DEAR READER,

An example of a unique curl experience is "Jewish curls." (what I have!) Many Ashkenazi Jewish people come from a similar ethnic background. A genetic trait of this heritage is sometimes curly hair. Jewish people look many different ways, but a stereotype is thick, dark, curly hair. Many Jewish people, women especially, have to get over a period of misunderstanding or hate with their curls. (Like many other communities with curls, especially communities of color.) Anti-semitism in our society labels Jewish-ness as bad, demonic, or grotesque, including the features which may recognizably portray one's Jewish identity to the outside world. This pressure can tend to drive many Jewish folks to straighten, cut, or cover their hair, feeling unaccepted or confused. This is an experience that millions face when their physical features don't match society's Eurocentric ideas of beauty, and this is only one example. 

For Jewish people and anyone forced to hide an aspect of themself or not given representation to understand themselves, showing or wearing your full self is an act of resistance. I'm able to feel connected to my ancestors and living family when I wear my curls or tichels. By wearing my curls out in pride, I show, if only to myself, the beauty of my heritage and culture. Ownership of your hair is ownership of yourself.