Successful Women and Racist Hair Banning

I saw a couple articles in MORE Magazine (I know I"m outing my age ;) Anyway, the articles are by women building or changing their careers and aimed at women but you guys could learn something too ;)

Reinventing Real Estate - two women who broke the NAS's monopoly on house sales by launching the country's largest for-sale-by-owner web site

The Cost of Passion - women who have left high paying but soul killing jobs for lower pay but higher creativity, satisfaction, and affirmation

The Voice of Authority - women increasing their power in media, politics and world affairs yet still struggling with how that voice of authority should look and sound. .....

This article is especially interesting today as in the news is an article about a club banning certain hairstyles: braids, corn rows, dread locks. So interesting that appearance, hair styles and mostly hair color, has been used against women to suggest we are flighty, loose, frumpy, etc. and now appearance, again hair, is being used against men, specifically black men, to suggest they are violent.

I wonder that since the playing field between men and women, and between minorities and the dominant culture is leveling in terms of education, income, resources, etc. Is appearance going to become the way to suggest someone is lesser-than? In the article, they describe the barrage of negativity aimed at Couric becoming news anchor is solely focused on her gender and appearance - not her perfomance (and she hadn't even started yet) - as a means to already undermine her cred. So, here in a city that is becoming African-American dominant - where it is becoming a more level field in terms of education, presence in politics, presence in medicine and law, and buying power, is the braid banning is happening as the new way to undermine and label as violent the new generation of young black males? While we do have gangs (which is the population the hair banning is aimed at) in Richmond, and the most visible gangs are black men, we also have a large population of educated black men who give their time to social work, politics, medicine, civil rights, teaching, and the arts. And guess what, a lot of them wear braids, corn rows, and dreads. They don't carry weapons, they don't do drive-by shootings, and they don't sell drugs, but they wouldn't be allowed in that club.