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Tiana Pollard

Unbraiding Identity: The Cultural Weight of Black Hair

Biography

Hi, my name is Tiana Pollard. I’m currently finishing up my degree in Professional Communications at Toronto Metropolitan University while working as a full-time content creator. For the past four years, I’ve been creating content centered around fashion, lifestyle, and beauty.

Working in social media has shown me just how much representation matters, especially for Black women, and how the lack of it shapes the experiences of future generations who engage with digital platforms. I’m passionate about community building, authenticity, and advocating for better representation of marginalized groups. Through my work, I strive to foster these conversations and create spaces where representation can thrive, both in my content and future business endeavors.

I aim to work in an industry that allows me to combine creativity with strategy to make a meaningful impact. With expertise in social media content, marketing strategy, and digital storytelling, I enjoy crafting compelling narratives that engage audiences and drive brand growth. Whether through content creation, brand marketing, or community engagement, I’m excited to explore opportunities that allow me to contribute to innovative and inclusive digital spaces

Details of Project

This research explores how historical narratives have shaped Black hair identity, particularly for Black girls, and how modern media representation is influencing change. Eurocentric beauty standards have long marginalized Black hairstyles, reinforcing discrimination and identity struggles. While movements like the Civil Rights era reclaimed natural Black hair as a symbol of pride, discrimination persists in professional and social settings. Through qualitative analysis of historical texts, media portrayals, personal narratives, and policy developments such as the CROWN Act, this study finds that Black girls continue to face pressure to conform to Eurocentric beauty norms, often experiencing hair discrimination that affects their employment opportunities, social perception, and self-esteem. However, social media has emerged as a powerful space for redefining beauty norms, with influencers and online communities fostering self-acceptance and challenging outdated stereotypes. Grounded in symbolic interactionism, agenda-setting theory, and research on code-switching, the study examines how Black hair functions as both a form of self-expression and a site of societal control. While media representation is improving, workplace biases and internalized stigma remain barriers to full acceptance. Future research should further investigate the intersection of gender, profession, and generational shifts in Black hair perception. This study ultimately highlights the ongoing struggle for hair autonomy while emphasizing the transformative role of digital representation in shifting cultural norms.

Lightning talk

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