dehumanize, desexualizing, depersonalizing and defamiliarizing people with atypical bodies”. The word ‘atypical’ discriminates against the transgender community because, it suggests that they don’t follow the societal norm. It also dehumanizes them because, it suggests that transgender people aren’t fit to live in a world that is majority cisgender. The quote in its entirety has negative connotations and is purposely trying to insult the transgender community. Singer goes on to say, “the visual strategy makes clear that these are medical photographs”, “Photography is so essentially the art of Truth”. The author is suggesting that these textbooks are authorized to dehumanize this group of people because they are supported by science. From the moment a photographer is framing a scene, he is already creating a narration and deciding what type of story to tell and deciding what to leave out. In order for photography top exist, you need real subjects. Sure, you can manipulate an image for different portrayals, but the image is still very much real. Singer uses this ideology to justify the meaningless discrimination and dehumanization of transgender individuals. This reminds me of the film Gun Hill Road, where the father Enrique forcefully curt his transgender daughter’s hair because, he assumed it was abnormal to have such long hair if you’re a male. The film’s director and Singer have similar intent on showing how medical textbooks, photography and other sources strive to shift societies perspective on what it means to be human and degrades that don’t follow the norm.

Black hair has been controversial over the years when worn naturally to a workplace. It has been described as unacceptable, inadequate, and unprofessional for a long time and continues to be a problem today. Much like Singer’s article, Reidy and Kanigiri’s “How are Ethnic Hairstyles Really Viewed in the Workplace” discuss dehumanization through a different lens, being that colored people carrying their natural hair to a workplace being unsatisfactory. The discrimination in the workplace is challenging for groups of minorities, since they can’t get a job because it contradicts with their cultural or religious beliefs. A case presented in 1981 of a black woman working with American Airlines “was told her cornrow hairstyle violated the company’s grooming policy”. The case was eventually dismissed.  Last year “the Congressional Black Caucus took the U.S. military to task for its grooming policies, which barred cornrows, twists and dreadlocks.” In addition, the TSA (Transportation Security Administration “patted down women’s hair- especially their Afros.” A lot of corporation’s bar carrying Afrocentric hair to work as it is deemed “unprofessional”. This is a serious issue and concurs with Singer’s work as this is stressing dehumanization of the black community. Both works stress how specific communities should be deemed unacceptable in society, even when people of that community just want to go to work, travel, and live life just like everyone else. Singer says “this statement makes the viewer see the image in a different light. It guides us on how to re-view the image which opposes societal norms of ‘beautiful’.” Making workplaces discriminate against colored people provides the foundation which will lead to chains of discrimination developing around the world. This discrimination ultimately reflects societal views of African Americans as the “other” group and shows how they aren’t fully embraced yet.

What’s more interesting are people’s responses to hair discrimination in their community. Jena McGregor article, “More States are Trying to Protect Black Employees Who Want to Wear Natural Hairstyles at Work”, shows African American responses to this dehumanization through hair discrimination. In the article, a company for women of color asked a recruiter who’d they feel more comfortable putting forward as a candidate for the board, being one with a sleek ponytail and one with a dreadlocks or an Afro, and the recruiter said the one with the “clean-cut”. Furthermore, the company wasn’t surprised as it was hard to find women of color as directors anyways. This dehumanization through hair discrimination subjectifies people of color as insufficient or unfit to work. Making assumptions of unprofessionalism, whether conscious or not, keeps black individuals from even having a seat at the table. In Singer’s article, he repeatedly uses the phrases “atypical anatomy”, “non-normative body”, “damaging isolation” and associates them with the medical textbooks dehumanizing, desexualizing, and defamiliarizing transgender individuals. Just as McGregor expresses corporate dehumanization through hair discrimination, Singer’s article expresses dehumanization through medical photography, ultimately making assumptions of transgender people, not giving them a chance to be themselves in the world.

Glee is a popular television series about a singing club in William McKinley High School facing off in choir competitions while having to deal with social issues, especially regarding sexuality, race, relationships, and teamwork. In one scene, Beiste, the new transgender gym teacher, was criticized because of her hair and appearance by a fellow colleague. She responds with “You mean don’t make a snap judgment about him? Don’t make his life miserable because I assume he’s a certain way?” This powerful message corresponds with the judgement and assumptions made by corporations that don’t want to hire black individuals due to their natural hair. Just like Beiste, these individuals are being ridiculed and humiliated for carrying their natural hair. A piece of them is being taken away every time they are laughed at for not following societal norms. Singer discusses depersonalized representation heavily through his piece, which reminds me of the holocaust where Jewish people were being stripped of their identities. Hair discrimination strips away people’s identity as they aren’t accepted for the hairstyle, they’ve been wearing their whole life prior to seeking a job. This begs to question what defines beauty because obviously corporations view of beauty is one ideal hair style.

In the corporate environment, hair discrimination causes people to lose faith in themselves and ultimately dehumanizes them. The use of negative adjectives and methods to discriminate against black individuals is uncalled for and unjust and many states such as New York and Florida are starting to take legal action to ban discrimination based on hair. Singer’s discusses the use of medical photography to discriminate and dehumanize the transgender community because, they have “mutated” bodies unlike cisgender people. That text along with my secondary sources helped debunk my theory of dehumanization through hair discrimination as they both stem from the same root, acceptance and isolation.

Works Cited

1.     “Britney/Brittany.” Glee. Fox. 28 September 2010.

2.     Kanigiri, Meher and Reidy, Steven. “How are Ethnic Hairstyles Really Viewed in the Workplace?” https://digitalcommons.ilr.cornell.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1133&context=student. Accessed 1 November 2019.

3.     McGregor, Jenan. “More States are Trying to Protect Black Employees Who Want to Wear Natural Hairstyles”. https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2019/09/19/more-states-are-trying-protect-black-employees-who-want-wear-natural-hairstyles-work/. Accessed 1 November 2019

4.     Singer, T. Benjamin. “From the Medical Gaze to Sublime Mutations”. Accessed 1 November 2019