iheartallura:

iheartallura:

just a reminder:

a black girl character growing her hair out long breaks more stereotypes than a black girl character having short hair

a black girl character getting to be soft and fragile breaks more stereotypes than a black girl character being strong all the time

a black girl character being protected and comforted by others breaks more stereotypes than a black girl character having no one to look out for her but herself

a black girl character being considered pretty or cute by other characters breaks more stereotypes than a black girl character being considered unattractive

not everything that is empowering for white girls is empowering for black girls

the sexism we face overlaps, but it is not the same

yeah so i just wanna clarify that short hair (or no hair!) on black girls is absolutely GORGEOUS and BEAUTIFUL

when i say it ‘breaks less stereotypes’ i don’t mean that it’s bad or unattractive or that you shouldn’t design black girl characters with short hair (or no hair)

a black girl character having short hair (or no hair) being considered pretty by other characters, for example, also breaks stereotypes, because society still for the most part considers only lengthy hair to be ‘feminine’ and ‘attractive’ on women

the reason i bring up the long hair vs. short hair aspect, is because white feminists preach that girls cutting their hair short is empowering, like saying “fuck you” to a society that demands they look alluring and feminine (aka keeping their hair long) all the time

but what needs to be acknowledged is that that simply doesn’t apply to all girls

“long” hair doesn’t necessarily mean “straight” hair. and black girl characters with lengthy locs, massive afro-puffs, long braids, wavy blow-outs, etc. etc. are empowering images for black girls because there is so much trauma and history associated with our hair being considered bad or ugly or a joke or even just straight up unacceptable by society

(that, and there is also the very widespread belief that afro textured hair simply CAN’T grow — which is, you know, bullshit, & an idea that ought to be challenged in fiction, not reinforced)