Don't Touch My Hair

As a Black woman, my hair is something I consider very vital to my life–it's my identity. No matter what style I may be rocking, my hair is a part of me.

Black women are so versatile with our hairstyles. One week you may catch me slaying my box braids, the next with forty-inch weave and the one after that rocking my natural fro!

I have always found such liberation in my hair, no matter what style it was in. The switching of styles is what uplifted me. Like Solange says, "I tried to change it with my hair," literally, that is me. Anytime I'm feeling a certain way or in a funk, I need to change my hair, so that's what I do.

Being a Black woman at a Predominately White Institution has been quite the challenge. Hearing, "Oh my gosh! You cut your hair?" every time I move from my wigs to my fro gets quite frustrating. Like Becky, girl my weave is just like your clip in blonde extensions you wear! You don't see me asking why your bun looks so skimp today.

But the worst question of them all is "Can I touch your hair?"

No Susan, you cannot touch this wig that took me two days to make! No, you cannot touch these marley twists that I sat in the chair for eight hours for! You cannot touch my poppin' twist out that I had to deep condition and load curling creme to get!

I feel free with my hair. My hair holds my feelings, my emotions, my struggles, my whole entire life. I have worked so hard for it and fought for my hair to be accepted in today's society, but you want me to let you put your hands on it?

In Solange's, Don't Touch My Hair, she says, "They don't understand what it means to me, where we chose to go, where we've been to know."

These lyrics embody the modern struggle of Black women and explaining our hair choices to others. No one understands how vital our hair is to our identity or even how we had to take control of our hair and move away from European beauty standards.

Our hair is beautiful no matter which way we choose to style it, we don't owe Susan or Becky an explanation, and we sure don't owe them the privilege of touching our hair.