Nicole Hsiao (UPR ’22) writes about Yolanda Arroyo Pizarro’s 2018 children’s book
Pelo Bueno [Good Hair] and about her own relationship to hair-styling, growing up in Puerto Rico. See original article at (University of Puerto Rico).
“A sociocultural product of our surroundings that is what we all are.” These were the words uttered by one of my social sciences professors. They weren’t hard to understand, yet they represent an observation I had never realized. Our experiences and challenges are, in part, influenced by who and what surrounds us.
Though I’ve faced many struggles throughout my life, just like everyone else, neither the color of my skin nor the texture of my hair have been one of them. When I was younger, I remember that I used to frequently watch YouTube hair tutorials that showed girls heat-styling their flawless, straight hair. Unconsciously, the idea of altering my natural curls to fit in with the defined beauty standards of the time seemed like