The Acceptable Human

It is hard to talk about life through natural hair. It is something untouchable, yet it can be felt.

These days living in Australia as a black woman, I have gone through so many things. It feels like a tough experience in three steps: who they want me to be, who I am, and who could be accepted.

First of all, when I arrived in this country, I was wearing black and blonde braids because I thought that style would look really cool—and it did. Most people loved it. Every time I walked on the street, someone stopped me to compliment my hair.

“Sorry, but your hair is amazing. I love it,” they would say.

I wore the extensions for about six months, which is a long time to wear fake hair! But I was so happy with all the attention that I became afraid to see my real hair again. I was also getting bored.

Secondly, after I took off my braids, I had soft, curly, big Black Power hair. I felt like a queen. I felt like myself again. I was happy.
However, things weren’t so good this time. Instead of compliments, people laughed, judged me, and tried to make me feel ashamed because of my “strangeness” and my Afro hair. They reminded me of that every single day.
In the end, I felt forced to tie my natural hair.
Yes, now I am a “normal” human. People see me on the street with less judgment—or they simply ignore me. Honestly, I don’t like it.
So… who am I? The “acceptable” Black woman for this great society we live in? Who am I, now that I’m outside my own identity—outside myself?

Well… now I am the acceptable “dark” human.