American Anthropological Association Conference

Becoming Cosmetologists: Becoming Cosmetologists: Language Socialization in Language Socialization in

an African American an African American Beauty CollegeBeauty College

Lanita Jacobs-HueyAnthropology and American Studies & Ethnicity

University of Southern California November 19, 2003

Why Study Hair?Cultural Significance of PlaceCultural Significance of Place

Beauty Salon/Kitchen as Quintessential “Black Women’s Space”

Cultural Significance of Cultural Significance of PracticePractice

Hair Care Practice as Cultural and Highly Gendered eventsPractices and Places of Hair Care are, likewise, Important Sites of Language and Identity Socialization

Cultural Significance of HairCultural Significance of HairSocio-Political Semiotics of HairCultural Discourse(s) around both Hair and Hair Care

Cultural Sites of Black Hair Care

Home Hair CareHome Hair Care (Oakland, CA)Beauty SalonsBeauty Salons (Oakland, CA, Los Angeles, CA)Regional & International Hair ExposRegional & International Hair Expos (Los Angeles, CA, Columbia, SC, Atlanta, GA, London, England)Hair Educational SeminarsHair Educational Seminars (Los Angeles and Beverly Hills, CA, Charleston and Columbia, SC, Atlanta, GA, London, England)Christian Cosmetology AssociationChristian Cosmetology Association (Los Angeles, CA)Electronic/Listserv CommunitiesElectronic/Listserv Communities(Cyberspace)Cosmetology SchoolCosmetology School (Charleston, SC)

200 Hours of Recorded Data200 Hours of Recorded Data

From the Kitchen to the Parlor: Language & Becoming in Black Women’s Hair Care

66--year, multiyear, multi--sited sited ethnographic studyethnographic studyExplored women’s Explored women’s talk in beauty talk in beauty salons, hair salons, hair seminars, seminars, cosmetology cosmetology schools, bible study schools, bible study meetings, and, more meetings, and, more recently, black recently, black standup comedystandup comedyIssues of Issues of representation often representation often at heart of my at heart of my observations and observations and discoveriesdiscoveries

The Cosmetology Institute: Learning from Mistakes

Breaches (Breaches (GarfinkelGarfinkel 1967) or 1967) or “breaks in frames” (“breaks in frames” (GoffmanGoffman1981) happen when clients or 1981) happen when clients or stylists act “out of line” or in stylists act “out of line” or in other ways contest or subvert other ways contest or subvert their respective role expectations their respective role expectations as hair novices and hair expertsas hair novices and hair expertsClients can “break” implicit Clients can “break” implicit frames governing clientframes governing client--stylist stylist negotiations by asking too many negotiations by asking too many questions (Jacobsquestions (Jacobs--Huey 1996a) Huey 1996a) or actively monitoring the or actively monitoring the progression of their hairstyleprogression of their hairstyle

Learning from MistakesStylist, too, can disrupt implicit Stylist, too, can disrupt implicit institutional “scripts” (institutional “scripts” (SchankSchank & & AbelsonAbelson 1977) governing client1977) governing client--stylist stylist negotiationsnegotiations

Publicly or indirectly criticizing Publicly or indirectly criticizing colleague’s workcolleague’s workLexical breaches (saying “curling iron” Lexical breaches (saying “curling iron” versus “curler”) can mitigate the versus “curler”) can mitigate the professional nature of professional nature of cosmetologicalcosmetologicalpracticepractice

Breaches often compel speakers to Breaches often compel speakers to “bracket” or animate what went wrong “bracket” or animate what went wrong or was supposed to happen in or was supposed to happen in interaction (interaction (SchieffelinSchieffelin 1990)1990)

Learning from MistakesEthnographic & discourse Ethnographic & discourse analysanalys--eses of breach episodes reveal:of breach episodes reveal:

How cHow clients, stylists, and students lients, stylists, and students “bracket” specific linguistic exchanges“bracket” specific linguistic exchanges

Implicit linguistic ideologies about the Implicit linguistic ideologies about the communicative roles that distinguish communicative roles that distinguish service providers service providers from from service service recipients recipients in hair care in hair care Ideas about communicative stances Ideas about communicative stances deemed “suitable” for students and deemed “suitable” for students and their clients during hair caretheir clients during hair careThe “voices” (e.g., cultural, The “voices” (e.g., cultural, professional) employed by clients, professional) employed by clients, students, stylists in the execution students, stylists in the execution and/or resolution of a breachand/or resolution of a breachSpeakers’ mental states and intentions Speakers’ mental states and intentions in the perpetration of a “breach”in the perpetration of a “breach”

Linguistic Breaches inthe Field

LanitaLanita: : Mrs. Collins do Mrs. Collins do you plan on you plan on washing your washing your hair today?hair today?Mrs. CollinsMrs. Collins::Do you mean Do you mean shampoo?shampoo?Because you Because you wash dogs not wash dogs not hair.hair.

Linguistic Breaches beyond the Field

The Essay:The Essay: “Like Combing through My Kitchen with a Fine-Toothed Comb”The Ultimate Breach:The Ultimate Breach:Calling My Mother Out of Her NameThe Reprimand:The Reprimand: “I am not a hairdresser! I don’t dress the hair. I cultivate the hair.”

Insights from the Breach

Language a means of constructing expert identityProfessional talk as a means of socializing novices into proper discourse knowledge and roles

Reverberations across the Data

Language Socialization in Cosmetology SchoolLanguage Socialization in Advanced Hair Care SeminarsContending with Vulnerability: Exposing the Breach

Reverberations across the Data

Language Socialization Language Socialization in Cosmetology Schoolin Cosmetology SchoolLanguage Socialization in Advanced Hair Care SeminarsContending with Vulnerability: Exposing the Breach

Becoming Cosmetologists

Learning the Science of Hair = Learning the Professional Language of CosmetologyStudents learn to abandon Cultural/Kitchen Terminology for Scientific TerminologyStudents learn the symbolic power of word choice and correction as a rhetorical display of one’s expertise

Client-Stylist Negotiation at TCI

Client: Hi, I want to get something for this bad hair day hehheh

Ms. Smith: What do you want?

Client: A perm

Ms. Smith: A relaxer?

Client: A relaxer

Ms. Smith: Okay, that will be $20

Client-Stylist Negotiation at TCI

Client: Hi, I want to get somethingfor this bad hair day heh heh

Ms. Smith: What do you want?

Client: A perm

Ms. Smith: A relaxer? A relaxer?

Client: A relaxer

Ms. Smith: Okay, that will be $20

Ms. Smith’s rising intonation marks her reply

as a question; an explicit repair

Ms. Smith’s rising intonation marks her reply

as a question; an explicit repair

Client-Stylist Negotiation at TCI

Client: Hi, I want to get something for this bad hair day heh heh

Ms. Smith: What do you want?

Client: A perm

Ms. Smith: A relaxer? A relaxer?

Client: A relaxer

Ms. Smith: Okay, that Okay, that

will be $20will be $20

Ms. Smith’s rising intonation marks

her reply as a question; an

explicit repair

Ms. Smith’s rising intonation marks

her reply as a question; an

explicit repair

Only when client provides “right”

answer is her request legitimized

before all

Only when client provides “right”

answer is her request legitimized

before all

The Work of Correction

Linguistic means of displaying expertise and socializing novices

Ms. Smith’s correction establishes establishes her expertise as a stylist/teacherher expertise as a stylist/teacherMs. Smith’s repair also socializes the socializes the client to respect her knowledgeclient to respect her knowledgeand use “proper” salon use “proper” salon communication when making a communication when making a hairstyle requesthairstyle requestThe client’s subsequent visit proves this socialization to be a “success”

Breaches in preferred courses of discursive action can be actively or tacitly used to provoke repairs and, as such, act as mediators of language and cultural socialization (Mertz 1992)

Reverberations across the Data

Language Socialization in Cosmetology SchoolLanguage Socialization Language Socialization in Advanced Hair Care in Advanced Hair Care SeminarsSeminarsContending with Vulnerability: Exposing the Breach

Language Socialization in Advanced Hair Care

Seminars

““We are We are like like

Doctors” Doctors” [Transcript 1][Transcript 1]

“We are Like Doctors”

Language as a Mediator of Professional IdentityMeta-pragmatic Ideology of Language

Language as a resource in the socialization of professional beings

What’s at stake?

What’s at Stake?

““Clients as Clients as Potential Potential

Competitors” Competitors” [Transcript 2][Transcript 2]

Clients as Potential Competitors

Dilemma: Hairstylists’ skill and knowledge must be constructed and is oft-contestedBecause clients are not “dependent” on stylists to the same degree as patients are on doctors, Khalif stresses the importance of obscuring clients’ lay knowledge and hair care skillStylists rely on the register of medical discourse and an ideological alignment with doctors to represent themselves as experts

What’s at Stake?Clients as Potential CompetitorsCosmetologists’ Cosmetologists’ expertise is subject expertise is subject to contestation, to contestation, resistance,resistance, and ridicule

What’s at Stake? Social Face

Expositions on the “Difficult Expositions on the “Difficult Client”Client”

“She [client] steady struggling to see. I turn her chair this way, she turning against me…” (Deirdre, TCI Student)

After Lynn (TCI student) completes a client’s hair, the client picks up Lynn’s curling iron and proceeds to curl her hair. After the client leaves, another sympathetic client observes, “You have to be patient, huh?” Lynn responds, “Yeah, I have to be in my profes-sion.” The client adds, “Yeah, I do too … but that client tried to curl her hair with your curler!” Lynn replies, “Yeah, but I took it away from her.”

What’s at Stake?

Clients as Potential CompetitorsCosmetologists’ Cosmetologists’ expertise is subject expertise is subject toto contestation, resistance, and ridiculeridicule

What’s at Stake?

“Hairstylists? …You “Hairstylists? …You know ya’ll know ya’ll ain’tain’tsh%! right?” sh%! right?”

[Comedy Clip][Comedy Clip]

Black Humor as a Marker of Local Knowledge

Black/“urban” standup comedy as a communal forum

Black comedy exposes in-group/cultural knowledge and secrets

Black comedy as counterhegemonic narrative

Black comedy “speaks truth to power”

Jokes about black stylists and Jokes about black stylists and black hair salons, as well as black hair salons, as well as audience’s laughter, reveal local audience’s laughter, reveal local knowledgeknowledge

Reverberations across the Data

Language Socialization in Cosmetology SchoolLanguage Socialization in Advanced Hair Care SeminarsContending with Contending with Vulnerability: Vulnerability: Exposing the BreachExposing the Breach

Contending with Vulnerability

Cosmetology Students = Vulnerable SubjectsClient’s challenges can = assaults on students’ professional faceResolution of linguistic breaches further reveal “what is at stake” in language and representa-tion for student and licensed stylists

The Case of Multiple Breaches

Notes from the FieldNotes from the Field(See Handout, Pg. 3)

The Case of Multiple Breaches

Notes from the FieldNotes from the Field(See Handout, Pg. 3)

Clients distinction between “cut”and “trim” and reference to her 46 years of hair care service situate her as co-expert Ms. Collins must empathize with the client, while preserving her own professional face - even as the client threatens to subvert itHigh-stakes engagement before attentive audience of vulnerable and impressionable bystanders (e.g., clients and students)

The Case of Multiple Breaches

Notes from the FieldNotes from the Field(See Handout, Pg. 3)

Deirdre, an “unratified partici-pant,” signifies on the perceived inappropriateness of the client’s verbal and nonverbal behavior: “Acting like she the stylist … No she didn’t!”The client recognizes herself to be the intended target and, in turn, exposes and critiques Deirdre’s interferenceMrs. Collins also attempts to silence DeirdreMrs. Collins’ failure to align with Deirdre is viewed by students as a stance of disloyalty

The Case of Multiple Breaches

What counts as a linguistic breach?Who is responsible for the breach (i.e., client, student, teacher)? These questions become the focus of a subsequent lesson on “Salon Management”(Transcripts 3(Transcripts 3--4)4)

Where’s the Breach?Transcript 3Transcript 3 (See Handout, Pg. 4)

Where’s the Breach?Transcript 3Transcript 3 (See Handout, Pg. 4)

Mrs. Collins’ comments seem apropos to the earlier exchange involving her, Deirdre, and the disgruntled client (lines 16-20)Deirdre contests the relevance of the textbook script to interactions at the school; she feels clients unfairly exploit student labor and treat them poorly (line 21)

Where’s the Breach?Transcript 4Transcript 4 (See Handout, Pg. 5-6)

Where’s the Breach?Transcript 4Transcript 4 (See Handout, Pg. 5-6)

Deirdre invokes the case of “multiple breaches” and again critiques the clients’ perceived breach of stylists’ professional face (lines 41-43)Deirdre acknowledges her “veiled” critique of client (line 42)Mrs. Collins explicitly problematizes Deirdre’s involvement (lines 44, 46)

Where’s the Breach?Transcript 4Transcript 4 (See Handout, Pg. 5-6)

In particular, Mrs. Collins suggests that a client-stylist negotiation is a personal affair and Deirdre breached this implicit contract (lines 55, 57, 60, 66, 72, 75)Deirdre disavows her “veiled” critique of the client (lines 56, 58)Deirdre problematizesclient’s “expert” stance (lines 71, 73-74)

Where’s the Breach?Transcript 4Transcript 4 (See Handout, Pg. 5-6)

Deirdre perceives Mrs. Collins to be complicit in breaching implicit linguistic protocols governing stylists’ conduct by occasionally obliging clients’ hair care requests for a seasoned cosmetologist (lines 49, 67-69, 76-91)While Deirdre and Mrs. Collins disagree on the exact nature and person(s) responsible for the breach, they broach a consensus on clients’ need to understand the fact that students are (still) learning (lines 93-95)

Final RemarksLanguage is an important mediator of Language is an important mediator of stylistsstylists’’ professional identityprofessional identity

Lexical ChoicesLexical ChoicesLinguistic IdeologyLinguistic Ideology

Language socialization is a principal Language socialization is a principal means through which cosmetology means through which cosmetology students students ““becomebecome”” cosmetologists and cosmetologists and stylistsstylists’’ affirm their membership in a affirm their membership in a shared (and ever vulnerable) shared (and ever vulnerable) community of practicecommunity of practiceCorrection is but one of many means Correction is but one of many means of socializing novices to respect of socializing novices to respect stylistsstylists’’ authority and knowledgeauthority and knowledge

Learning from the Breach

Breaches reveal the linguistic Breaches reveal the linguistic ideologies and strategies which ideologies and strategies which comprise stylistscomprise stylists’’ faceface--work (work (GoffmanGoffman1967)1967)Students are socialized Students are socialized throughthrough and and totoprofessional identity and language use professional identity and language use –– even in the violation and subsequent even in the violation and subsequent reconstitution of communal and reconstitution of communal and institutional metainstitutional meta--scripts.scripts.The professional and cultural discourse The professional and cultural discourse strategies student and licensed stylists strategies student and licensed stylists employ to mitigate threats to their employ to mitigate threats to their individual and collective social face individual and collective social face reveal implicit linguistic contracts reveal implicit linguistic contracts governing their servicegoverning their service--related related encounters.encounters.

Learning from the Breach

Whether enacted by clients or stylists, Whether enacted by clients or stylists, unwittingly or intentionally unwittingly or intentionally –– breaches breaches are prime occasions in which to are prime occasions in which to investigate TCI studentsinvestigate TCI students’’ acquisition acquisition and use of professional and use of professional literaciesliteracies

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