Discuss the importance of hair-style and identity in Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Americanah is concerned with the life of a young Nigerian woman who moves to America. She confronts her ‘blackness’ when challenged by Americans to ‘be black’. Her experience in Nigeria is of personhood. She is not conscious of race until she arrives in the USA. The performance of her identity is played out when she writes a blog about tanning her hair. How black people spend time and resources on products that ‘relax’ their hair and make it more like white people’s hair.The character in the book wrestles with her relationship to her blackness and this is played out in her slowly coming to terms with her crinkly hair. As she embraces her identity, she allows her hairstyle to be more authentically African. This encourages the reader to think about their own identity and what they do to hide it or to conform to others’ expectations of who they should be. Ultimately, maturity is accepting who we are and being comforatable with our natural selves. The character moves back to Nigeria and embraces her African Identity.