Katie Duarte
Women of color use aesthetics to challenge and reproduce racialized, classed, or gendered marginalization, yet few sociological studies have examined women of color service workers as agents who negotiate, reproduce, and resist racialized beauty norms for their clients. This study utilizes a transnational ethnography of a beauty school course and Latina-owned curly and natural hair salons, primarily serving Latinas and Afro-Latinas, in New York City and Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. Through its analysis, this article identifies different forms of gendered labor that stylists perform to introduce “specialized body labor,” thereby disrupting racialized beauty norms that devalue natural and Afro-textured hair. By focusing on stylists’ labor in engendering racialized beauty and femininities, this research demonstrates how the intersections of race, gender, and class shape gendered labor. In addition, this article underscores the significance of how everyday labor can foster inclusivity and challenge marginalizing racial and gender norms.