“DON’T TOUCH MY HAIR!”
If a drop of olive oil were to drop on my head for the amount of times I have exclaimed this whilst gripping someone’s wrist attached to a hand that has been God knows where, I’d be used for frying.
My hair is not a petting zoo and just because it is a different texture, it does not give you the right to roam through it with fingers that have made it through an entire day.
Once my hair really started growing and becoming “trendy”, it was new to both me and the rest of the world. It was seen as something from a different planet. The hair grabbing didn’t bother me much in the beginning, but now that it’s been over a year in, people need to get over it. Yes, it’s a cloud. It is my cloud.
Here are a few of the ridiculous questions and comments regarding my hair that I have received over the past year:
1. “Can you brush your hair?” (Of course, I can.)
2. “Do you brush your hair?” (No, I brush my hair.)
3. “When was the last time you used a hairdryer?” (Hairdryer? What’s hairdryer?)
4. “It’s like a cloud.” (It’s where I store my thoughts.)
5. “It’s like a pillow.” (It’s where I store my dreams.)
6. “It’s like a cloud-pillow.” (It’s where I store my thought-dreams.)
7. “How do you get it like that?” (I don’t. It grows that way.)
8. “Your natural hair suits you.” (Thanks, it’s supposed to.)
Society has played a great role with the strangeness of natural African hair.
Throughout the years and hair trends, straight moving hair has been the safe go-to for the world. “If all else fails, straighten.” Now, straight European hair is not a problem for me whatsoever, it is the fact that society (due to the world’s past) has made natural African hair almost a taboo topic and a brave thing to wear.
I remember when I did my “big chop” (when one cuts off all of one’s chemically treated straight hair in order to expose one’s natural virgin hair). I was terrified of what I would see in the mirror once only my real hair was exposed. I had been brainwashed into fearing my own hair texture and how it would suit me. At the time, I did not realise the irrationality of my worry. Was I really afraid of how my OWN God-given hair would look on ME?
However, these days, natural hair has become a trend seen in a good way to some, as it is seen as self-acceptance. To others, it is seen as neglected, bedraggled and dirty because of the fact that it isn’t sleeked back (not that it was ever meant to be sleeked back).
I believe that African hair should not be seen as a trend in the first place. It should be seen for what it is…natural and should not be treated as something foreign and daring.
On the whole, African hair is nothing more than natural, normal and logical. It should be treated with respect and not as a strange object to be touched and played with by random people at their free-will. Afro Women, be strong enough to say, “DON’T TOUCH MY HAIR!” It is yours, not the worlds.
