Q&A with our new PhD student, Vimbai Chapungu
Hear more from Vimbai Chapungu, our new Digital Good Network PhD student working on racial equity, identity shaping and sustainable practices.
Q: Tell us a bit about yourself and the project.
A: I am a PhD student at the University of Sheffield, a PhD researcher at the Digital Good Network, and a PhD scholar for the Stuart Hall Foundation (part of the White Rose Doctoral Training Partnership scholarship awardee). I am interested in the experiences of Black diasporic communities, particularly in their unique blend of identity expression, rejuvenation and connection to their homelands. I have a background in geography, and I developed an interest in transnational practices that inform the relationship between the self and the community. In this context, I realised that the digital has a longstanding history as a method of transitional practices we see today.
My research explores how the expansion of online Black-owned hair businesses has impacted the production/consumption of Black haircare products, a space with complex power structures, historical biases, and corporate injustices. Black-owned companies seek to address these issues through digital platforms, which offer opportunities to deconstruct hegemonic framings of Black identities/aesthetics as “inferior,” reconfiguring beauty standards to promote inclusivity and push the billion-dollar industry towards greater sustainable practices. The research aims to inform policies, practices, and market dynamics, potentially transforming the UK’s Black hair industry for producers and consumers.
Q: What motivated you to work on this type of project?
A: I have a personal, professional, and intellectual commitment to sustainability, social justice, and inclusivity, particularly in historically exclusive industries like hair and beauty. As a British-Zimbabwean woman, I am interested in how beauty is experienced racially by Black women across different geographies, particularly in the diaspora, and in advocating for equitable experiences and sustainable beauty products. My first-hand experiences as a professional model exposed me to challenges in Black aesthetics, witnessing and personally experiencing negative portrayals.
During my MSc in Geography, I studied the Natural Hair movement, a social phenomenon that aims to empower black women to embrace their hair’s authentic texture and avoid chemical treatments. I am interested in building on this previous research to explore the Black hair industry and its socioeconomic context. These factors drive my proposed research.
Q: How does your project align with the goals of the DGN?
A: The project mainly focuses on sustainability and racial equity; however, it also includes resilience. The DGN considers how we relate to the digital and how that impacts the environment. In this project, the focus is on how the Black haircare industry uses digital platforms as a tool to address sustainable goal 12 (namely, production and consumption).
In the case of equity, the project seeks to explore how the hair industry can achieve racial equity by expanding the existence of black-owned hair businesses. Racial equity is more than just representation; it is a somewhat active influence in a space that does not usually converse about public health (in this case, follicles), particularly in the case of POC. The DGN notes that digital technologies can sustain movements and mediate between privileged and marginalised communities. The haircare industry is using digital to address these issues by reaching out to various stakeholders and collaborating to form a stronger union and equitable solutions within the Black hair space.
Lastly, this project is more of a nod to the continued resilience of the Black hair industry. While I can note many pinnacle moments in Black hair, including the Black Panther movement, this project looks through the lens of the Natural Hair Movement, which occurred during the digital age. In the era of creating physical well-being in Black communities, this also included hair, as many resorted to opening a space for more holistic approaches to haircare.
Vimbai Chapungu
PhD Student – Racial Equity, Identity Shaping and Sustainable Practices
Vimbai Chapungu is a PhD student in the Department of Sociological Studies at the University of Sheffield, working with Professor Helen Kennedy and Dr Ros Williams. Her research focuses on the interplay between digital platforms and the Black haircare industry in the UK.