Thread by @RewireNewsGroup

Hi friends! @AngryBlackLady here. I want to talk about this for a minute:

https://twitter.com/LeslieMac/status/1409676431601258496?s=20

An OB-GYN in Columbus, Ohio has a policy banning patients from wearing bonnets.

Considering the vast majority of women who wear bonnets are Black women, this bonnet ban is the sort of microaggressive racism that Black women face every day. It’s discriminatory.

A bonnet ban is an extension of the hair discrimination that Black women face regularly. Black women wear bonnets in order to protect our hair—rain and frizz, for example, can be the kiss of death for some Black women, especially those with chemically straightened hair.

I’ve written about how seemingly race neutral policies regarding hair styles can negatively impact Black people and reify white supremacist notions about what hair is ✌️🏿supposed✌️🏿 to look like. rewirenewsgroup.com/ablc/2017/04/1…

But why do Black women go to such lengths to maintain their hair?

The TL;DR is white supremacy.

Society pushes us to make our hair “professional” or “presentable” and that generally means eschewing natural hairstyles for those deemed "professional" or "presentable" by white European beauty standards.

We can't be too "ethnic."

I wrote about the ways in which Black women adapt, shift, and code-switch in order to comport with standards foisted upon us by white supremacy.

It's exhausting. rewirenewsgroup.com/article/2014/0…

Black women exist under a lot of scrutiny. We often hide our true selves to counteract negative stereotypes about us—that we are too loud, angry, and aggressive. Black women often adapt our style of dress, our emotional responses, and our language just to navigate the world.

And that’s simply to get through the work day.

Now imagine that you’re pregnant, and you go to your OB-GYN—a place where you are supposed to feel safe—only to find out that your doctor is policing your appearance based on racist stereotypes?

It will inevitably place a strain on the trust that should exist in a doctor-patient relationship. Black women already face systemic bias and racist barriers when it comes to medical treatment. There’s a reason that the Black maternal mortality rate is so high.

Placing signage in an OB/GYN office that singles out a cultural practice among Black women contributes to the oppression and mistreatment that pregnant Black women face in the medical system.

At a time when health-care workers should be making this country a more hospitable birthing environment and working to reduce the maternal mortality rate, by targeting Black women and policing their appearance, this clinic in Columbus, Ohio is doing the opposite.

Shameful.