I chose my hair straightener.

Description: This object is primarily plastic on the outside. The plates used as the heating elements are made from titanium. Obviously the mechanics of this object are covered inside part of the plastic pieces. There is also a cord to connect it to a electrical source to heat it.

Deduction: This object is used for flattening curly or otherwise un-straight strands of hair with the titanium heated elements. I would assume that it is primarily used by women, since culturally they more often then men, have more hair, hence more to straighten. The largest group to use this item would be women. Primarily located in the bathroom or where a woman would do her hair or makeup. Could also be located in most salons for styling purposes.

Speculation: In a culture where it seems that beauty is held above all else, it would seem that this item was created to perpetuate the value of “beauty”. The idea that fuzzy untamed hair is not beautiful and should or could be flattened, or even the grass is greener on the other side. Those who have straight hair want natural curls, or those who have natural curls want straight hair. I think this item was created in a culture that something you don’t naturally have will make your more appealing if you did have it.

Complex questions:

Will society always value physical beauty as much as we do now?

We all know the grass isn’t always greener on the other side, so why do we as a society strive for something others have that we don’t? In terms of physical beauty?

Is it the object perpetuating the need for physically beautiful attributes or is it us as a society perpetuating it by using the object?

Resources

-Thompson, Cheryl. “Black Women and Identity: What’s Hair Got to Do with It?” Black Women and Identity: What’s Hair Got to Do With It? 2008. Accessed February 18, 2016. http://hdl.handle.net/2027/spo.ark5583.0022.105.

 

This article talks directly about specifics involving hair, though the discussion revolves around women of African decent. The author talks about how different types of hairstyles define different parts of these women’s lives and identities.

 

-Tate, Shirley. “Black Beauty: Shade, Hair and Anti-racist Aesthetics.” Ethnic and Racial Studies 30, no. 2 (February 02, 2007): 300-19. Accessed February 18, 2016. Taylor and Francis Online. doi: 10.1080/01419870601143992

 

This article does not apply as much as the previous one, but it does discuss the afro of African American women being and identifier for again, many aspects of life and identity.

I did not find any articles or blogs discussing a hair straightener or flat iron culture specifically. When using “cultural history of hair straightener” to search, almost all of the articles or blogs or websites that followed were about black women and what hair or hairstyles represented. There were a few articles that discussed black women finding it necessary or societally appealing to wear their naturally curly hair straight to gain some level of elite. The articles talked about flattened or straightened hair for African American woman representing them in a higher class then those with curly or natural hair. I don’t know how the authors of the articles I listed could be related to Prown’s method because there were not talking specifically about the object, but more touching on what the object was capable of creating because of our society.

 

 

 

Hey y’all! I decided to choose the comb from amongst the other items in my bathroom. Here is my Prownian analysis.

Description: The object is of a red color. There are fine teeth-like parts on the object. These “teeth” are evenly spaced and pointy at the ends. It is about 6 or 7 inches in length and is made out of some sort of plastic.

Deduction: It looks like the object is used by an individual, but many individuals may use it. The object can be used by men, women, or children. The object is located in the bathroom primarily. The object’s purpose is to fix or arrange messy hair into a more neatly manner. The person who uses this object cares about their appearance, which makes sense because the object can enhance the appearance.

Speculation: Anybody who uses this object probably cares about their appearance and what their hair looks like. The producer of this product chose to use plastic, does this mean that the producer doesn’t care about their impact on the environment? Does the consumer of this product make a good decision to buy a plastic, rather than a wooden, ceramic, etc. , version of this object? Is it cheaper or easier to mass produce this object with plastic, rather than a more decomposable material?

Open Web source:

Freinkel, Susan. “A Brief History of Plastic’s Conquest of the World.” Scientific American. May 29, 2011. http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/a-brief-history-of-plastic-world-conquest/.

Combs are one of the oldest tools and are/have been used by humans across many different cultures for detangling, decoration, and delousing of the hair. Amongst every other beauty/health and hygiene product, the comb has not changed very much other than the material used to make it.

 

Peer-Reviewed Source:

Kardash, O. V., and T. M. Ponomareva. 2012. “MEDIEVAL (9TH-13TH CENTURY) COMBS FROM NORTHWESTERN SIBERIA.” Archaeology, Ethnology & Anthropology Of Eurasia (Elsevier Science) 40, no. 2: 72-82. Academic Search Premier, EBSCOhost (accessed January 26, 2016).

Until the 13^th Century, the native peoples of Northwestern Siberia used mostly unilateral combs made from bone or a single piece of wood. These medieval unilateral combs were not only used for hygiene but also as elements of “coiffure” and amulets.

I’m going to use the first web source to expand on the author’s method of understanding the object. The author looks at how the object came to be, how it was made as a hand tool, how people from the past would know exactly what to do with a present-day comb, and how it was not only used for hygiene, but also for decoration in the hair. The author talks about the shape, practicality, versatility, and other aspects of the comb, which compares to Prown’s methods in a way.