IntroductionThis essay addresses issues of identity, body image, and the politics of hair within African American culture. It discusses the lived experiences of a number of African American women and is in no way generalizable to all African American women. However, body image and hair politics are important characteristics in African American culture because they have deep historical roots and are still present today. Body image is generally understood as a mental image of one's body as it appears to others (Featherstone 2010). This mental image produces body consciousness, which Samantha Kwan describes as an amplified awareness that one's body does not conform to hegemonic cultural standards (Kwan 2010). In today's modern context, hegemonic cultural norms are reproduced and widely disseminated by mass media with the help of new technologies. These new technologies discussed by Elliott, some in the form of satellite television and other widely used media, offer viewers unprecedented opportunities to see and scrutinize their favorite celebrities up close (Elliott 2010). This proximity to celebrities, according to Elliott, shifts the focus from celebrities to celebrity body parts. This new focus increases the use of cosmetic surgery and other tools to imitate what is perceived as attractive (Elliott 2010). Furthermore, Elliott in his work goes on to discuss the idea that, in traditional societies, priests and saints were elevated based on their personality and abilities whereas in today's Hollywood era, celebrity is celebrated due to physical characteristics (Elliott 2010) . On the other hand, I don't think this concept fully applies to traditional African-American slave society. This is because, ...... half of the document ...... minister, Thinking BlackBellinger, W. (2007). Why African American women try to get good hair. Sociological Viewpoints, 1(1), 11.Crossley, Nick. (2013). “Habit and Habitus,” Body & Society, 19 (2 and 3): 136-161. Elliott, Anthony. (2010). “I Want to Look Like That!”: Cosmetic Surgery and Celebrity Culture,” Cultural Sociology, 5(4): 463-477.Humphrey, A.Y. (2008). Reading Race, Reading Gender: Readings of Their Lives African American mothers and daughters and picture books on skin color and hair texture by. Proquest LLC, 1, 1-199. Fanon, F (2008). Mike (2010). “Body, Image and Affect in Consumer Culture,” Body & Society, 16(1): 193-221. Kwan, Samantha (2010). body in everyday life”, Feminist formations, 22(2): 144-166.