"When someone touches it and then says 'oh, it's so fluffy,' I'm thinking, Wait . . . I'm not a pet," said Marsh. "Then I have to go back and fix it to the way I like again."
Ashley Branch, an NYC media specialist, wants to be able to claim her beauty and exist without being exotified. "So many Black women have been told for years and years that our natural state of being is not good enough, and it takes a tremendous amount of personal work and courage to ignore that and learn to love yourself and your hair. So imagine doing all of that to get to the point where you feel like the way your hair grows out of your head is enough, to only be treated like a petting zoo?"
When a stranger or someone you know invades that personal space to fulfill a curiosity of theirs, it can feel violating and trigger feelings from previous encounters.
6. "I Didn't Recognize You With Your Hair That Way"
I enjoy the versatility of Black hair and change my hairstyles multiple times a year, but we are living in a time of glorifying Black hair. People are fascinated by the wide variety of hairstyles Black women can wear, which in turn, produces unwarranted attention. I remember cringing at work meetings when conversations that started with, "I feel like you change your hair more than anyone I know," referring to the diversity of my hair, rather than focusing on business strategies.
Sadly, Black girls are often on the receiving ends of these comments, which can derail our confidence, personal growth, and sometimes, our feelings toward the speaker.
