Can you be an introverted black girl and still rock an afro? The question is simple, and the answer is even more so:
“Yes. You can do whatever-the-bleep you want to”.
The thing is, while you can control what you do, you can’t control how people engage and/or perceive you.
Even so, let me make this clear in case someone out there suddenly realizes their mistake. Yes, I’m wearing my hair out and I know it’s Big, Awesome, and Beautiful… but no, that doesn’t mean I want to talk to you right now. There should be no correlation between the two, so I am not sure how you jumped to that conclusion.
This mirrors the issue many women face when they decide to put on a little extra makeup, or heaven forbid; wear a dress. People assume that we’ve put the added effort into our appearance in order to get attention. No. Maybe I just really like makeup, dresses, and big hair.
Then, when we want to keep to ourselves, we are smacked with the label of being “Stuck Up”.
This happens often when I wear my hair out.
Most of the time, when I wear my hair out, I am mentally prepared for the additional attention I’ll be getting from strangers (whether it’s blatant stares, sly smiles, or people outright commenting on it.) Honestly, most of the time I’d even call it a bit of an ego boost, but once again, I’ve hyped myself up for it. I am ready for it.
But on those days when I’m not prepared… coming up to me and trying to chat puts me in a bad mood. Especially if my headphones are in and I am busy focusing on something that is not you.