Can traditional textured hairstyles be legally protected expressions?

Roots

There exists a profound, unspoken language woven into the very strands of our being, a legacy of texture and form that echoes across generations. It is a story whispered from ancient lands, carried through trials, and proudly proclaimed in the contemporary world. For those with hair that coils, kinks, or curls with an undeniable spirit, this physical manifestation is more than mere adornment; it is a living archive, a connection to a deep heritage. The question of whether these traditional textured hairstyles can be legally protected expressions touches upon the very soul of this legacy.

To truly comprehend the legal landscape, one must first feel the weight of history that each strand carries. Hair, particularly within Black and mixed-race communities, has always been a powerful marker. It conveyed social standing, spiritual beliefs, marital status, and even tribal affiliation across countless African societies. Imagine the painstaking hours spent in communal settings, hands moving with practiced rhythm, crafting intricate patterns that spoke volumes without a single word.

This was not simply styling; it was a ritual of kinship, a passing down of wisdom, and a reinforcement of collective identity. The hair’s natural inclinations, its unique coiled patterns, informed these ancient creations, dictating the art forms that blossomed from the scalp.

Hair’s Elemental Design and Heritage Forms

The biological architecture of textured hair, characterized by its elliptical follicle shape and varied curl patterns, lays the foundation for its distinctive forms. This inherent structure, a gift of ancestral inheritance, allowed for the development of styles that worked in harmony with the hair’s natural state. Unlike straighter hair textures, which may lie flat, coiled hair offers a natural resilience and volume, perfect for styles that rise, loop, and intertwine.

This elemental biology influenced the very aesthetics of African traditional hairstyles, rendering them both protective and expressive. Ancient communities understood these properties implicitly, developing methods that respected the hair’s tendency to coil and shrink.

• Coiled Nature ❉ The hair strand’s elliptical cross-section and twisted growth pattern cause it to curl, creating natural volume and distinct patterns.
• Scalp Health ❉ Traditional techniques often involved parting and braiding close to the scalp, which promoted ventilation and allowed for direct application of nourishing oils derived from ancestral plants.
• Protective Qualities ❉ Many styles enclosed the hair, shielding it from environmental stressors and minimizing breakage, a practice born from observing the hair’s resilience in diverse climates.

Echoes from the Source ❉ Nomenclature and Ancestral Wisdom

The lexicon surrounding textured hair today often draws from, or attempts to categorize, what ancestral practices have long understood. Terms like “kinky,” “coily,” and “wavy” are modern attempts to codify a diversity that traditional societies understood through lived experience and visual queues. Ancient nomenclature, though perhaps unwritten, was evident in the names given to styles that denoted a person’s life stage, societal role, or even their spiritual alignment. The distinction was not merely academic; it was deeply functional and spiritual.

The hair, a living crown, connects individuals to an ancestral lineage, its texture and style echoing a profound, storied past.

Consider the Himba people of Namibia, whose detailed and earth-coated braids serve not only as a stylistic expression but as a testament to practical adaptation within harsh environments. Or the Yoruba people of Nigeria, where specific hairstyles held deep spiritual significance and were crafted by revered braiders. These practices were not born from a detached scientific observation; they emerged from an intimate relationship with the land, the spirit, and the community.

The very act of caring for and styling textured hair was a conversation with heritage, a continuation of practices that ensured both physical well-being and cultural continuity. The foundations of textured hair, its unique anatomy and the diverse classifications we now use, truly reveal a journey from elemental biology to profound cultural expression, always informed by the wisdom of those who came before us.

Ritual

The journey of textured hair is profoundly defined by its styling, an ongoing conversation between hands, tools, and the very spirit of the strands. These practices, whether ancient or contemporary, are far from mere aesthetic choices. They represent a living ritual, a thread connecting individuals to a vast, vibrant tapestry of heritage.

The art and science of textured hair styling tell a story of innovation born from necessity, community fostered through shared touch, and identity proudly asserted through form. When we speak of whether these expressions can be legally protected, we speak of safeguarding not just a style, but the very cultural narratives embedded within them.

Protective Styling and Ancestral Roots

For centuries, the primary approach to textured hair styling across African cultures centered on protection. Styles like braids, twists, and cornrows, often dismissed in more recent times as unprofessional, originated as sophisticated methods to shield the hair from environmental elements, reduce breakage, and promote healthy growth. These practices also allowed for the incorporation of natural materials and adornments, further amplifying their symbolic meanings. The ancestral ingenuity behind these protective styles is a testament to an intuitive understanding of hair health, long before modern trichology offered its insights.

For instance, the intricate cornrow patterns found in Saharan rock paintings from 3500 BCE encoded tribal identity and spiritual beliefs, transforming hair into living storytelling. This was a system of communication and preservation born of deep cultural insight.

The communal aspects of these rituals are equally compelling. Braiding sessions often stretched over hours, sometimes days, providing space for storytelling, the sharing of ancestral wisdom, and the strengthening of community bonds. This was a sacred act, a tangible passing of culture from elder to youth, where each parted section, each intertwining motion, carried the weight of generations.

The hands of the braider became conduits of history, sculpting heritage into visible form. This ritualistic aspect of styling, deeply rooted in social connection and shared experience, adds a dimension of collective ownership and meaning that individual artistic expression alone rarely captures.

The Tools of Transformation ❉ Past and Present

The tools employed in textured hair styling, from ancient bone combs to modern specialized brushes, represent an evolving relationship with hair. Traditional tools, often crafted from natural materials, were designed to navigate the unique characteristics of coiled hair, minimizing breakage and promoting a respectful handling of the strands. These implements were not simply functional; they were extensions of the hand, guiding the creation of styles that honored the hair’s inherent structure. The careful selection of natural materials for adornment, such as cowrie shells or specific beads, further tied the hairstyle to cultural narratives and personal status.

Styling textured hair is a purposeful act, connecting the individual to a collective history and embodying a living cultural expression.

The advent of heat styling, while offering new possibilities, also introduced complexities, particularly for hair textures prone to heat damage. This contrast often highlights the divergence between ancestral methods, which prioritized the hair’s natural state, and more recent trends that sometimes sought to alter its inherent structure. However, even within modern adaptations, the core principles of protective styling often persist, with many contemporary styles finding their lineage in traditional forms. The “complete textured hair toolkit” of today, from detangling combs with wide teeth to satin-lined bonnets, often reflects an understanding that echoes the protective wisdom of generations past, adapting it for modern life while striving to preserve hair health.

Hairstyles as Voice ❉ Voicing Identity

Hair is a profound element of individual and communal identity. For Black and mixed-race individuals, the choice to wear traditional textured hairstyles often signifies a reclamation of heritage, a declaration of selfhood in a world that has historically sought to suppress such expressions. During periods of enslavement and subsequent discrimination, these styles became acts of defiance, subtle messages, and potent symbols of cultural resilience. The journey of styling textured hair, from its meticulous preparation to its final form, truly captures an artistry deeply rooted in ancestral wisdom and a continuing dialogue with culture.

Relay

The path to recognizing traditional textured hairstyles as legally protected expressions navigates a complex intersection of cultural heritage, racial identity, and legal frameworks. This is not a simple question of artistic ownership; it delves into the very core of anti-discrimination, the enduring impact of systemic bias, and the recognition of cultural practices as inherently tied to race. The struggle to secure legal safeguarding for these styles reveals a prolonged societal negotiation, reflecting historical attempts to control and devalue Black and mixed-race identity through hair.

The Legal Battles Defining Hair Identity?

The history of legal challenges concerning textured hair in the workplace and schools has yielded a landscape of mixed rulings, many of which initially failed to recognize the deep cultural and racial ties of these styles. Early interpretations of anti-discrimination laws often distinguished between immutable racial characteristics and mutable grooming choices, inadvertently creating a loophole for discrimination. A stark example arose in 1981 with the case of Rogers v. American Airlines.

Renee Rogers, a Black flight attendant, challenged the airline’s policy that prohibited her cornrow hairstyle. The court sided with the airline, reasoning that cornrows, being a chosen style, were not an immutable racial characteristic like skin color, and thus were not protected under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. This ruling established a precedent that significantly limited protections for many traditional Black hairstyles, impacting countless individuals for decades.

Decades later, the legal challenges persisted. The case of Chastity Jones, who had a job offer rescinded in 2010 by Catastrophe Management Solutions because she refused to cut her locs, further illuminated this ongoing struggle. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) filed a lawsuit on her behalf, arguing that the company’s action was rooted in harmful stereotypes. However, in 2016, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the district court’s ruling, stating that the employer did not discriminate based on race because locs were a “mutable—or changeable—characteristic.” The U.S.

Supreme Court declined to review this decision in 2018, leaving the precedent intact and reinforcing the notion that employers could discriminate against such styles. This period saw a powerful reassertion of Eurocentric hair norms as the default standard of “professionalism” within corporate North America, a standard deeply rooted in historical prejudices.

The CROWN Act stands as a significant legislative movement, explicitly prohibiting discrimination based on hair texture and protective hairstyles, thereby affirming the racial connection of these expressions.

Shifting Tides ❉ Legislative Action and Expanded Definitions?

Despite these setbacks in federal courts, a crucial shift began to materialize through state-level legislative action and evolving legal interpretations. Advocates recognized that a more explicit legal definition was needed to counteract the narrow judicial readings of existing civil rights laws. This movement culminated in the creation of the CROWN Act, an acronym for “Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair.” California spearheaded this initiative, signing the first CROWN Act into law on July 3, 2019, through the tireless efforts of State Senator Holly J. Mitchell.

The CROWN Act directly addresses the “mutable characteristic” argument by broadening the definition of race within anti-discrimination laws. It specifically includes “traits historically associated with race, including hair texture and protective hairstyles” such as afros, braids, locs, twists, and Bantu knots. This legislation effectively clarifies that discrimination based on these styles constitutes racial discrimination.

The Massachusetts CROWN Act, for instance, explicitly adds “protective hairstyle” to the definition of “race” in its various laws. This legislative clarity offers stronger protections than previously available under federal law, recognizing that hair, in its natural state and traditional styles, is deeply tied to Black identity and cultural heritage.

The impact of this legislative push is evident in various findings. A 2020 study, “The Natural Hair Bias in Job Recruitment,” conducted by Michigan State University and Duke University, revealed that Black women with natural hairstyles face a higher likelihood of hair discrimination, being less likely to receive job interviews compared to white women or Black women with straightened hair. Furthermore, a 2019 Dove Study indicated that 80% of Black women felt compelled to alter their natural hair to conform to workplace standards, and their hair was 3.4 times more likely to be perceived as unprofessional. These statistics underscore the urgent necessity of legal protections that acknowledge hair as a racial characteristic rather than a mere fashion choice, directly challenging the systemic biases that have long permeated professional and educational environments.

As of June 2025, the CROWN Act has been passed in over 20 states and the U.S. Virgin Islands, with ongoing efforts to enact it at the federal level. The federal CROWN Act has passed the House of Representatives multiple times but has faced obstacles in the Senate. This ongoing legislative journey underscores the persistent struggle to achieve nationwide uniformity in hair discrimination protections, even as state-level progress continues to reshape the legal and social landscape.

Intellectual Property and Cultural Expressions ❉ A Complex Fit?

Beyond anti-discrimination statutes, the question of whether traditional textured hairstyles can be protected under intellectual property (IP) law presents a different, arguably more complex, challenge. IP frameworks like copyright, trademark, and patent law were largely designed for individual, often Western, creations, making them ill-suited for collective, evolving cultural expressions. Traditional Cultural Expressions (TCEs), which encompass artistic works, designs, and practices intrinsic to a culture, often exist outside these predefined molds.

For a traditional hairstyle to be copyrighted, it would typically need to be an original work of authorship fixed in a tangible medium, a criterion difficult to apply to practices passed down orally and adapted over generations within a community. Trademark law protects commercial branding, which might cover a specific salon’s name or logo, but not the style itself. Patent law protects inventions and processes, which also does not align with traditional hair braiding techniques that are part of collective knowledge.

The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) acknowledges the shortcomings of existing IP regimes in protecting traditional knowledge and cultural expressions. Efforts are underway to devise sui generis (unique) legal frameworks or adaptations that can better accommodate collective ownership, intergenerational transmission, and the spiritual significance often embedded in TCEs. The argument here transcends individual creativity; it focuses on the right of a community to control and benefit from its cultural heritage, particularly when it is exploited or appropriated without permission or attribution.

The casual adoption of styles like cornrows or Bantu knots by individuals outside the culture, often rebranded with new names and stripped of their historical context, exemplifies the harm of cultural appropriation, reducing a heritage to a fleeting trend. The nuanced reality is that achieving legal protection for traditional textured hairstyles under existing IP law is incredibly difficult, necessitating a broader recognition of cultural rights and collective intellectual property.

Reflection

The query of whether traditional textured hairstyles can receive legal protection extends far beyond mere legal statute. It touches the very heart of identity, cultural resilience, and the enduring power of ancestral memory. Each coil, each twist, each braid holds a lineage, a chronicle of survival, beauty, and steadfastness in the face of erasure.

Roothea’s ‘Soul of a Strand’ ethos reminds us that hair is not merely keratin and pigment; it is a repository of history, a canvas for storytelling, and a conduit for connection to those who came before. The struggle for legal protection is therefore a fight to preserve a living, breathing archive of human heritage, ensuring that the narratives etched in hair continue to speak for generations to come.

As we observe the legislative movements, particularly the CROWN Act’s passage in various states, we recognize a profound societal acknowledgment of hair’s deeper meaning. These laws begin to write into legal code what many communities have known intrinsically ❉ hair, in its authentic, textured expressions, is inextricable from racial identity and cultural legacy. It signifies a movement from a perception of hair as a mutable choice to its rightful recognition as a characteristic deeply tied to one’s being and heritage. The journey is not yet complete, as the federal landscape continues its deliberation, but the direction is clear—toward a future where textured hair is not only tolerated but celebrated, understood not just as a style, but as a sacred component of self and collective memory.

Ultimately, the quest for legal protection encourages a deeper appreciation for the ingenuity of historical hair care, the resilience of traditions, and the enduring nature of textured hair heritage. It asks us to look beyond surface aesthetics and recognize the profound cultural wisdom that has shaped these styles over millennia. This ongoing dialogue between law, society, and heritage offers an opportunity to truly honor the depth and breadth of textured hair’s past, present, and future, affirming its place as a cherished and protected form of cultural expression.