Beauty Rituals

Cameron Rufus

Discussion Board 3

1) On a typical day, I only spend around 30 minutes on my beauty rituals. I pick a decent outfit for the day brush my hair. On the weekends I work out and will possibly do some shopping. Waxing is the beauty ritual that takes the most time other than going to the gym.

2) I will usually spend around $60-$100 a month depending on what I have to purchase. I will pay $60 for the waxing itself, and another $20-$40 on an outfit or the nail salon. Even though it is expensive, waxing saves me money in the long run because I don’t have to buy shaving items, every couple weeks. I will spend 31/2-4 hours a week on my rituals, the time frame is small because I do not wear makeup and I don’t dress up unless there is a special occasion. I put a budget on my spending for my rituals because there are a couple that are not necessities, only wants.

3) I believe most girls participate in these rituals to impress other people, but I personally never cared about ones opinion on my physical appearance. I do these daily rituals for my own self-confidence, the only person you should worry about judging your appearance is yourself. Majority of us black women do not meet the societal standards of what “beauty” is. Bell Hooks states in Straightening our Hair: “Black women straightening our hair seemed more to be exclusively a signifier of white supremacist oppression. It was clearly a process that was about black women changing their appearance to imitate white people’s looks”(Hooks,3). People spend hours to try and look like someone they are not, I dress for my own liking.

4) There are a variety of things I could possibly do with the extra time I spend on my rituals. Most importantly, I could spend more time on my school work. I let the shopping and other rituals distract me from studying and homework since school is uninteresting for me. Even though I work out on the weekends, more time in the gym could be spent working on my body if I...