Hair Apparent: A Voyage Around My Roots

Growing up in the ’60s as a Black face in a white space, Tina Shingler always knew that her well-being depended on her ability to assimilate. As a Black Barnardo’s child, Tina was ‘boarded out’ to a white foster family in rural Yorkshire. Overwhelmed by the complex texture of Black hair, her foster mother resorted to chopping back Tina’s curls as close to her scalp as possible. Being unceremoniously shorn like a sheep felt like a punishment for having such troublesome hair. Today, however, many Black girls are growing up confident in the knowledge that their naturally kinky hair in all its amazing transmutations is a powerful expression not only of their identity but also of their individual style. And despite getting off to a bad start with it, Tina has ‘grown into’ her hair and now appreciates and enjoys its incredible versatility. It has helped her understand herself better, forge her own identity and create a sense of her own worth better than any self-improvement manual.