Why are you touching my hair?

As a black woman, I have yet to figure out why people touch my hair or want to touch my hair. I have been in the store, church, & just random places where people I do not know have commented that they want to touch my hair. What's worse is when they actually do it. I asked my mother if anyone ever did this to her and she said they didn’t just touch it, but they smelled it.

I am really baffled by this because I have never had the desire to smell or touch a stranger’s hair. I may notice it and think that it looks beautiful. However, that is the extent of my fascination with it. It merely is hair. It grows, it has a color, it's wavy, or straight or curly. I move on with my day. It is not like a magnet that I am drawn to. I am most definitely not going to go and ask a perfect stranger,” Is that your real hair?” “ Is that a wig?” “Is that your natural hair color?”

I personally think all of those questions are rude.

I feel like people are entitled when it comes to me. Like I am in a petting zoo and they can touch me as they please. Maybe I should charge money. $5 a stroke. $10 a sniff.

It sounds funny. But I have really grown quite wary of people approaching me in stores. I wear a hood so they can't see my hair or when I am in line, I stand sideways so I can see if someone is getting ready to try to touch my hair. So, if this is going to continue maybe, I should make some money from it and accept it as the new norm.

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