There are definitely moments in history where we have showcased pride in our hairdressing.
But really, didn’t the war start centuries ago when we were forced to cut our hair and elaborate designs or to wear headwraps to cover our tresses? Like we’re going against the grain, as if we’re purposely trying to start a fight or war on beauty. Once we embrace our cultural practices in hairdressing, it’s as if we’re no longer seen as people. When I mentioned braids to her, she pretty much immediately shut it down because of her line of work and how her conservative white clients want to worry how much they’re willing to spend for their company and not about if they can trust this black woman with braids trying to sell them something. One of my friends was going through the process of wanting to strengthen her hair a few months ago.
#Solange dont touch my hair meaning how to
Whenever I first start working somewhere, I’m normally hesitant on how to wear my hair the first weeks and try to be a bit more cautious so other employees may not form preconceived notions about me.
We debate about what to do with our hair on a daily basis depending on our job situation. Afros and voluminous hair and braids were taboo they weren’t seen as “white-collar.”īut of course, the practice carries on today. Even into the 20th century, black women felt they had to conform with straight hair in order to obtain jobs in offices. Natural hairstyles were seen as radical and militant. This ideology carried on post-slavery where black women would use chemicals and processes to straighten their naturally textured hair. With more mixed children came different hair types, and those seen as more attractive - to white eyes - were fairer women with looser curls. Some women had to wear their hair in wraps in the Antebellum South, as white women were intimidated by the black women’s coils and curls and the wraps could hide them. During the Middle Passage, the women were forced to have their heads shaved.
The history of black women’s hair is complex. “I like your shirt! How do you get it so smooth and flat?” “Oh, it looks like you don’t like to wear quality bras. I’ve finally comes to grips that when and if another person does this (and it’s always a woman), I’m going to tell her that I like her shirt and grab a boob. I’m not sure what reality these people live in to think it’s fine to poke and prod another person. Remember the story of Venus Hottentot: How she was paraded and poked for her larger than European butt? How she was transported to Europe like a circus sideshow to be mocked? All the while, white women wanted to be her after the mockery and began wearing those padded hooped skirts. Is this really OK? I felt violated and like I was placed in a cage. At this point, I was clearly disgusted and showed her as much. On another occasion while getting a drink at a bar in a casino, I was waiting on the bartender when a white woman said, “Your hair is so pretty.” Nearly immediately, she grabbed a couple of braids to feel it. Before I knew it, I felt a tug on my hair and the white woman next to me said, “How do you get your hair like this? You’ll have to excuse me,” and she laughed, “I’m old.” I had to let the woman know that she wasn’t that old, and quite frankly, I don’t know if you’re ever too old to realize that it’s inappropriate to touch another person against their will, especially if they don’t know you. And it makes me wonder, in what world do people think it’s OK to voluntarily and without permission touch another person?Īt a Starbucks, I was sitting down and waiting for a friend. Are we not human enough in society’s eyes to claim our own personal being or to not be prodded like a puppy in a pet store? No? Still on the auction block, huh?Īs I’ve been rocking my braids recently, on more than one occasion I’ve felt like a goat in a petting zoo.
We’re not seen as a priority among other groups of people, and when we do voice our concerns, we’re viewed as if we’re whining, bitchy, or lazy by non-blacks and manipulative and bitchy by black men.
#Solange dont touch my hair meaning professional
For one, as black women, we’re statistically at the bottom of the social, economic, professional totem poles because of how people view us. It’s a notion that every black woman feels at one point or another, and Solange Knowles captured the frustration and politics of the subject beautifully on her A Seat at the Table album in the song Don’t Touch My Hair.