There are few things that I hate: rude people, slugs, and cheese. But one of my biggest pet peeves in the entire world is when people touch my hair without asking. It may feel like a very trivial thing but in reality it is the exact opposite, at least to me. It happens frequently enough to warrant it being a pet peeve and for it to bother me.
I feel as though people don't really understand what they are doing when they touch it. To me, touching my hair without my permission, feels like they don't respect my personal space. It feels like I am nothing more than a llama at a petting zoo. That I am worth being petted and nothing more. Most people when they touch my hair they follow up with "Oh my God I love your hair!" They never actually consider what they did. It may seem insignificant to them. However to me, I feel like my personal space is being disrespected.
Sure it may seem trivial, but it isn't to me. I kept my hair short for a long time because of this feeling, and only recently realized it was part of the reason why. Sure my hair is a good conversation starter but it's more than just an attraction. My hair is a part of who I am, and when someone walks up and touches it feels like they are trivializing my identity.
It is something that shouldn't bother me, but its something that does, and I'm not the only person who has to deal with this. It is something that basically anyone with curly hair or "poofy" hair has to deal with.
The people who usually do the touching of the hair don't usually understand what they are doing, and they usually apologize immediately after I explain, that I would appreciate it if they asked before touching my hair. I have to explain to them, that it kind of makes me feel like a dog, and it doesn't help that most people use the "I'm talking to a dog right now voice" when they touch my hair. It also always turns into petting. It starts as one touch followed by a "its so soft" and then the petting begins and I stand there fifty shades of uncomfortable.
Its not that people can't touch my hair, I don't even mind after I get to know people, or if the person who is doing it is someone I know. It just when a stranger walks up and starts to touch my hair and pet me without ever once asking if it's okay, that is when I start to get upset. If someone approached and asked if they could touch it, it gives me the opportunity to say yes or no, and nine times out of ten I will say yes. I want to be treated as a human and not as some dog you can run up and touch. Hell, you always ask a dog owner to pet their dog, so if you want to touch or pet my hair, just ask.
