Don't Touch My Hair

By Zaria Reyes and Francisco Reyes ,  Grade 8 and Grade 6

Do you draw your boundaries to a certain point? Everyone does. What if someone kept bothering you? Or, what if someone kept touching your hair? This is something that people of color and mixed heritage experience almost every day. Despite how beautiful their hair is, that does not mean they gave you consent to touch it.

Have you or someone around you felt the need to touch someone else's hair? Asking someone "Could I touch your hair?" is extremely inappropriate. Why? Asking a person of color if you could touch their hair is offensive. You may put that person on the spot, and if they say no, they might be seen as "rude." Almost everyone doesn't want their hair to be touched. Just acknowledged or complemented. When it comes to someone touching your hair, not a lot of people want to stick up for your opinion if you say no because they might think that they are trying to make a fool of the person.

Compared to Black people, little to no white people get asked every day if someone could touch their hair. Making excuses to touch black hair like "I wanted to know what the texture is like'' isn't appropriate. A reason why some white people feel the need to touch black hair is that they feel and might even know that they are privileged and can get away with the situation.

If a black person were to touch someone else's hair they would most likely be shamed. Some people might call black hair frizzy, fluffy, poofy, etc. Saying this is not okay. Getting your hair touched is like getting a pet like a animal. Knowing this, nobody wants their hair to be touched.

Black hair is beautiful in all sorts of ways. Don't think that only a black girl's hair is only touched, a black boy's hair is, too! From afros to cornrows, Bantu knots to twist outs, a black person's hair should never be touched, especially without permission.

EXTRA!

Zaria:

Hi, I'm Zaria Reyes, 1 of 2 of the authors of this article. Some people may wonder, "Why did you write this?" Well to say, I deal with a lot of "hair issues." Have you ever been asked "How do you brush your hair?" or "Is your hair real?" I get this a lot. Before, I usually had nothing to say. It never made sense why people asked me such things. But, now I realize that most people don't know what might be appropriate or not. I understand that. I know some people don't get to wake up with the same knowledge about black hair as me, so I see why some people ask. But it still doesn't make it okay for people to touch my hair. I get a lot of "Can I touch your hair?" My brother, Francisco Reyes (my sidekick, and partner in crime) goes through this as well. I've seen it for myself. I see when he would be talking to his friends and someone would randomly start touching his hair. For him, it would probably be an awkward situation for him too.

Francisco:

Hello, I'm Francisco, Zaria's younger brother and a co-author of this article. I was at school when I was walking up to some with 7th graders I barely knew they said "Hey! I see you have waves!" And had brushed their hands up against my head. I felt uncomfortable and awkward. I just laughed it off and went on the bus as they waved. As I walked on the bus I had just thought that they were trying to be nice. My sister saw everything. She had asked me "Why would you let them do that?" And I had told her that there were too many kids around and I didn't want to be embarrassed. And that is exactly how I feel when my hair is touched. The only person I would let touch my hair is, and only will be myself. This is unacceptable and inappropriate. I hope that people read this and understand why some people don't want their hair to be touched.