Cheyenne Cochrane: A celebration of natural hair | TED

Translator: Vathana Devi Krishnasamy Reviewer: Jette Thrane

I am from the South Side of Chicago,

Jeg er fra Sydsiden af Chicago,

and in seventh grade, I had a best friend named Jenny

og i 7. klasse havde jeg en veninde der hed Jenny,

who lived on the Southwest Side of Chicago.

som boede på Sydvestsiden af Chicago.

Jenny was white,

Jenny var hvid,

and if you know anything about the segregated demographics of Chicago,

og hvis du kender noget til de inddelte befolkningsstatistikker af Chicago,

you know that there are not too many black people

ved du, at der ikke er ret mange sorte mennesker,

who live on the Southwest Side of Chicago.

på Sydvestsiden af Chicago.

But Jenny was my girl

Men Jenny var min ven

and so we would hang out every so often after school and on the weekends.

Indimellem legede vi sammen efter skole og i weekenderne.

And so one day we were hanging out in her living room,

En dag, hjemme i hendes stue

talking about 13-year-old things,

talte vi om det 13-årige taler om,

and Jenny's little sister Rosie was in the room with us,

og Jenny's lillesøster, Rosie, var der også.

and she was sitting behind me just kind of playing in my hair,

Hun sad bag mig og legede lidt med mit hår,

and I wasn't thinking too much about what she was doing.

og jeg tænkte ikke over hvad hun lavede.

But at a pause in the conversation,

Men under en pause i samtalen,

Rosie tapped me on the shoulder.

prikkede Rosie mig på skulderen.

She said, "Can I ask you a question?"

Hun sagde: "Må jeg spørge dig om noget?"

I said, "Yeah, Rosie. Sure."

Jeg sagde: "Ja, Rosie. Selvfølgelig."

"Are you black?"

"Er du sort?"

(Laughter)

(Latter)

The room froze.

Rummet frøs til is.

Silence.

Stilhed.

Jenny and Rosie's mom was not too far away.

Jenny og Rosie's mor var ikke særlig langt væk.

She was in the kitchen and she overheard the conversation,

Hun var i køkkenet, og overhørte samtalen,

and she was mortified.

og hun var forarget.

She said, "Rosie! You can't ask people questions like that."

Hun sagde: "Rosie! Det må du da ikke spørge om."

And Jenny was my friend, and I know she was really embarrassed.

Og Jenny som var min ven, blev rigtig flov.

I felt kind of bad for her, but actually I was not offended.

Jeg havde lidt ondt af hende, men jeg var faktisk ikke fornærmet.

I figured it wasn't Rosie's fault that in her 10 short years on this earth,

Jeg tænkte, at det ikke var Rosie's skyld at hun i sine 10 korte år på jorden,

living on the Southwest Side of Chicago,

bosiddende på Sydvestsiden af Chicago,

she wasn't 100 percent sure what a black person looked like.

ikke var 100% sikker på, hvordan en sort person ser ud.

That's fair.

Det er fair.

But what was more surprising to me was,

Men hvad der var mere overraskende for mig, var

in all of this time I had spent with Jenny and Rosie's family --

at i al den tid jeg var sammen med Jenny og Rosie's familie -

hanging out with them,

var sammen med dem,

playing with them,

legede med dem,

even physically interacting with them --

og rørte ved dem -

it was not until Rosie put her hands in my hair

var det først da Rosie puttede sine hænder i mit hår,

that she thought to ask me if I was black.

at hun tænkte på at spørge, om jeg var sort.

That was the first time I would realize

Det var første gang jeg indså,

how big of a role the texture of my hair played in confirming my ethnicity,

hvor stor en rolle mit hår's tekstur spillede i opfattelsen af min etnicitet,

but also that it would play a key role in how I'm viewed by others in society.

og også hvilken væsentlig rolle det havde i samfundets øjne.

Garrett A. Morgan and Madame CJ Walker were pioneers

Garrett A. Morgan og Madame CJ Walker var pionerer

of the black hair-care and beauty industry in the early 1900s.

i industrien for hår- og skønheds- pleje i det tidlige 1900-tal.

They're best known as the inventors of chemically-based hair creams

De er bedst kendt som opfindere af kemisk-baseret hår-creme

and heat straightening tools

og glattejern,

designed to permanently, or semipermanently,

som var designet til, permanent eller semipermanent,

alter the texture of black hair.

at ændre sort hår's tekstur.

Oftentimes when we think about the history of blacks in America,

Ofte, når vi tænker på de sortes historie i Amerika

we think about the heinous acts

handler det om de afskyelige handlinger

and numerous injustices that we experienced as people of color

og utallige overgreb, som farvede mennesker oplevede,

because of the color of our skin,

på grund af vores hudfarve,

when in fact, in post-Civil War America,

men sandheden er, at efter Den Amerikanske Borgerkrig,

it was the hair of an African-American male or female

var det afroamerikanske mænd og kvinders hår,

that was known as the most "telling feature" of Negro status,

der blev det mest velkendte "særpræg" i kategoriseringen af afrikanere,

more so than the color of the skin.

mere end hudfarven.

And so before they were staples

Så før de blev almindelige

of the multibillion-dollar hair-care industry,

i hårplejens milliard-industri,

our dependency on tools and products,

handlede vores afhængighed af redskaber og produkter,

like the hair relaxer and the pressing comb,

såsom hår-relaxere og den glattende kam,

were more about our survival and advancement as a race

mere om vores overlevelse og fremskridt som race

in postslavery America.

i postslaveriets Amerika.

Over the years, we grew accustomed to this idea

Gennem årene blev vi mere vant til denne tanke om,

that straighter and longer hair meant better and more beautiful.

at glattere og længere hår betød bedre og mere smuk.

We became culturally obsessed

Vi blev kulturelt fikseret af

with this idea of having what we like to call ...

denne ide om, hvad vi kan lide at kalde...

"good hair."

"godt hår".

This essentially means:

Det betyder i bund og grund at:

the looser the curl pattern, the better the hair.

jo løsere strukturen i krøllerne er, des bedre er håret.

And we let these institutionalized ideas form a false sense of hierarchy

Og vi lod disse institutionaliserede ideer forme en falskt følelse af hierarki,

that would determine what was considered a good grade of hair

der fastlagde, hvad man mente var god hår-kvalitet

and what was not.

og hvad der ikke var.

What's worse is that we let these false ideologies

Hvad værre er: vi lader disse falske ideologier

invade our perception of ourselves,

invadere opfattelsen af os selv,

and they still continue to infect our cultural identity

og de fortsætter med at inficere vores kulturelle identitet

as African-American women today.

som Afro-Amerikanske kvinder i dag.

So what did we do?

Så hvad gjorde vi?

We went to the hair salon every six to eight weeks,

Vi tog til frisørsalon hver 6. eller 8. uge,

without fail,

uden undtagelse,

to subject our scalps to harsh straightening chemicals

for at udsætte vores hovedbund for hårde udglattende kemikalier,

beginning at a very young age --

startende i en meget ung alder -

sometimes eight, 10 --

nogle gange fra 8, 10 år -

that would result in hair loss,

som resulterede i hårtab,

bald spots,

skaldede pletter,

sometimes even burns on the scalp.

endda brandsår i hovedbunden.

We fry our hair at temperatures of 450 degrees Fahrenheit or higher

Vi steger vores hår i temperaturer op til 230 grader eller mere

almost daily,

næsten dagligt,

to maintain the straight look.

for at vedligeholde det glatte look.

Or we simply cover our hair up with wigs and weaves,

Eller vi dækker vores hår med parykker og fletninger,

only to let our roots breathe in private

og lader kun hårrødderne ånde privat derhjemme,

where no one knows what's really going on under there.

hvor ingen ved, hvad der virkelig foregår derunder.

We adopted these practices in our own communities,

Vi adopterede disse skikke i vores samfund,

and so it's no wonder why today the typical ideal vision

så det er ikke underligt, at nutidens typiske ideal

of a professional black woman,

af en professionel sort kvinde,

especially in corporate America,

især i erhvervslivet i Amerika,

tends to look like this,

ofte ser sådan her ud,

rather than like this.

snarere end sådan her.

And she certainly doesn't look like this.

Og hun ser helt sikkert ikke sådan her ud.

In September of this year,

I september i år,

a federal court ruled it lawful

afgjorde en forbundsdomstol, at det er lovligt

for a company to discriminate against hiring an employee

for en virksomhed at diskriminere i ansættelse af en medarbejder,

based on if she or he wears dreadlocks.

i forhold til om hun eller han har dreadlocks.

In the case,

I denne sag,

the hiring manager in Mobile, Alabama

siger HR lederen i Mobile, Alabama,

is on record as saying,

til offentligheden,

"I'm not saying yours are messy,

"Jeg siger ikke, at jeres er uglet,

but ...

men...

you know what I'm talking about."

I ved godt, hvad jeg snakker om."

Well, what was she talking about?

Hvad snakkede hun om her?

Did she think that they were ugly?

Mente hun, at de var grimme?

Or maybe they were just a little too Afrocentric

Eller måske, at de var en smule for Afro-centriske

and pro-black-looking for her taste.

og så for pro-sort ud til hendes smag.

Or maybe it's not about Afrocentricity,

Det handler måske ikke om Afro-centrisme,

and it's more just about it being a little too "urban"

og måske mere om at være for "urban"

for the professional setting.

til de professionelle rammer.

Perhaps she had a genuine concern in that they looked "scary"

Måske bekymrede det hende at, de ser "skræmmende" ud,

and that they would intimidate the clients and their customer base.

og ville skræmme klienter og kundebase.

All of these words are ones that are too often associated

Alle disse ord knyttes alt for ofte

with the stigma attached to natural hairstyles.

til stigmaet forbundet med naturlig hårstil.

And this ...

Og dette...

this has got to change.

bliver nødt til at ændre sig.

In 2013,

I 2013,

a white paper published by the Deloitte Leadership Center for Inclusion,

blev en artikel udgivet af Deloitte Leadership Center for Inclusion,

studied 3,000 individuals in executive leadership roles

som studerede 3000 individer i administrative lederstillinger,

on the concept of covering in the workplace

ift. begrebet tilpasning på arbejdspladser

based on appearance, advocacy, affiliation and association.

baseret på udseende, tilskyndelse, tilknytning og forbindelse.

When thinking about appearance-based covering,

I forbindelse med tilpasning relateret til udseende,

the study showed

viste undersøgelsen,

that 67 percent of women of color cover in the workplace

at 67% af farvede kvinder tilpasser sig på arbejdspladsen

based on their appearance.

grundet deres udseende.

Of the total respondents who admitted to appearance-based covering,

Ud af alle de der erkendte at tilpasse deres udseende,

82 percent said that it was somewhat to extremely important

sagde 82%, at det var lidt eller utroligt vigtigt

for them to do so for their professional advancement.

for dem at gøre dette, af hensyn til karrieren.

Now, this is Ursula Burns.

Dette er Ursula Burns.

She is the first African-American female CEO of a Fortune 500 company --

Hun er den første kvindelige Afro-Amerikanske CEO i et Fortune 500 -

of Xerox.

nemlig Xerox.

She's known by her signature look,

Hun er kendt for sit signatur-look,

the one that you see here.

det, du ser her.

A short, nicely trimmed, well-manicured Afro.

Et kort, nydeligt trimmet, vel-manicureret Afro.

Ms. Burns is what we like to call a "natural girl."

Fru Burns er lidt det, vi kalder en "naturlig pige".

And she is paving the way and showing what's possible

Og hun baner vejen og viser, hvad der muligt

for African-American women seeking to climb the corporate ladder,

for Afro-Amerikanske kvinder, som ønsker at gøre karriere,

but still wishing to wear natural hairstyles.

men stadig ønsker en naturlig hårstil.

But today the majority of African-American women

Men idag vælger størstedelen af de Afro-Amerikanske kvinder,

who we still look to as leaders, icons and role models,

vi ser op til som ledere, ikoner og rollemodeller,

still opt for a straight-hair look.

stadig at glatte håret.

Now,

Så,

maybe it's because they want to --

måske er det, fordi de gerne vil -

this is authentically how they feel best --

det er, hvad de faktisk føler sig bedst tilpas med -

but maybe --

men måske -

and I bet --

og jeg vil vædde på det -

a part of them felt like they had to

en del af dem følte, at de var nødt til det,

in order to reach the level of success that they have attained today.

for at nå det niveau af success, de har opnået idag.

There is a natural hair movement that is sweeping the country

Der er en naturlig hårbevægelse, som fejer gennem landet,

and also in some places in Europe.

også steder som Europa.

Millions of women are exploring what it means to transition to natural hair,

Milllioner af kvinder udforsker, betydningen af at have naturlig hår,

and they're cutting off years and years of dry, damaged ends

og de klipper hårspidser der er skadet gennem mange år

in order to restore their natural curl pattern.

for at genoprette naturlige krøller.

I know because I have been an advocate and an ambassador for this movement

Jeg ved det, fordi jeg har været fortaler og ambassadør for bevægelsen,

for roughly the last three years.

i omkring tre år.

After 27 years of excessive heat and harsh chemicals,

Efter 27 år med overdrevet varme og hårde kemikalier,

my hair was beginning to show extreme signs of wear and tear.

var mit hår begyndt at vise tegn på ekstrem slid.

It was breaking off,

Det var ved at falde af,

it was thinning,

det var ved at blive tyndt,

looking just extremely dry and brittle.

det så ekstremt tørt og skrøbeligt ud.

All those years of chasing that conventional image of beauty

Alle de års jagt efter et konventionel billede af skønhed,

that we saw earlier

som vi så tidligere,

was finally beginning to take its toll.

var begyndt at trække spor.

I wanted to do something about it,

Jeg ønskede at gøre noget ved det,

and so I started what I called the "No Heat Challenge,"

så jeg startede, hvad jeg kalder "Drop Varme Udfordringen",

where I would refrain from using heat styling tools on my hair

hvor jeg ikke bruger glattejern o.lign. i mit hår

for six months.

i seks måneder.

And like a good millennial,

Og som en god årgang-0'er,

I documented it on social media.

dokumenterede jeg det på sociale medier.

(Laughter)

(Latter)

I documented as I reluctantly cut off

Jeg dokumenterede, selvom jeg modvilligt klippede

three to four inches of my beloved hair.

tre til fire tommer af mit elskede hår.

I documented as I struggled to master these natural hairstyles,

Jeg dokumenterede, selvom jeg kæmpede med at mestre naturlige frisyrer,

and also as I struggled to embrace them

også mens jeg kæmpede med at favne dem

and think that they actually looked good.

og mene, at de faktisk så godt ud.

And I documented as my hair texture slowly began to change.

Og jeg dokumenterede hvordan mit hår's struktur langsomt ændre sig.

By sharing this journey openly,

Ved at dele denne rejse åbent,

I learned that I was not the only woman going through this

lærte jeg, at jeg ikke var den eneste kvinde, som gennemgik dette,

and that in fact there were thousands and thousands of other women

at der faktisk var tusinder af kvinder,

who were longing to do the same.

som længtes efter det samme.

So they would reach out to me and they would say,

De kontaktede mig, og sagde:

"Cheyenne, how did you do that natural hairstyle

"Cheyenne, hvordan fik du denne naturlige hårstil,

that I saw you with the other day?

som jeg så dig med her den anden dag?

What new products have you started using

Hvilke nye produkter benytter du,

that might be a little better for my hair texture

som måske er bedre for mit hår's struktur,

as it begins to change?"

nu hvor det ændrer sig?"

Or, "What are some of the natural hair routines

Eller "hvilke rutiner er der for naturlig hår,

that I should begin to adopt to slowly restore the health of my hair?"

som jeg burde starte for at genoprette hårets balance?"

But I also found that there were a large number of women

Men jeg fandt også ud af, at et stort antal kvinder,

who were extremely hesitant to take that first step

var ekstremt tøvende, overfor det første skridt,

because they were paralyzed by fear.

fordi de var lammet af skræk.

Fear of the unknown --

Frygt for det ukendte -

what would they now look like?

hvordan vil de se ud nu?

How would they feel about themselves with these natural hairstyles?

Hvad vil de synes om deres naturlige hårstil?

And most importantly to them,

Og mest vigtigt,

how would others view them?

hvordan vil andre se dem?

Over the last three years

Gennem de seneste tre år,

of having numerous conversations with friends of mine

og gennem utallige samtaler med mine venner,

and also complete strangers from around the world,

og med fremmede rundt i verden,

I learned some really important things

lærte jeg nogle vigtige ting om,

about how African-American women identify with their hair.

hvordan Afro-Amerikanske kvinder identificerer sig med deres hår.

And so when I think back

Når jeg tænker tilbage

to that hiring manager in Mobile, Alabama,

på den HR leder fra Mobile, Alabama,

I'd say, "Actually, no.

ville jeg sige: "Nej, faktisk ikke.

We don't know what you're talking about."

Vi ved ikke, hvad du snakker om."

But here are some things that we do know.

Men her er nogle ting, som vi ved.

We know that when black women embrace their love for their natural hair,

Vi ved, at når sorte kvinder favner deres naturlige hår med åbne arme,

it helps to undo generations of teaching

hjælper det med at løsne op for generationers indlæring om,

that black in its natural state is not beautiful,

at sort i dets naturlige form ikke er smukt,

or something to be hidden or covered up.

eller er noget, som skal gemmes væk eller dækkes til.

We know that black women express their individuality

Vi ved, at sorte kvinder udtrykker deres individualitet

and experience feelings of empowerment

og får følelsen af styrke

by experimenting with different hairstyles regularly.

ved ofte at forsøge sig med en ny hårstil.

And we also know

Og vi ved også,

that when we're invited to wear our natural hair in the workplace,

at når vi inviteres til at have naturlig hår på arbejdspladsen,

it reinforces that we are uniquely valued

bekræfter det os i, at vi er værdsat,

and thus helps us to flourish and advance professionally.

og dette hjælper os til at udfolde os og udvikle os professionelt.

I leave you with this.

Jeg giver Jer dette:

In a time of racial and social tension,

I en tid med racisme og social spænding,

embracing this movement

Favn denne bevægelse,

and others like this

og andre som på samme vis,

help us to rise above the confines of the status quo.

hjælper os med at sprænge rammerne for status quo.

So when you see a woman with braids or locks draping down her back,

Når du ser en kvinde med fletninger eller lokker ned at ryggen,

or you notice your colleague

eller du ser din kollega,

who has stopped straightening her hair to work,

der ikke længere glatter sit hår,

do not simply approach her and admire

så lad være med at se beundrende på hende,

and ask her if you can touch it --

og spørge om du må røre ved det -

(Laughter)

(Latter)

Really appreciate her.

Værdsæt hende oprigtigt.

Applaud her.

Ros hende.

Heck, even high-five her if that's what you feel so inclined to do.

Hvad fanden, giv hende en high-five, hvis det er, hvad du har lyst til.

Because this --

Fordi -

this is more than about a hairstyle.

det er mere end bare et hårstil.

It's about self-love and self-worth.

Det handler om at elske sig selv og at have selvværd.

It's about being brave enough

Det handler om, at være modig nok,

not to fold under the pressure of others' expectations.

til ikke at bukke under for pres fra andres forventninger.

And about knowing that making the decision to stray from the norm

Og det handler om bevidst at afvige fra normen,

does not define who we are,

og vide at den ikke definerer, hvem vi er,

but it simply reveals who we are.

men blot viser, hvem vi er.

And finally,

Til sidst,

being brave is easier

at være modig er lettere,

when we can count on the compassion of others.

når vi kan regne med medfølelse fra andre.

So after today,

Så efter idag,

I certainly hope that we can count on you.

håber jeg, at vi kan regne med jer.

Thank you.

Tak.

(Applause)

(Bifald)