How My Hair Became An Accidental Political Act

I was not trying to rebel, or to lead a counter culture of curly radicals by wearing my hair in its natural form but for some reason thats how some people receive me. To start, I would like to say I liked my hair straight when it appeared to be healthy, and yes I say 'appeared'. Deep conditioning could only fix so much heat and chemical damage. Getting trims routinely did help downsize my split ends but there was still something missing. I never felt like "myself" when styling my hair. I was curious about my unscathed hair texture.

My entire life until I was 22 I was told what to do with my hair. "You need a perm" was suggested to me by my mom or my hairstyling sister whenever my unprocessed roots would grow in. One day I decided to pick up a scissor and cut it all off. It was scary! I felt immediately free and sad. I admit I criticized myself somedays, dwelling on my previous hair length but remembering my goal kept me grounded. A miracle happen one day, I didn't care anymore! I'd receive tons of backhanded comments being the first in my family to try this. I was compared to celebrities with "wacky" hair styles and routinely stigmatized by strangers as a rebel, a feminist or "earthy". What is "earthy'? I don't know. I even had a white man say I reminded him of Erykah Badu. It was a reach. A comment from someone who favored Eurocentric beauty standards or someone who stereotyped me as an incense lover always opened a conversation about my hair. The who, what, and why was addressed and I wasn't afraid to set the record straight.  I didn't plan on having to teach and defend my decision but I have gained a lot from the curiosity of those brave enough to ask me about it. This in itself is a political act.


I think the word "political" today feels unapproachable but our interactions, whether we recognize it or not, are politically motivated. We each have an identity and the most important parts of politics is human identity. It's important as people to be recognize as viable and realistic, not as characters. When we are recognized by our human identity and not as a caricature of ourselves, then we can progress, be taken seriously and move closer toward liberation. I feel like many of us spend so much time untangling the stereotypes we get too exhausted to demand validation. I read about the growing wealth gaps and wonder: Are the employers of black women who are pay them significantly lesser than male colleagues assuming something about them based on appearance? What makes them believe these women didn't care to be equally compensated? What is this about? It's a conversation that starts before HR and in the universal community. 

Today, I enjoy having full healthy hair and I like having hair conversations. I never had these conversations before when I would fry and dye, beating my natural hair into submission. I empathize with women who have the same questions I had and couldn't get answers to immediately. I also look forward to the day when we can move passed this and since I didn't recognize it before, there is also a ton of people who love and embrace natural hair texture. I would like to say thank you for untangling the stereotypes and for perpetuating such a strong political message.