Curls, puffs, twists, braids, dreadlocks. These natural hairstyles are being looked at by society as unprofessional and unkempt. Having your hair out in its completely natural state is apparently a crime against humanity since many people seem to have a problem with it.
A few months back, schools were facing backlash after initiating a ban against students wearing natural hairstyles. According to a school in Kentucky, students with natural hair are a “distraction”. The school opted for regulations against natural hair by stating in the dress code, “Hairstyles that are extreme, distracting, or attention-getting will not be permitted. No dreadlocks, cornrows, twists, mohawks and no jewelry will be worn in hair.” Some schools have even sent students home for looking “unprofessional” with their natural hair. Last year, an eighth grader in Toronto was sent home because her principal thought the student’s hair was “unprofessional and too poofy”. Student, Shayla Ford told reporters, “That’s our way of life. Because if I don’t have my twists, if I don’t have my cornrows, if I don’t have my hair braided, then I get complaints from the kid behind me that he can’t see.”
Why does society have this stigma that any natural hair style is unprofessional? Why do the people who want to showcase their beautiful hair get punished? Why is it a crime to embrace our natural hair? Â Our natural hair is what makes us who we are, but it seems that society wants us to hide our gorgeous locks from the world. Â
Having my natural hair out is a way to show the world who I really am. I want to show people that I’m taking care of my hair. Why should I be concerned that my natural hair is a “distraction”? No matter what people have to say about your natural hair, let me be the first to tell you that your hair is beautiful. Just because the world considers natural hair as a negative, does not mean that it is. That goes for any part of your body that you deserve to embrace with confidence. Follow your own standards, not society’s. Singer India Arie said it best back in 2006, “I am not my hair, I am not this skin, I am the soul that lives within”.