I saw a tweet the other day that said "Guys don't try to bag a girl your first week of college, wait until they take their bundles out so you can see the real them." Not only was that statement offensive, but it really made me think about all the negative backlash that women receive if they choose to wear a weave, especially women of color.
Others often assume that black women with weaves have less hair, but in most cases, that is not true at all. Growing up, I often associated weave with being bald headed; I've always had a head full of hair and never even thought about covering it up. I didn't want others to see me differently, so I refused to get braids and weaves. I enjoyed being known as the black girl with curly hair, I loved when my peers used to tell me that they wished their hair was like mine. I was young and dumb at the time. The black community is so hung up on hair and the more you have, the more beautiful you are.The world has brainwashed us into thinking that beauty is only skin deep.
Black women who wear weave get talked down upon so much, but when Kylie Jenner wore a lace front braided red wig she was praised. As a black woman, I am sure that I can speak for all of us when I say that we are tired of hearing the negative comments about our hair. I am sick of hearing "Girl that's not even yours" Trust me, if I pay 400 dollar for this hair, it is mine for the rest of my life. If we wear it natural it's too nappy. When we were it straight, we're not embracing our roots. And if we wear a weave we must be hiding something, because supposedly it is impossible for a black woman to have healthy hair, but still want to cover it up. That's just taboo, right? Wrong. Black women wear weaves for numerous reasons, they keep our hair protected, we can try different looks without the commitment, and sometimes weaves are just easier to deal with than our own hair, that doesn't mean that we are not grateful for the hair that we have.
Whatever a women decides to do with her hair is her own business. The world needs to stop bashing women who choose not to wear their own hair, especially black men. You'd be surprise how many young black men I've heard talk about a black woman's choice to wear a weave, like there aren't more important issues pressing the black community. The amount of times I've heard a black man ignorantly say "I bet that's not even her real hair" or " She wishes her hair was that long" is absolutely ridiculous. I've met so many women whose hair is actually longer than their weave, and the idea that women who have longer hair are more beautiful is absurd. There are women who refuse to cut their damaged, unhealthy hair just because the world associates long hair with beauty. Black women are beautiful regardless if their hair is out or tucked away with a weave. Everyone knows that black women are strong, no nonsense taking women so honestly, we will wear a weave whether you like it or not.
