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Black girls don't swim

Does hair stop black girls from getting into the water?

Seren Jones swam competitively for 13 years in the UK and in the US collegiate system. But in that time she only ever saw six other black girls in the pool. Why so few? A survey published by the University of Memphis and USA Swimming found that black respondents were significantly more concerned about getting their hair wet, and about the negative impact of chemicals on their appearances, than white respondents.

In this programme Seren explores whether maintaining ‘good’ hair really is the leading factor behind why black women don’t take part in competitive swimming…. And what, if anything, is being done about it.

Available now

27 minutes

Last on

Thu 11 Jun 2020 15:06GMT

Broadcasts

  • Tue 6 Aug 2019 12:32GMT
  • Tue 6 Aug 2019 17:06GMT
  • Tue 6 Aug 2019 21:06GMT
  • Wed 7 Aug 2019 01:32GMT
  • Sat 10 Aug 2019 08:32GMT
  • Sun 11 Aug 2019 17:06GMT
  • Fri 5 Jun 2020 02:06GMT
  • Sat 6 Jun 2020 07:06GMT
  • Thu 11 Jun 2020 15:06GMT

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