Binti

Hair is a central symbol to Binti: The Complete Trilogy and appears throughout the series. It symbolizes a connection to culture and heritage. Okorafor’s depiction of hair can be read as a pushback against current Western beauty standards and the often racist rhetoric around black and African hair types. The description of Binti and her family’s hair as beautiful should not be revolutionary, in the same way that a science fiction protagonist who happens to be an African girl should not be; and yet by definition, the very existence of Binti is an act of subversion. Hair is politicized in Binti in a similar way. Binti, as the only Himba to have left Earth, comes into direct contact with the Khoush, a group who views the Himba as inferior. It is tradition for Himba women to cover their skin and hair with red clay; they think it is beautiful.

The Khoush believe that the Himba are savages. When Binti is at the launch port to leave for Oomza University, Khoush women feel entitled to touch her hair: “The woman who’d tugged my plait was looking at her fingers and rubbing them together, frowning.