Thanks for sharing this message Mal! It's very true. Whether it's curly or in locs, people of color are always faced with trying to decide whether they should wear their hair in its natural state or make adjustments so that it can be deemed "acceptable in the workplace". Kudos to going viral for the right reasons.
I really appreciated your post. I was infuriated by the people who made it their business to try and scold/lecture you for sharing (I commented a lot lol). I changed my hair (I have Alopecia so I wear wigs) over the Thanksgiving Holiday and my boss told me she liked my hair and it looked more "polished". I held my tongue as I looked at her split ends. Whereas my Account Manager saw me and just said "I really love your hair!" Big difference in the delivery and how they were received! Especially since this was after I read your post. One of my friend's uncles said it best "I don't see why what's on me bothers you!"
I know you didn't court this controversy but you handled it beautifully. I had this conversation with myself 20 years ago about whether it was work appropriate to wear braids in my work environment. This isn't new for women of color and we def haven't gotten past societal norms. Great job Mal!!!
Thanks for sharing this message Mal! It's very true. Whether it's curly or in locs, people of color are always faced with trying to decide whether they should wear their hair in its natural state or make adjustments so that it can be deemed "acceptable in the workplace". Kudos to going viral for the right reasons.
I really appreciated your post. I was infuriated by the people who made it their business to try and scold/lecture you for sharing (I commented a lot lol). I changed my hair (I have Alopecia so I wear wigs) over the Thanksgiving Holiday and my boss told me she liked my hair and it looked more "polished". I held my tongue as I looked at her split ends. Whereas my Account Manager saw me and just said "I really love your hair!" Big difference in the delivery and how they were received! Especially since this was after I read your post.
One of my friend's uncles said it best "I don't see why what's on me bothers you!"
I know you didn't court this controversy but you handled it beautifully. I had this conversation with myself 20 years ago about whether it was work appropriate to wear braids in my work environment. This isn't new for women of color and we def haven't gotten past societal norms. Great job Mal!!!