Beauty + Justice

+ The Next Generation with the Beauty + Justice Team

It’s a myth that science and research have to be impersonal and devoid of humanity—and in the final part of the Finale Episode, the Beauty + Justice team dispels the myth! Dr. Tamarra James-Todd, Marissa Chan, and Lissah Johnson share what beauty and beauty justice means to them, and how their positionality (life experiences and how we show up in the world) has inspired their beauty justice work. There’s also a special treat at the end—a message on what beauty means to the next generation.  Marissa Chan is a PhD candidate in Population Health Sciences within the Department of Environmental Health at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Her research interests and work experience surround environmental justice and beauty justice, specifically focusing on the intersection of place-based environmental hazards and product-based exposure to endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) in personal care products. Through her work, she aims to highlight the presence of EDCs in personal care products to a variety of stakeholders, support community voices and knowledge in environmental and beauty justice efforts, and work towards developing community-driven interventions and solutions. Prior to entering the doctoral program, she received an MS from Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. You can follow Marissa and her work here: Twitter- @marissawchan, Linkedin [https://www.linkedin.com/in/marissa-chan-35a6a7126], RESTYLE Study [https://projects.iq.harvard.edu/james-toddlab/restyle-study-0?admin_panel=1] Lissah Johnson is a PhD candidate in the Biological Sciences in Public Health program at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Her research focuses on understanding how the mechanism to remove damaged or misfunctioning cells from the body becomes dysregulated in the formation and progression of ovarian cancer in order to uncover environmental drivers of gynecological cancers, and improve current prevention strategies and therapeutic options. Prior to starting graduate school, she received a B.S. in Chemistry from the University of Redlands and then worked as a research scientist in an environmental health laboratory at the California Department of Public Health for four years. Through her research, she hopes to bring awareness to the unique environmental and reproductive health threats that people from marginalized communities and identities encounter and support advocacy efforts pushing for regulatory change. You can follow Lissah and her work here: Twitter- @LissahJohnson, LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/lissah-johnson-82039bba], Sarosiek Lab Website [https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/kristopher-sarosiek/]

+ The Path Forward with Marissa Chan and Lissah Johnson

What’s on the horizon for the beauty justice movement? As we bring this limited series podcast to a close, we thought it would only be fitting to hear from the folks behind the scenes who helped make it happen.  In Part 1 of the finale episode, Dr. Tamarra James-Todd is joined by Marissa Chan, the Beauty + Justice podcast producer, and Lissah Johnson, podcast narrator, to talk about their dissertation research and their perspectives on the future of the beauty justice movement.  Marissa Chan is a PhD candidate in Population Health Sciences within the Department of Environmental Health at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Her research interests and work experience surround environmental justice and beauty justice, specifically focusing on the intersection of place-based environmental hazards and product-based exposure to endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) in personal care products. Through her work, she aims to highlight the presence of EDCs in personal care products to a variety of stakeholders, support community voices and knowledge in environmental and beauty justice efforts, and work towards developing community-driven interventions and solutions. Prior to entering the doctoral program, she received an MS from Harvard Chan. You can follow Marissa and her work here: Twitter- @marissawchan, LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/marissa-chan-35a6a7126], RESTYLE Study [https://projects.iq.harvard.edu/james-toddlab/restyle-study-0?admin_panel=1] Lissah Johnson is a PhD candidate in the Biological Sciences in Public Health program at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Her research focuses on understanding how the mechanism to remove damaged or misfunctioning cells from the body becomes dysregulated in the formation and progression of ovarian cancer in order to uncover environmental drivers of gynecological cancers, and improve current prevention strategies and therapeutic options. Prior to starting graduate school, she received a B.S. in Chemistry from the University of Redlands and then worked as a research scientist in an environmental health laboratory at the California Department of Public Health for four years. Through her research, she hopes to bring awareness to the unique environmental and reproductive health threats that people from marginalized communities and identities encounter and support advocacy efforts pushing for regulatory change. You can follow Lissah and her work here: Twitter- @LissahJohnson, LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/lissah-johnson-82039bba], Sarosiek Lab Website [https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/kristopher-sarosiek/]

+ The Power of the Collective with Dr. Ami Zota

As we’re nearing the end of the podcast series maybe you’re wondering how can you contribute to the beauty justice movement. How can we go about effectively building partnerships to advance beauty justice? And what voices and perspectives should we strive to elevate and make space for? In this episode, Dr. Tamarra James-Todd is joined by Dr. Ami Zota to discuss her research on racism and beauty product use, holding space for historically neglected folks in beauty justice work, and how to build partnerships with folks across disciplines. Dr. Ami Zota is an Associate Professor in the Department of Environmental Health Sciences at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health and the Founder and Director of Agents of Change in Environmental Justice science communication fellowship. Her research focuses on understanding social and structural determinants of environmental exposures and their consequent impacts on health outcomes across the life course. Dr. Zota co-developed an intersectional framework called "the environmental injustice of beauty", which links systems of power and oppression, such as racism, sexism, and classism to Eurocentric beauty norms, racialized beauty practices, and adverse environmental health outcomes. Dr. Zota received an M.S. and Sc.D. each in Environmental Health from Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. You can follow Dr. Zota and her work here: Twitter: @amizota; @AgentschangeEJ; agentsofchangeinej.org [http://agentsofchangeinej.org/] For a full transcript, visit our website [https://projects.iq.harvard.edu/james-toddlab/beauty-justice-podcast-0].

+ The Role of Cosmetologists with Susan Peterkin

Cosmetology courses aim to teach participants everything they need to know to care for their future clients’ skin, nails, and hair. But are there racial equity concerns when the care and styling techniques taught in these courses are typically for clients with straight hair, leaving behind a predominantly Black audience with textured hair? In this episode, Susan L. Peterkin joins Dr. Tamarra James-Todd to discuss the role of cosmetologists in beauty justice. They also discuss Susan’s career in the natural hair field and why helping others learn how to nurture and embrace their own, or their clients’ natural hair is essential in beauty justice efforts.  Susan L. Peterkin is an award-winning cosmetologist, hair loss expert, and pioneer in cosmetology. She opened the first full-service natural hair salon located inside of a Dermatologic Hair Salon and the first all-natural hair (no hair extensions) salon in the DMV area, JAHA Hair Studio from 1996-2021. She also created and implemented the first Texture Hair Care Program at a correctional facility and taught the Natural Hair Course at Montgomery College, Susan founded The Natural Hair Industry Convention, an education platform for the advancement of professionals. In addition, Susan advocated for passing the CROWN ACT in the state and local government of Maryland. With over 35 years of experience, Susan is a voice of influence for professionals in the natural hair industry. You can follow Susan and her work  here: Instagram  [https://www.instagram.com/naturalhairindustry/?hl=en] For a full transcript, visit our website [https://projects.iq.harvard.edu/james-toddlab/beauty-justice-podcast-0].

+ Black Beauty Liberation with Dr. Teiahsha Bankhead

How does our relationship with beauty and hair influence how we feel about ourselves? And how is our relationship with beauty impacted by others? For folks with minoritized identities, like people of the African diaspora, how beauty ideals impact identity and sense of place in the world is even more critical because of the way racism influences the dominant standard of beauty. In the latest podcast episode, Dr. Teiahsha Bankhead joins Dr. Tamarra James-Todd to explore some of these themes and what it means for moving beauty justice forward.  Dr. Teiahsha Bankhead, Ph.D., LCSW, is the Executive Director of Restorative Justice for Oakland Youth and Professor Emeritus in the Division of Social Work at California State University, Sacramento. She is a licensed psychotherapist with a Master’s in Social Work and a Ph.D. in social welfare from the University of California, Berkeley. Dr. Bankhead uses a mixed methods approach, combining both quantitative data (numerical data) and qualitative data (data describing experiences and providing context) in her research. She holds sharing and listening circles on subjects including but not limited to school-based restorative justice, race and restorative justice, and truth-telling and racial healing. She was a National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), Minority Research Fellow, and a United States Psychiatric Congress fellow. Read Dr. Bankhead and co-author Dr. Johnson’s article here: Hair It Is: Examining the Experiences of Black Women with Natural Hair [https://academicworks.cuny.edu/me_pubs/32/] For a full transcript, visit our website [https://projects.iq.harvard.edu/james-toddlab/beauty-justice-podcast-0]