Tiffany Bailey Presents at 2024 NeMLA Conference
PhD student Tiffany Bailey recently presented at the 2024 Northeast Modern Languages Association conference. She tells us about her presentation:
“For the NeMLA panel, “If I’m Too Much Go Find Less: Beauty in Excess,” I presented a paper titled “Knot So Bad: Black Girls Loving Their Natural Hair in Children’s and Illustrated Literature.” My presentation focused on contemporary literature that teaches Black girls to love their natural curly hair and unlearn negative associations with curly hair. I analyzed two picture books (Hair Love by Matthew Cherry and Zara’s Wash Day by Zenda Walker), one young adult novel (Onyeka and the Academy of the Sun by Tolá Okogwu), and two adult graphic novels (Wash Day Diaries by Jamila Rowser and Pari(s) d’amies by Rokhaya Diallo) for their teachings and aesthetic value. I proposed that hair care is self-care for Black girls and women that helps them find and appreciate their identity. Black girls and women reject white beauty standards to redefine beauty as excess.”