pink hair prejudice
jenny asks, "Do people treat you any differently now that you have pink hair?"
it's funny, what pink hair has done to my world. i love it. i was suffering from major mom hair for a while there where it wasn't super short and it wasn't super long and i couldn't figure out what to do. i was feeling frumpy. well. the pink kicked that in the ass. i feel perma-trendy. like no matter how badly i'm dressed or how much smashed banana is on my shirt, i'm still trendy. it's been a good time - and i'm not done with it yet.
the adults that have commented positively on my hair (besides you guys and my friends and family) are overwhelmingly african american women. like - perfect strangers come up from behind, grab my arm and turn me around to comment on it. they have given me love and support in rocking the pink hair. once i was driving down a four-lane city street on my way home from dropping hubby at work. i do this before getting ready for the day and typically look like billy id*l in the morning. we were almost home and two women in the car next to me started pointing animatedly and had me roll down my window so they could gush over my pink.
no one ever notices z's hair anymore. they are all way too busy trying to figure out my weirdness rather than our conspicuousness. that's been interesting.
overall it's been a pleasant experience.
It must be great fun, and a real boost to have such an upbeat color right on top of your head!
Thanks for the link to the online training, I hadn't seen that before.
Posted by: Margie | 15 November 2006 at 03:59 AM
Have you ever posted a picture of your famous hair? I'd like to see it too! :)
Posted by: Leatitia | 15 November 2006 at 10:00 AM
Oh, found it! It looks great! :D
http://afrindiemum.typepad.com/afrindiemum/2006/10/at_long_last.html
Posted by: Leatitia | 15 November 2006 at 10:03 AM
That is excellent, and your reasons for doing it are right on! It's funny -- about four years ago, my husband and I took two months off of work to bike and backpack all over Europe, and we both seriously considering dying our hair funky colors before we left. (Because honestly, when else in our life would there be a better opportunity?!) But then we considered the possibility of trying to ask some French farmer for directions with pink/blue hair, and somehow, it just seemed like a bad idea. (Being lost on a bicycle is considerably more time-consuming that being lost in a car! You need all the help you can get!)
Anyhow, that's why I asked -- pink hair envy! Now that we're back, I have to be civilized and work-a-day...grumble grumble grumble... ;) You go, grrrrrrl!
Posted by: Jenny | 15 November 2006 at 11:54 AM
I want pink hair too! I have the Jazz pink dye and am excited to try it...
I wanted to do blue first but I didn't bleach out my hair first. Just as a wash to tint it for fun - so guess what happened? My fingers, all sorts of odd places on my body ended up being blue but my hair DIDN'T. not even a sheen, a hint of blue. I've looked like an alien all week with these blue hands, now down to blue fingernails - actually down to under my nails and hangnails!
Posted by: michelle h. | 15 November 2006 at 06:58 PM
heh. funny the reactions one gets with "wacky" hair. when mine was green (or blue, or pink, or purple) it was very popular with the nursery school set.
now, with the dreads, people really want to talk about them! and touch them. which is weird. its just hair.
Posted by: barb | 17 November 2006 at 03:40 AM
beautiful beautiful
liberating isnt it!!
i had pink hair for about 7 years....and the reactions from children were beautiful!
had to shave off the pink mowie before travelling around Asia...you cant work for an NGO with a pink head of hair :-(
Another day in the future no doubt
beautiful ...i am so happy that you are experiencing the ever wonder of having a pink crown...pink joining of the white and the red(root chakra) a balance of the divine goddess within
xxx
Posted by: ANJ | 14 February 2007 at 04:47 AM
Hey :)
i have pink hair right now, well not all of it but underneath my hair the whole bottom half is neon pink.. well i'm still in school, 8th grade to be exact and my principal told me that if i did not dye my ahir back in 3 days that im getting suspended. what kind of bullshit is that?!
they said that hait color that isn't a "natural" hair color. its stupid. :(
Posted by: Shelby | 15 January 2008 at 09:51 AM
I'm 17 and I've had pink hair for a few months now.
I love the reactions I get, especially from middle-aged people. Lol.
It totally kicks society's ass doesn't it? I think I'm keeping it for a while.
Posted by: The Raven | 28 September 2008 at 05:28 PM
must be nice i did the same about august but instead I'm getting digital video taping and cps dubbed unfounded calls to them by my neighbors its getting to the point i cant step out side at all with out them standing there and worse over my son wont sleep in his room anymore because they are always watching him he broke the blinds we are still wanting on the apt to get the new ones in its been 2 months I've put sheets up but they yell at me through the window like I'm doing something indecent by stopping them from watching my 4yr old autistic son. i did it for my birthday i turned 30 this year and i thought it might get people to not pay attention to my sons odd behaviors as much. i guess it sited me as a potential druggie. such bull I'm straight edge for life!
Posted by: Havilah | 15 October 2008 at 07:09 PM