From My Brown Eyes

This belongs to a writer, an editor, a journalist, a Columbia Graduate School of journalism student, and a natural hair woman named Shonitria.
Let me preface by saying I was at first very hesitant about posting this picture. My reason, this isn’t a personal blog and this photo could be interpreted as personal. So I photoshopped it a lot and made it visually appealing (hopefully). This is a photo of myself before going out the other night to a Creative Loafing event. As shown in the picture, my natural hair is quite short. Yet, men still find me attractive. I am always amazed at the number of men who think I am pretty even with such short hair. Please let me say, I am not the girl who needs others to reassure her looks. I am confident in my skin, and I know that hair is not everything. Unfortunately there is this unspoken notion of what is beautiful in American culture- specifically African American culture. Long straight hair is beautiful. Years ago I fit that mold of what is beauty. I was the stereotypical light skin black girl with long brown hair and men loved the way I looked. After my BC last year I was amazed at the number of guys who still found me beautiful. Deep down it made me love these guys that liked short hair me even more. I had hair shorter than most of them and they liked it. It was empowering. It took having no hair and still feeling gorgeous to know I am not my hair. My point: if you decide to skip transitioning and cut all the relaxed hair off you won’t be ostracized for it. Not all women pick this route because they are afraid of how their family, friends, coworkers and even men will react. I have been there, chopped off the hair, and survived. To have short and natural hair isn’t for everybody. Although for those few women who are considering it and are just nervous; just look in the mirror and realize the person looking back at you is the only opinion that truly matters at the end of the day. Trust me, men will still find you pretty - and the ones that do, they are the best of the bunch. The man that admires a woman who is not the norm magazine cover beauty is a gem, that’s just my opinion though. Besides, in a room full of women who fit the social definition of what is beautiful I am glad to be the exception that stands out in the crowd. -Live with your eyes open, S.

Let me preface by saying I was at first very hesitant about posting this picture. My reason, this isn’t a personal blog and this photo could be interpreted as personal. So I photoshopped it a lot and made it visually appealing (hopefully). This is a photo of myself before going out the other night to a Creative Loafing event. As shown in the picture, my natural hair is quite short.

Yet, men still find me attractive. I am always amazed at the number of men who think I am pretty even with such short hair. Please let me say, I am not the girl who needs others to reassure her looks. I am confident in my skin, and I know that hair is not everything.

Unfortunately there is this unspoken notion of what is beautiful in American culture- specifically African American culture. Long straight hair is beautiful. Years ago I fit that mold of what is beauty. I was the stereotypical light skin black girl with long brown hair and men loved the way I looked.

After my BC last year I was amazed at the number of guys who still found me beautiful. Deep down it made me love these guys that liked short hair me even more. I had hair shorter than most of them and they liked it. It was empowering. It took having no hair and still feeling gorgeous to know I am not my hair.

My point: if you decide to skip transitioning and cut all the relaxed hair off you won’t be ostracized for it. Not all women pick this route because they are afraid of how their family, friends, coworkers and even men will react. I have been there, chopped off the hair, and survived. To have short and natural hair isn’t for everybody.

Although for those few women who are considering it and are just nervous; just look in the mirror and realize the person looking back at you is the only opinion that truly matters at the end of the day. Trust me, men will still find you pretty - and the ones that do, they are the best of the bunch. The man that admires a woman who is not the norm magazine cover beauty is a gem, that’s just my opinion though. Besides, in a room full of women who fit the social definition of what is beautiful I am glad to be the exception that stands out in the crowd.

-Live with your eyes open, S.

  1. frommybrowneyes posted this