A Relationship Built on Hair

Love is certainly more than running one's hands through a lover's hair, but these commercials from the Philippines seem to think otherwise. In fact, they join dozens of other hair commercials that propagate the image of long, straight hair as a desirable norm - and curly hair as a relationship wrecker.



In this TV commercial for a popular shampoo, we find a pair of lovers sitting on a park bench. The man moves closer to the girl constantly and tries to run his hands through her hair, but every time he does, she moves away or finds something to do to distract him. We then get images about an impending separation - until the girl apparently takes charge and shampoos her hair with the right shampoo. With her hair now straight and black, she has more confidence, and she and her man become much closer. Of course, anyone watching the commercial might make the excuse that it merely shows how a woman has to have confidence in order to be loved; confidence can only come from loving oneself; but loving oneself, contrary to this commercial's message, need not necessarily come from having straight hair.

Most shampoo commercials in the Philippines operate on stereotypes, with a woman getting pushed down because of her non-straight, non-shiny, non-black hair. A woman cannot keep a relationship running, get a man, keep a career, or be successful, in general, without desirable hair. The scene presented however, is not typical: it is difficult to have a picnic in a park in Manila, what with all the pollution; and no picnic ground is that well-trimmed unless it's reserved for the upper classes. In presenting an image of richness, and then tying it in with the desirability of dark and straight hair, prospective customers are led to believe that they too can attain better lifestyles by merely shampooing their hair to straight perfection.

Although this may seem to be reading too much into the issue, I find that such commercials can change people's minds about the richness of beauty that can be found beyond hair and white skin. My own hairdresser used to urge me to straighten my hair because curly hair was "wrong." Commercial models usually have white skin and very dark, straight hair. Standards are being set - but should there be standards at all?