The narrative of a young, black, abused girl is framed in “broken Strand” to describe the grievous distress regularly and generationally occurring in the black, Puerto Rican community of Trastalleres. Yetsaida, the young black girl, is seen by the audience severely obsessing over the style of her hair – a shallow topic if the proper context is not applied. She is a girl that has lived a faithful routine of verbal and physical abuse in her home life. As the abuse is the result of her father, she is unable to come into a position of influence in her situation. Throughout the story, the audience witnesses her majorly talking in regards to her hair and her desires with what she wants to do with it, while she slightly skims through the topic of her abuse. Indicating that she uses her hair as means to cope with her troubles. She tries to use something, her hair, that is in her possession, something whose form can be molded at her whim – in order to gain a sense of control in her life since she is unable to change anything in her home. As a black girl, her hair is viewed as ugly and is a threat to her because of her internalized racism. Since her hair is a stable and constant item in her life, as well as a threat, she seems to be motivated to conquer it in order to gain a sense of power while being distracted. Interestingly, Yetsaida barely mentions her mother in her thoughts while becoming fixated with Miss Kety. Indicating that she does not see her mother as capable or willing to protect her, care for her, and keep her safe. She becomes drastically attached to a woman in her neighborhood – the hairstylist, Miss Kety. As her parents were unable to care for her, she unconsciously assigned the role over to Miss Kety. To Yetsaida, Miss Kety has the perfect hair – straight, red, and soft – all that she aspires to be. Yetsiada idolizes her, wants to be just like her, compares herself to her, and follows her path in life. To Yetsaida, perhaps, Miss Kety is viewed as the ‘saviour’ – the path for conquering her hair – her threat – if she can conquer her hair, she might be able to conquer her life.
Very interesting idea regarding her hair as something she is able to mould as well as acting as a symbol for her life as a whole. The lack of control and the self worth that that results is a central theme and the idea of her hair symbolizing her life as a whole makes a lot of sense. Further it allows us to conceptualize the racism she faces. In her eyes she sees herself as disadvantage due to her natural hair. In reality this may be true for her life in a wider context.
Hi Katherine!
I found your comment interesting, especially the way you framed her hair as a means for her to cope or deal with her situation. I read it this way as well, but after reading your post I wondered if maybe the hair isn’t a means to cope but rather a symbol/sign that she is struggling and suffering. What I mean is that her hair is less something that she uses to empower herself or find some means of escape, but rather more something that shows the extent to which she is distressed.
Hi Katherine, I agree with your interpretation of Yetsaida’s fixation on her hair as a way of coping with the abuse she experiences—the way I read it, I saw her as having one of two motives. Part of her motivation to straighten her hair might stem from an attempt to appease her father, who we see reacting negatively towards her curls, and prevent further abuse. On the other hand, this could be an attempt to escape the stigma that came with having hair like her own, not only in respect to racial stereotypes but also to the associations made between women with this type of hair and victims of unconfronted domestic violence, something many women in her community had to endure. It’s possible that neither or both of these could be the reason she wants to “fix” her hair, but this desire seems to be motivated (albeit likely subconsciously) by more than just an internalized racism or a pressure to conform to the Western beauty standards of that time.