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What does your hair say about your spirituality?
“Nothing, because it’s hair.”
That’s a funny exchange Lala Hathaway relayed in an interview with Essence this week discussing her decision to dread her hair and the funny stereotypes that come along with having natural hair — like people assuming she’s deeply spiritual or a vegan just because she has locs.
As I watched her interview I was reminded how a reader once called two of our editors “herbal girls” simply because of their locs and it got me thinking about other stereotypes we hold about each other just because of how we style our hair day to day. Though I’ve never been given a label — to my face at least — because of a particular hairstyle, I most definitely felt the “she’s not woke” shade during my last relaxed days as I was constantly bombarded with questions about why I still permed my hair whenever someone found out. Now that I’m natural, and a majority of Black women are as well, I’m treated like one of the crew which is cool but still leaves me feeling a way about my pre-natural days; sort of how straight naturals feel a part of the team but not really all because of their choice to flat iron rather than flat twist.
Check out Lala’s quick interview on her hair journey below and share your experiences in the comments section. Have people assumed different stereotypes about you because of your hair or are you guilty of stereotyping others?
