#tignons

[campgender]

“Lady Java’s Tignons” from The Color Pynk: Black Femme Art for Survival by Omise’eke Natasha Tinsley (2022)

image text under the cut

Viewing the world through rose-tinted glasses shaped like butterfly wings, edged in rhinestones, and fringed with hanging beads, Sir Lady Java identifies herself to interviewer Pasqual Bettio in 2016: “We’re called transsexuals, basically, because I’m in a trance about my sex.” Born in New Orleans in 1940, Java—who transitioned with family support at a young age—was a mainstay of Los Angeles’s nightclub scene in the 1960s and ’70s. Billed as the “World’s Loveliest Female Impersonator,” she “appeared in shows all over the West Coast with such personalities as Nancy Wilson, Redd Foxx, Lena Horne, Louis Jordan, James Brown, Isaac Hayes, Joe Tex, Ray Charles, B.B. King, and Quincy Jones,” according to the brochure “Who Is Java?”

As she rose to prominence, she became a target for police harassment. In 1967, the LAPD raided the Redd Foxx Club to arrest her for violating Rule No. 9, an ordinance that prohibited trans women from appear- ing in public with less than three articles of male clothing. But when Java—performing in a bikini, bow tie, slim men’s wristwatch, and tiny socks—proved unarrestable, police threatened to revoke the club’s license or to imprison Foxx himself.

Java understood this police harassment as racialized: “We didn’t know of any establishment that was white that they [the LAPD] were stopping [from employing impersonators], but they were definitely targeting me, because I was queen of the Black ones and they feel that they had more trouble out of the Black ones.” Java responded by picketing the Redd Foxx Club (which dropped her act) and hiring the ACLU to mount a lawsuit against the LAPD.

Lady Java’s stage career continued brilliantly through the ’70s and ’80s, garnering positive press from Jet, Ebony, Sepia, and L.A. Advocate. Her career highlight, she tells Bettio, was performing for Lena Horne at a 1978 birthday party that Horne hosted for her “sister Cancerian, Gertrude Gibson,” where Horne enthused to Jet about her interaction with Java: “I had the feeling I was talking to a friend I had known for a long while... I feel sort of... protective [of Java]. I don’t know, because that’s my sign—Cancer—always trying to be somebody’s mama!”

To impress Ms. Horne, Java wore a spangled bikini and towering beaded headpiece whose curving contours—like many of the dramatically draped cloth, carefully sculpted tulle, and angel-wing feather wraps she crowned herself with—recall the tulip-shaped tignons (cloth turbans) made famous by her sister Louisiana Creoles. In an attempt to curb their social and sexual power, in 1786 Louisiana governor Esteban Miró decreed all women of African descent must cover their hair with knotted cloth and refrain from “excessive attention to dress.” But as Carolyn Long notes, “Instead of being considered a badge of dishonor, the tignon became a fashion statement. The bright reds, blues, and yellows of the scarves, and the imaginative wrapping techniques employed by their wearers, are said to have enhanced the beauty of women of color.” When Java turned her three articles of “male” clothing into high-femme sexiness, she followed in the footsteps of these foremothers’ fashion warfare.

Transforming the accessories meant to shame Black women into sexlessness into pure sexiness, Java declares, she chose “to wear beautiful outfits so a woman can be proud of me when she sees me. I don’t dress for men; I dress for women.”

By the 1990s Java was “enjoying a quieter life, retiring and, sadly, undergoing some serious health challenges,” according to Transas City. These challenges include a stroke from which, Java tells Bettio, “I lost a portion of my brain.” During her 2016 interviews with Bettio, her memories and historical records part ways: sometimes in small ways, as when she remembers performing for Horne at the Memory Lane supper club rather than the Pied Piper; sometimes in more significant ways, as when she proudly recalls winning her lawsuit against the LAPD.

“I went to court on it, and I won LAPD. I won the right for Java to work, meaning other impersonators could work also,” she recounts—though in fact her case was thrown out on a technicality. It would be easy to indulge the incoherence of her memories as post-stroke cognitive impairment. But it would also be easy to honor that incoherence as its own kind of freedom dream—an alternative history that translates the sinuous, undocumentable ways that change can happen.

After the publicity of her case, she reports, “They [other female impersonators] say: We’re able to go to work, and we’re all going [to] work the next day, and we’re going to put on the three male articles [of clothing], and they did the same thing I did: socks and the wristwatch and the bowtie if they wore bikinis . . . little bowties, some of them were jeweled.” Isn’t a flock of jeweled bow ties bouncing light off foremothers’ jeweled tignons another kind of win—another something to celebrate? How do we count and commemorate ways rewired and differently wired Black femme senses make a true story truer, more plentiful, more splendored?

[omgthatdress]

URSULAAAAAA! Nobody can wear a huge dress like Cardi B! And I love the added touch of the matching tignon headdress! It's incredible!

[johnadamsbignaturals]

since this is such an underresearched topic and i feel like bits of historical evidence could come from a very very wide breadth of sources, i’m reaching out to all the pdf lovers on tumblr: who here has any (reputable) sources that might mention how black people (socially, culturally, politically, etc) affected western fashion PRIOR to the jazz age???

[piononostalgia]

Anonyme

« Deux Antillaises »

Fin 18e siècle

[lifeinspired4u]

[windermeresimblr]

Simblreen 2024, Gift 1

I like the tignon that EA released with the Midnight Hollow special edition, but I wanted it as an accessory.

I also thought it might make a nice gele or head tie. Now your Sims have the option to wear it without their locs falling out.

It is for TYAEF, valid for everyday, career, formal, athletic (for your historical Sims), outerwear, maternity, and makeover. Not valid for random. EA's mesh and texture--I simply chopped the hair off.

Shown here in @simlicious' African prints! All photos are unedited, merely cropped to showcase the item better.

Grab it here: x (Box) and x (Simfileshare)

@simblreenofficial

[creatingblackcharacters]

Hi!

Firstly, thank you for everything you're doing, and all the resources. They're so interesting and useful. And I really appreciated the favourite Black character showcase, and not just so I could share my favourite characters with everyone lol.

Secondly, I have a question about my own worldbuilding. It's a fantasy, and the royal family of one of the kingdoms is Black. At the moment I have a tentative idea to have it as part of their culture for the king and queen specifically to cover part of their hair, to symbolise that they're ready to go and help the kingdom at a moment's notice, even at night. Even when they're woken up from sleep. My idea is that the king's hair kind of looks like a cross between these two photos (first for his hairstyle, second for his headwrap style):

It's only the ruling monarch/s that do this – their direct heir will at a certain age start wearing translucent partial head coverings on special occasions, but nothing opaque or at all times in public until they're the monarch. None of the other royals do. One of the main characters in my story is the second eldest princess, who's about 18-ish and doesn't cover her hair, and nor do either of her younger sisters (one of whom is in the story quite a lot) (the other main character is the white queen of another kingdom, about the same age, and they don't cover their hair there, if that's any useful context – there's a number of Black characters too who don't cover their hair).

I know there used to be laws forcing the covering of Black people's hair in some places, and with the discrimination surrounding Black hair too, I'm wondering whether it would be racist or anything inappropriate to have something like this? Or if I'm overthinking it?

(I'd also appreciate it if you could just give me a yes/hell no on the hairstyle itself too if you have a chance.)

(also I'm either terrible at searching or preaching to the choir here but it's so hard to find images of black men in headwraps on duckduckgo, seriously. And sorry for the long ask! I appreciate it if you answer this and dw if you don't want to/can't.)

You chose two fine ass men 😭 Oooh I love a man in a turban. Gorgeous. I love both styles. And head coverings and scarves are also a positive part of Black beauty cultures internationally! Nigerian women will wear the finest of head wraps for special events, I love seeing the styles. So ofc it wouldn't be an issue.

It's not that hair is being covered that was what made the Tignon laws (what you're talking about) racist, it was the reason why they were being forced to cover their hair. If that is not what you're depicting (without intent to show discrimination) then you're fine. You seem to be doing it as a sign of royalty and devotion to one's kingdom. That sounds honorable to me.

[the-girl-who-didnt-smile]

Human Alastor (FTM trans headcanon)

Full size image

Commentary below:

Here, Alastor is shown at four different stages of his human life:

Childhood - around 12 years old

“Voodoo Killer” - late teenage years

Jazz Musician - early 20s

Radio Star - later adulthood to time of death

His career as a serial killer started when he was around 12 years old and continued up until his death.

The three stages of his adult life are supposed to correspond with different aspects of his demon form’s hairstyle.

During the “Voodoo Killer” stage, he straightened his hair and styled it similarly to his demon form’s hairstyle. However, he did not have an undershave. If viewed from the back, it would look like a simple bob. His appearance is inspired by Clementine Barnabet. I intended for his tignon to be tied in a similar manner to Clementine’s. Additionally, the bandages wrapped around his legs are meant to make him look a little like Voodoo Queen Lala from the 1930s. I gave him bandages instead to make him look like more of an edge lord (lol). The cross worn was originally his mother's. After she died, he painted it black in mourning. He wears it at all times, up until his death, to remember her.

During the “Jazz Musician” stage, he kept his hair short in order to pass for male. This is supposed to correspond with the back side of Alastor’s demon form, which is shaved short. His appearance is inspired by Jelly Roll Morton, one of my favorite Jazz musicians, who also happens to be Creole. Not visible in this pose, but Al wore black gloves that match the color of his hair. 

During the “Radio Star” stage, several aspects of Alastor’s appearance are inspired by the late, great Cab Calloway. Like Cab, Alastor styled his hair in a conk. His suit is also inspired by the iconic white suit worn by Cab Calloway.

That being said, creative liberties were taken with Al’s white suit, which is anachronistic for the 1930s. Cab famously wore zoots, but I don’t think that would be Alastor’s style. Since I know so little about 1930s fashion, I gave up and didn’t attempt to give him a historically accurate suit. Instead, his tuxedo is based on the one he wore in the pilot. There are several anachronisms present in Alastor’s canon design, so it might actually fit his character to wear a suit atypical of the 1930s. This could preserve the otherworldly, “Willy Wonka”-esque presence that he has, even on Earth. Still, it’s a pretty glaring historical inaccuracy. Once we get to see Al’s canon human form, I might redesign him.

Since Alastor would have more than one suit, I didn’t worry too much about the inaccuracies present in his clothing. The one thing I refused to compromise on was his microphone.  In the TV show, Alastor’s iconic microphone is a vintage ribbon mic. However, this “pill capsule” style looks more similar to models that were only invented after Alastor’s death. Here’s an example of a ribbon mic that was rolled out shortly before Alastor’s death: The RCA Type 77-A. As you can see, it’s a lot larger in size than Alastor’s microphone.

My first attempt at drawing human Alastor gave him a ribbon mic, seen here: https://www.deviantart.com/thegirlwhodidntsmile/art/Human-Alastor-ribbon-mic-1035514228

In order to be more historically accurate, I discarded this design. Instead, I gave him a spring microphone, technology that is more iconic of the 1920s/1930s. 

Here’s an image of Cab Calloway in front of a spring microphone, one year after Alastor’s death:

I took some creative liberties with the flag of Alastor’s microphone. Normally, it is supposed to say the radio station. Since I don’t know what radio station Al’s show aired on, I just had it read “ON AIR” in red.

Importantly, Alastor’s suit has to match the design of his microphone, which is an extension of himself.

It’s a little awkward how Alastor is holding his microphone, so here is how it looks from the back: https://www.deviantart.com/thegirlwhodidntsmile/art/Human-Alastor-back-of-mic-1035514255

The backside of the microphone is supposed to look like an eye, and have a bit of an ominous presence.

A headcanon I have is that Alastor had a severe case of stress-induced vitiligo. Because he was very egotistical, this was a source of shame for him, so he hid it with makeup and clothing. Here is how his face would have appeared shortly before his death: https://www.deviantart.com/thegirlwhodidntsmile/art/Human-Alastor-no-makeup-1035514264

Al’s colors are mostly browns, whites, and black, to keep with the deer theme. The black tips of his shoes are supposed to look a bit like deer hooves. I pictured his height as 5’10, one inch taller than Michael Dillon. Since the average male height was around 5’7, Al was still taller than most men, which made it easier to pass for male.

In addition to Clementine Barnabet, Jelly Barnabet, and Cab Calloway, FTM Al’s appearance is largely inspired by the famous biracial drag king Stormé DeLarverie.

I picture Alastor having a darker complexion than Stormé, or Cab Calloway for that matter. Compared to Stormé, his nose and eyes are different (his eyes are supposed to have the same shape as his mother’s. distinctly African, not European at all) but his mouth, jawline, and overall facial structure are similar. He’s basically supposed to be a much less white-passing version of Stormé DeLarverie. Because he was born around year 1900, Al would not have had access to any form of medical transition. He would be physically indistinguishable from a cisgender drag king.

I also picture his physical build being pretty similar, but he’s taller (I’m not sure how tall Stormé was, but I don’t think she was 5’10) and skinnier. He’s supposed to have a really striking appearance, where he’s really slender but really tall for someone born in his time, and he has an androgynous face.

In my more recent drawings, the drag king Alberta “Bert” Whitman has also served as visual inspiration for human Alastor:

Bonus image:

https://www.deviantart.com/thegirlwhodidntsmile/art/Alastor-kill-count-1035514155

[tsunflowers]

the 4 L's jamari taylor

according to the artist statement this references the tignon law of 1700s new orleans requiring black women to cover their hair, and the pride that modern black women feel in their hair and their self-expression

[neworleansvoudou]

Who's Who in Hoodoo History: Marie Comtesse

Marie Comtesse was a trailblazer in the late 19th-century New Orleans Voudou scene, garnering remarkable acclaim for her mastery in the Voudou arts. Picture this: a formidable figure with a robust physique and piercing moon-shaped eyes that captured attention wherever she went. According to Voudou Queen Lala, Marie Comtesse was more than just a healer; she was a Queen, telling fortunes, securing employment for folks, and performing sacred works with unparalleled finesse. But that's not all—her attire was legendary! Draped in a majestic purple gown paired with a striking red tignon, she exuded power and mystique. And her conjure powders? Stored in a pristine white bag. But here's the captivating part: her ceremonies were a spectacle, akin to a dazzling stage production! Transforming her outfits like a skilled actress, she'd start in black, transition to white, and conclude in a mesmerizing blue ensemble. She wasn't just a spiritual leader; she was a vision, captivating male gazes with her jet-black allure and stunning fashion sense. And let's talk about her ceremonies - she glamoured her congregation by employing youthful, stunningly beautiful, Creole women dancers, igniting the imaginations of onlookers. Marie Comtesse had exceptional knowledge of powders and roots, acquired when she was a member of Marie Laveau’s congregation.

If you enjoyed this post and would like to support my endeavors for documenting these amazing people in Hoodoo history in the form of a book and cards, please check out my Patreon page: https://www.patreon.com/denisealvarado

If you would like to learn more about the ancestors of the Hoodoo, Voudou, conjure, and rootwork traditions, consider taking the course Who's Who in Hoodoo History where you will learn ALL the tea. Get to know the real people, the forgotten ones, the famous, and the infamous, foremothers and forefathers who passed down their knowledge to the tradition keepers of today. https://www.crossroadsuniversity.com/courses/who-s-who-in-hoodoo-history

[miawashere]

tignon law of 1786

in louisiana, during the 18th century, a law was passed in order to outcast and oppress black women of color by forcing them to cover their hair with scarves. this was due to the fact that white people (especially women according to online sources) were jealous of their hair because of how eye-catching it was, so it led to african american women’s hair getting regulated. this led to women becoming creative and finding ways to make the scarves beautiful and still be following the law, which didn’t end until 1803. the tignon law is just another example of poc getting oppressed because of an unfair and biased legal system.

[omgthatdress]

Cécile wears a tignon on the cover of Troubles for Cécile, and I wish they’d included one in her collection, even though I guess they were more typically worn by adult women instead of little girls. Tignons are fascinating. They started out as a fairly straightforward way for enslaved women to protect their hair and keep it out of their way as they worked. Soon, laws were enacted declaring that enslaved women were required to cover their heads with tignons as a sign of their lower status. The women who wore them however refused to be demeaned, and turned their tignons into huge, elaborate, and colorful headpieces that they wore with pride.

Even the voodoo queen HERSELF, Marie Leveau rocked a tignon:

(okay so that painting is actually most likely NOT an actual portrait of Mme Leveau, but she still wore a tignon!)

[johnadamsbignaturals]

only i would be dumb enough to go on a history research trip to new orleans with literally $35 in my bank account

[aishabellasbigblogofeverything]

i hate how fandoms never want to hear that black women are beautiful or desireable like??? i'll give you an example- whenever chan (the leader of stray kids) flirts with white stays or calls white ppl pretty or whatever everyone loses their shit and it's all good right? well there were these two times he did that but with these black girls. naturally black stray kids fans went nuts, me included. idk it just felt nice- but white stays proceeded to just insult the hell out of us, call us crazy, etc etc etc, like what? but when you were doing all of that fangirling it was fine??? i just hate double standards so much. sorry for the rant but i felt like you of all people would get this yk?

Exactly, they hate knowing that Black women are attractive too because then they're white femininity is challenged. Take how whenever Black girls end up with white guys in fiction suddenly white women are all "nooo he likes this random white girl that only showed up for one second of the movie instead!" or decide he's gay(but then only ship him with white boys, never Black boys), and claim the Black girl is a strong independent woman/hc her as aroace(and aroace people still deserve representation but them doing this and noticeably never hcing them as lesbian shows that they don't think Black girls deserve any love at all), because feminism! Girl power! Except it's not! They just want to remain seen as the most attractive, desirable, feminine race...I saw this with how white music crits hated Pretty Girl Rock because it was "shallow" and told girls to be vain and only brag about their looks...! No! Black girls deserve to feel beautiful and that's what the song and music video is about! And in the comments a long time ago when someone said "Black women are beautiful", a comment from a white woman said "all women are beautiful, not just Black women, let's not put other women down to lift each other up, shall we?!" like there is nothing y'all have that Black women don't! It's racism, that's it! They know they can't compete unless they first drag us down! Look up Tignon Laws and come back to me and tell me they haven't been doing this shit for ages. 

This is why we desperately need intersectionality. 

[tani-b-art]

“It’s important, therefore, to know who the real enemy is, and to know the function, the very serious function of racism, which is distraction. It keeps you from doing your work. It keeps you explaining over and over again, your reason for being. Somebody says you have no language and so you spend 20 years proving that you do. Somebody says your head isn’t shaped properly so you have scientists working on the fact that it is. Somebody says that you have no art so you dredge that up. Somebody says that you have no kingdoms and so you dredge that up. None of that is necessary. There will always be one more thing.”— Toni Morrison at Portland State, May 30, 1975

Mock us for having refined hair. We create ways to straighten it. Now we’re “trying to be white”. Proudly wear our hair naturally. Criticizes our hair texture and creates laws to restrict us (Tignon Laws and present day discriminatory work practices).

Ridicule us for not knowing our lineage. Attempts to research African lineage. Accuses us for meddling in cultures that we aren’t a part of. Begins to discover our genealogical, ancestral American lineage. Teases us for releasing the energy to finding African ancestry and correlating the effort to wanting to Europeanize ourselves.

We keep using BAVE (Black American Vernacular English). Condemns us for speaking “broken English”. Options code-switching. Told we’re “trying to be white” and proper so we’re bougie. Sneers at us for assuming we have no [other] language(s) but English. We find out we do have several that our ancestors created such as Kouri Vini (Louisiana Creole) and Tutnese. Jeers at how those were created during slavery.

Racism comes at us from white people and antiBlack American antagonism (racism’s cousin) is a practice everyone (Black people who aren’t Black American and people of color) uses against us.

Black Americans, please keep preserving our history, lineage and culture and always keep the spark to keep unearthing all our ancestral treasures! Share what you discover and learn because that becomes past, present and future history.

And do it unapologetically!

[black-paraphernalia]

NYC Attorney SNATCHED Wig Off Black Woman's Head And Got FIRED | Roland Martin

WE AT BP DID A COUPLE OF POST ON BLACK HAIR, THE TIGNON LAWS AND THE CROWN ACT.

*BP* BLACK HAIR AND CROWN ACT UNDER DID YOU KNOW (PG 5)

*BP* THE TIGNON LAWS UNDER DID YOU KNOW (PAGE 6)

BLACK PARAPHERNALIA DISCLAIMER - PLEASE READ