millenniumfae:

Let’s think of it this way; the layman separates hair color into three simple categories … blond, redhead, and brunette.

People define their attraction by these three colors. “I’m prone to blondes”. “I love me a redhead.” “Tall, dark, and handsome.” There’s elitism surrounding colored hair, as opposed to natural-born pigment. There’s stereotypes of our entire physical makeup based off of our hair color; and our personalities, too. Some people’s hair even change as they get older, and this prompts a switch in these societal identities.

But of course we realize that there’s more than three hair colors. People of color, for example, often have a hair color that can’t be described as ‘brunette’ – especially black and asian people. Therefore, we have our own words to describe our hair, with all the political backlash it implies ….. much like the use of the word queer, and its history amongst crowds of anti-police-brutality of Stonewall and beyond, which very much targeted lgbt+ multicultural people of color.

And amongst hair enthusiasts, discussions surrounding hair are much more specific and varied; you define your hair by its texture, its shape, its moisture level, its length, its history, and beyond. At the salon, you’re gonna describe your hair as “color-treated, shoulder length, prone to dryness” as opposed to a simple brunette. At Sephora, the clerk helps you find makeup based off of the palette of your “neutral rose-gold blond” hair, and you purchase a shampoo specifically for “ringlet curls”, as opposed to one for “beach waves”. 

These specific details are very relevant. Perhaps some times more than others, but within the ‘hair’ community, these multiple identities are useful for describing a more accurate description of your hair. Your body. 

And then, someone points out the fact that they’re bald. They don’t have any hair. And the people who have defined themselves as ‘hair colors’ get very confused, even agitated. For others, they simply switch their moniker from hair colors to hair styles. And they discover that its much more inclusive and accurate.

So you get used to all these specific terms. I stop pushing myself into a ‘brunette’ box and describe myself as a ‘warm black, Asian coarse, color and chemical treated, 36-cm length”. It’s what I am, after all.

Cue blond Chris coming in to claim that I’m brunette, because that’s what matters to our oppressors. The length, texture, and history are just verbal modifiers for what’s underneath my …. hat. “You’re just suffering from internalized brunettephobia, trying to avoid the trauma”.

It’s infuriating to me. I finally found words that describe what I am. And I use them, because they’re relevant to my life. There’s no justifiable reason to police the use of terms that truly reflect who you are, that have no ill intent.

Having words that describe who you are and make you feel comfortable is important.