Oh, Solange, why are you so perfect? I recently listened to Solange’s new album A Seat At The Table and it’s by far an album for black women. All of the songs are powerful and evoke such a personal message that every black woman can relate to. However, there is perhaps one song that I have fallen in love with over and over again. “Don’t Touch My Hair” is an ode to all my beautiful black queens who feel silenced about their blackness, including our hair. Black hair is something that is of amazement and wonderment by other races. The song touches on this and it got me thinking of just how ignorant so many people can be about black hair. From the infamous, “Can I touch your hair?” to “black hair must be difficult”, this is the kind of ignorance that spews out of people’s mouths when discussing a black person’s hair.
First and foremost, black women aren’t pets. I personally take offense when someone wants to touch my hair. My hair is just hair, though it might defy gravity and have a lustrous sheen, that doesn’t give anyone the right to put their hands in my hair. It puzzles me on why people of other races are “fascinated” with trying to touch and feel our hair. I don’t go around touching a white woman’s freshly highlighted hair because it looks amazing. I simply compliment her and go about my day, I have no desire to feel her hair. Compliments work well and people from other races should take note of that. There is something very invasive and embarrassing about having a total stranger touch and feel your hair because they’ve never seen it. It almost feels like a violation because it’s something so unnatural and obscene. Hair is just hair and it comes in a variety of patterns, curls, and textures.
Instead of trying to touch black hair, I think talking to a black person and educating oneself on black hair would help. For example, Afros, a popular black hair style since the late 1960s and 70s is making a resurgence in millennial black women. With this resurgence a lot people from other races feel the need to gaze in amazement and attempt to touch these beautifully shaped, combed out curls. However, this is not an appropriate behavior for people to do when they see an unfamiliar hairstyle or a style that fascinates them. The appropriate thing to do would be to compliment and then educate oneself on black hair. I’m sure there is a plethora of documentaries and videos that explain black hair with great depth. Being informed and complimenting a black woman’s hair instead of trying to touch it, is the right course of action for people of other races. It shows black women that someone cared enough to know more information about our hair. It also shows respect towards our hairstyles that took time and effort to do. This respect for black women and our hair is needed because for so long we have constantly been disrespected and disregarded.
