Historically there is a stigma around certain types of hair, typically curly/kinky hair. It is labeled “bad hair.” Euro-centric beauty standards have been the norm reinforced by years of toned and bleached magazine covers, but in recent years women of color have revolutionized these standards and reclaimed their natural hair. We all have different types of hair and shouldn’t feel pressured to be like everybody else, when everybody doesn’t look like me.

I am a mixed woman with hair very different from most of my peers. Even though there are other mixed girls out there, our hair is beautifully unique. My hair is naturally curly, but I wouldn’t call it that. The world tells me my natural hair shouldn’t make me feel confident. Most of the time you will see my hair straightened because I spent an hour and fifteen minutes of my day trying to fit perfectly into the neat little box that is acceptable mixed woman fashion. I sometimes wear it curly, if I’m feeling risky, but most of the time I won’t because of the self-conscious way I feel about my hair. At school, I see girls with all different types of hair showing our exciting diversity. Some girls have straight hair, some have curly, and other girls have braids.

We all wear our hair in ways that make us feel confident. Every single girl is different. Which is why we express ourselves through our hair and the styles that we choose. Race is a topic most people don’t want to talk about. However,I believe race is one of the most important topics and that we should be talking about it more. We live in a stereotypical world, a place that makes some of us feel like we don’t belong because of how we look. Society has created an unrealistic picture of how life should be and that we should strive for their standard of perfection. We are all different and that is what makes us unique, our race, our personalities, and our hair. Our hair is a part of our culture and we shouldn’t be ashamed of that.