Arts, Culture and Sport
Hair politics: Beyond beauty, this Ivorian hair artist used her hair to address #MeToo
Ivorian hair artist, Laetitia Ky has used her hair to speak out on rape, sexual assault and harassment. She shaped her hair to speak on the #MeToo movement. Her hair portrayed a man lifting the skirt of a woman. Laetitia’s poignant expressions are when she uses her hair to highlight women rights issues.
Ivorian hair artist Laetitia Ky last year trended on the internet and social media for the amazing work of art she did with her hair. At a time when there is a renaissance in the way African women rock their natural hair, Laetitia has broken boundaries with what she has done with her hair.
The aspiring fashion designer has used her hair to create multimedia images that address at a range of topics. In one picture, she has moulded her hair to that of a girl twerking, in another picture; she shaped her hair into a trumpet with the message “I love music so much! Sometimes I wish I can be a genius in music. You know, the kind of person with a musical ear who can sing and play a lot of music instrument!!”
Laetitia also styled her hair doing the Wakanda pose. Two hands crossed over each other, captioned “Hairstyle designed with vibranium!”. Hair is political. It has been the site of identity politics and contestation for many centuries, and it is interesting to see that Africans are beginning to reclaim their identity through embracing natural hair.
Despite the many interesting things Laetitia does with hair, probably the most poignant is when she uses her hairstyle to tackle the issue of women’s rights. With her hairstyle moulded to a scale, one with a man and the other with a woman, Laetitia asks, “At what level is the fight for women’s rights in your country?”
She answers: “In mine we still have a lot of work to do. Some women are mutilated because some believe that a woman does not have the right to have sexual fulfilment. Some women don’t have the chance to go to school because for some it is not useful to educate a woman. . . Women are paid less, sexually harassed daily, slut shamed and violence against them is justified”.
Photo: Facebook/Laetitia Ky?
“Today is a reminder of how we have a lot of work again to do. I’m sad sometimes when I realise how powerless I am in front of the situation of some women in this world. But I remember I have a powerful weapon! The possibility to speak. Think of all these women who speak every day to say NO when something is wrong. Things become a little better every day. So don’t neglect it and never lose an opportunity to speak,” she adds.
Read: Meet Laetitia: The Ivorian hair artist shows black hair is a powerful mode of self-expression
Using her hair to highlight issues women face all over the world, Laetitia joined the #MeToo movement by moulding her hair to that of a man raising the skirt of a woman. Her core messages was “Nothing justifies rape, sexual assault or harassment.”
Read: From slavery to colonialism and school rules: a history of myths about black hair
For Laetitia, hair isn’t just about beauty, but it’s also a medium to talk about the standards of beauty, body shaming and gender inequality that women go through. Hair is definitely political for her.
