“Can I Touch Your Hair?”

You might be wondering why I am writing a blog post about hair.

The answer is that today is World Afro Day.

I thought it would be an interesting and insightful topic to share with you.

Background

I have lost count how many times people have asked if they can touch my hair.

When I was a child it was a regular question but as an adult the same question has been asked several times.

If you don't have Afro hair, you probably wouldn't have thought about the situation about someone asking or not asking to stroke/touch your hair.

How does it make you feel thinking about an acquaintance or stranger asking to touch your hair out of the blue?

I'm guessing you won’t feel very comfortable.

Unfortunately for many Black young people this isn't a rare situation.

In 2019, 82.9% of young people had their hair touched without their consent and 58% had been asked the question.

1) Children's Books

Afro hair relates to one of the main characters, Amaya, in my two children's books.

When creating the characters in Slow Down Amaya and Slow Down Sammy I was intentional on how I wanted them to look.

I had an idea in my mind of what they looked like when writing the story, which I shared with Natacha Galbano, who is the illustrator for both books.

We both have Afro hair, so we can relate to not seeing ourselves represented regularly in the books.

How many times have you read a children's book and saw a child with Afro hair in it?

I have spotted more books in the last year or so with children with an Afro included but there still aren't enough to make them representative.

Amaya has Afro hair and the second main character, Sammy the sunflower, is Black however he doesn't have hair (only petals!)

As discussed above, Black children and adults regularly receive comments/questions about their hair and hairstyles. I wanted to create characters who represent children reading the books to highlight the importance of diversity and inclusion.

Although my books don't discuss hair, I decided to change Amaya’s hairstyle in Slow Down Sammy, to reflect different Afro hairstyles.

I thought this subtle difference between the books would spark discussions between children and adults about Afro hair.

2) Neurodiversity

Neurodiversity within Black communities isn't often highlighted within children's books or discussed widely across other fields.

In addition to physical appearances, I was passionate about including hidden disabilities, specifically neurodiversity within my books.

“The lack of public acknowledgement and acceptance surrounding neurodiversity in the Black community is a contributing factor to the societal imbalances they face.”- Elevate Young Minds

You might wonder how this relates to hair.

All children are unique and those who are neurodiverse have a spectrum of needs. Such as some autistic children who are non-speaking.

Given the statistic above, and that it is estimated that one in seven children in the UK are neurodivergent.

It is highly likely that a large number of neurodiverse verbal and non-verbal children have experienced non-consensual hair touching or questions.

I have spoken to a parent of a child with Afro hair, who is autistic, and she explained that he didn't know what to say/or do in situations where he experienced someone touching his hair.

This will be a common occurrence for many Black children.

3) Inclusive Books

Do you want to diversify your child's bookshelf?

Slow Down Amaya and Slow Down Sammy are the perfect new editions.

Including books with diverse and that are representative of diversity in the world helps children see themselves included in books.

You can find out more about Amaya and Sammy in my children books here.

Lastly, if you would like me to share an author visit with your child in school I offer in person and virtual visits. It would be wonderful to share my books with your child.