"When I take my braids out, my hair is past my shoulders." "Oh my gosh, her hair is so long!". These are the repetitive comments that I hear from my students interacting with each other on a daily basis. The students who I teach are predominately African American and it amazes everyday to listen to their opinions about the standards of 'true beauty'. It also baffles me when they react to the way I wear my hair. One day, I may where extensions, as seen in the photo on the left, and the next, I may wear my short natural hair as seen in the middle. Some students will look in horror and ask, "What happened to your hair?, in a disturbed tone. In the back of my mind I'm wondering, why does it matter if I changed my hair? This is the way it naturally grows out of my head. I even had a student who reacted negatively to a picture of Angela Davis when I was giving her a research assignment on African American history. In fact, all of the students laughed vigorously when I showed them a picture of Angela Davis styling her infamous 'Afro'. The girl looked at me solemnly and asked me if she could research another person. This obsession with hair goes beyond the classroom. People of all hues and genders have treated me differently based on my hairstyle even on a professional level. I could be wearing the same dress and a different hairstyle and men will ignore me or approach me based on my 'two inch' or '14 inch' style. On a global scale, one can see that there is also a desire to fit a certain mold. CNN did a story in Nigeria and it's booming weave industry. A vast majority of women in the country believe that wearing weave or a wig will make them look fabulous. Now I'm not advocating that women should stop wearing weave(as you can see I wear extensions from time to time). However, it becomes a serious issue when women begin to believe that wearing hair that grew out of somebody else's head makes them a better human being. With that being said, the question arises, why are some women of color attempting to achieve an aesthetic that is not their own when certain cultural aesthetics put into place do not even apply to them? There is some serious revaluation needed in order for the human race to heal from past historical experiences that created stereotypes and negative portrayals of certain ethnic groups. This starts with teaching young children early about acceptance, and fostering cultural understanding. As for me, it seems that I am more marketable with my natural hair than any other style I have worn in the past. Whether it's long, short, or in between, hair should not change your perception of someone. Maybe, just maybe one day society will stop placing me and other women in a box because of my style of locs.
