{"id":440,"date":"2025-10-17T20:53:15","date_gmt":"2025-10-18T03:53:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/scribe\/?p=440"},"modified":"2026-02-05T17:48:37","modified_gmt":"2026-02-06T01:48:37","slug":"the-politics-of-bonnets-headwraps-and-scarves","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/scribe\/2025\/10\/17\/the-politics-of-bonnets-headwraps-and-scarves\/","title":{"rendered":"The Politics of Bonnets, Headwraps, and Scarves"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n\n\n \n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
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The Politics of Bonnets, Headwraps, and Scarves<\/h1>\n\n\n<\/div>\n \n \n By<\/span>Jaden Armond<\/a><\/strong>\n \n October 17, 2025<\/span>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n <\/div><\/div>\n\n \n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
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In 1786, Louisiana Governor Esteban Rodr\u00edguez Mir\u00f3 passed what became known as the Tignon Laws, targeting both enslaved and free Black women. These laws required them to cover their hair with a headwrap called a <\/span>tignon<\/span><\/i>. On the surface, it seemed like a dress code, but it was really about control. Colonial officials saw Black women\u2019s style and beauty as a threat to the racial and social order. By forcing them to wear a head covering, the law tried to make their status visible and keep them \u201cin their place.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Ironically, Black women undermined the Tignon Laws\u2019 intentions by transforming the mandated headwrap into a medium of resistance and creativit<\/span>y<\/b>. Through the use of vibrant fabrics, elaborate wrapping styles, and adornments such as jewels or feathers, they redefined the tignon from a symbol of inferiority into one of cultural pride and self-expression. What was meant to make them invisible instead drew attention to their resilience and artistic defiance of colonial expectations.<\/span><\/p>\n

Fast forward to today, and the legacy of the tignon lives on in modern bonnets, headwraps, and scarves. For centuries, head coverings were seen as \u201cghetto\u201d or unprofessional when worn by Black women. They were policed in schools, workplaces, and even public spaces. Yet now, those same styles are embraced across all races and ethnicities. No longer confined to private or domestic spaces, these head garments now appear in fashion editorials, runways, and corporate environments, embraced by popular mainstream culture.<\/span><\/p>\n

This transformation, however, exposes a stark double standard: styles once criminalized or ridiculed when associated with Black women are now celebrated as trendy, chic, or empowering when adopted by others. The normalization of headwraps in contemporary culture reflects not only broader acceptance but also ongoing tensions surrounding appropriation and visibility. For Black women, the tignon and its modern descendants (bonnets, scarves, wraps) remain deeply tied to histories of racialized beauty politics and respectability. Still, it\u2019s also true that the growing acceptance of headwraps has helped open space for Black women to wear them proudly in public, in professional settings, and on their own terms.<\/span><\/p>\n

Today, the tignon\u2019s legacy embodies a dual narrative: one of oppression and resistance, but also of reclamation and transformation. It\u2019s a reminder of Black women\u2019s creativity and strength, and how fashion, even when born from racist laws, can become a language of freedom. Today\u2019s bonnets and headwraps carry that history with them. They\u2019re not just accessories; they\u2019re proof that what was once meant to silence can still speak volumes.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n <\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":1018,"featured_media":649,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[44,33],"tags":[22,16,21],"class_list":["post-440","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-black-histories-and-modern-legacies-past-editor-blogs","category-past-editor-blogs","tag-black-histories-and-modern-legacies","tag-fall-2025","tag-jaden-armond"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nThe Politics of Bonnets, Headwraps, and Scarves<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/scribe\/2025\/10\/17\/the-politics-of-bonnets-headwraps-and-scarves\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Past Editor Blogs: The Politics of Bonnets, Headwraps, and Scarves - 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