Mel B was my idol!
Seeing a strong black woman proudly wearing her curly hair was what encouraged me to wear mine as it is.
It was hard to wear it as unapologetically as she did though as I come from a little town in northern France where my hair and skin tone have never been seen as positive characteristics.

On a day-to-day basis people would pull my hair and make fun of it. This type of actions and behaviours were basically pointed fingers towards my inability to fit in and the fact that I didn’t belong, or should I say the fact that they didn’t want me to belong?

Some of my white friends have also been bullied because of their curly hair. I strongly believe that this is because curls are systematically associated to foreign origins.
People don’t only want to bully someone because of his/her hair, they want to bully because this person is or seems different from an ethnic point of view.

My curls are a simple representation of my identity and my cultural heritage. I am mixed race, my hair is one of the elements indicating this so why would I hide it?
To me, accepting my natural hair is essential for this particular reason.
This is not an easy process though, especially when you grow up surrounded by ads only showcasing straight hair, making you believe that this is the norm and you aren’t...