Yes, I know it looks literally as soft as a cloud but it also literally took me an hour to get it perfect so, please, do not touch it. Being a person of color in the society we live in is not the easiest. And for those who just said stop pulling the black card, it really is not the easiest. For a minute let's forget about, you know the historical context that simply makes the everyday bullshit worse. But imagine going out and not having anyone like you anywhere around or sitting in class and literally being the only familiar face around. When you finally see another person of color it's like finding a long lost relative.
Sorry, I'm getting sidetracked, back to the hair.
Society already does not support our naturally wooly hair. There are so many times that we are systemically forced to damage our hair to fit into this society. And yeah, we could simply rebel and wear our hair as we please but that decision comes with consequences. Imagine not getting a job because you simply "didn't look the part." There are plenty of times that a person of color will be denied a job due to the natural curls God has blessed us with. You could be the most professional and qualified person in the room but if a woman of color dares to walk in with her natural curls flowing or an African American male had his dreads nicely kept, we will be denied that job because of the ideal "picture" based on a societal standard we simply cannot achieve. At least not in a healthy manner or without risk of permanently damaging what God gave to us.
I speak from personal experience. As a young girl, I remember being jealous of all the caucasian girls in my class who had long hair all the way down their backs. Now I had hair but it was thick and my mother, being a busy working single mother, had no clue what to do with my hair and so one day she had a relaxer put in my hair. Reason being that is what society at that time said to do to our hair to have it be "socially" acceptable. I went from nice thick luxurious hair to barely any breaking off and unhealthy. This was until I remembered a song I used to listen to a lot, "I'm Not My Hair" by Indie Arie. Crazy that a song can have such an effect on your outlook but that song taught me to love my curls and dare to do what we call the "big chop." (Yes, that means basically cutting off most of your hair.)
Because prior to that my self-confidence had gone down the toilet, being the only black girl in my class whom now had brittle damaged hair. Picture days were the worse. Our hair is our crown that compliments the rest of the blessings God has bestowed upon us. I won't speak for anyone else but I do not feel like myself when my hair is not happy and healthy. Yeah, it might just be hair but the symbolism of it means alot to most of us. (Or we wouldn't spend have as much as we do to take care of it.)
So not only can our hair affect our ability to get a job but also our confidence.
I know what you're thinking its just hair. Track with me for a moment, imagine a female cancer patient. Extreme example, I know but follow with me here. The loss of hair can be one of the hardest things for a cancer patient to deal with, who is already loosing so much. Is it so much of a stretch for a group of people who have already lost their culture, their land, their ancestry and so much more from the cancerous effects of colonization to feel the same. I have been natural for over six years now. When I do put in the work to do my hair sometimes it can take up to days.
That is a lot of work and time for a college student who barely gets any sleep half the time. I can imagine I am not the only one who feels this way. So please next time you think about touching someone's luxurious wooly curls, think twice. This was alot of work literally and figuratively.
