Military eases hairstyle restrictions accused of being racially biased

United States military branches announced they have loosened grooming requirements that sparked controversy for allegedly targeting the natural hairstyles of African-American soldiers.

The U.S. Army on March 31 banned hairstyles including twists, dreadlocks, some types of braids, and Afros that were previously authorized. Following outcry from black members of the U.S. armed forces, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel in April ordered the secretaries of all military branches to review their policies on grooming.

“As a result of these reviews the Army, Navy, and Air Force determined changes were necessary to their Service grooming regulations to include additional authorized hairstyles,” Hagel wrote in a Aug. 11 letter to Representative Marcia L. Fudge of the U.S. House of Representatives on Monday.

Following the review, the Army said it has increased the size of authorized braids, cornrows and twists, and removed spacing requirements.

Other branches also eased hairstyle restrictions, according to the letter. The Air Force authorized two-strand twists, French twists and Dutch braids. Two-strand braids and multiple braids hanging freely if above the collar and encompassing the entire head were authorized by the Navy, while the Marines said they had planned a special uniform review this summer.

The decision to ban such hairstyles sparked outrage by African-Americans across the country. Black women represent nearly a third of all women in the U.S. military and are enlisted at higher rates than any other demographic, a Pew Research poll found.

“Almost every option I had for natural hair has gone out the window … Having natural hair is quite literally the way it grows out of our heads … the Army is telling us that we’re not acceptable,” said Jasmine Jacobs, who started a White House petition in March calling for the reversal of the regulations.

Army spokeswoman Tatjana Christian said at the time that, “The requirement for hair grooming standards is necessary to maintain uniformity within a military population.”

Though each military branch decides their own hairstyle regulations, all require a neat and conservative cut that would allow military headgear to fit properly. The cut must be close to the head and tapered to its shape. It cannot fall over the ears or eyebrows, or touch the collar.

Men must keep their face clean-shaven, besides a neatly trimmed, tapered mustache. Extreme, eccentric or trendy haircuts are not authorized, nor are unnatural-colored dyes.