As part of our Women of Influence issue in September, Lifestyle collaborated with ArtServe—the award-winning arts incubator based in Fort Lauderdale—on a pictorial feature inspired by the creative laboratory’s recent photography exhibition, “Superficial Impressions.” The images chosen by Lifestyle, taken by female photographers/artists spotlighted in the exhibit, speak to the web of feelings, fears, joys, and challenges experienced by women of all ages and backgrounds. In the online version of the story, Lifestyle presents additional images (connected to the exhibition series) by the featured photographers.
Carol-Anne McFarlane
“Here, I am discussing how the standard of beauty and worth is in hair: its color and texture. The media is filled with examples of successful and beautiful women. They are blonde. The desire to be and look like these models causes African-American women to change their appearance and negate their natural beauty. But even though African-American women try to disguise their true nature, it still comes through. The cornrows symbolize the beauty of the natural texture of African-American hair and are roots of deep and complicated history. They symbolize a path, one that each of us has to make in determining our identity.”
