On being a white girl with "ethnic" hair

I have been thinking about writing this since, well, probably since before IBARW but then I decided that it is not so much about race, especially since I am white, even if some of the same issues usually apply to people of other races. Usually I try to take a step back and read and consider what other people have to say during IBARW and I felt like writing about this then might come across as "here's a white girl who is trying to play at being oppressed."

But it has come up a lot lately. In the past 24 hours I have seen two different instances on LiveJournal of people making incredibly insensitive comments about the appearance of Jewish people, and I have been stopped by two different strangers on the street who commented on my hair. Two friends have hit me up and specifically discussed my hair.

I am, like I said above, white. I am fairly slender and of above-average but not extraordinary height. I am very rarely subject to any kind of discomfort based on my appearance, with two exceptions. One is my boobs. I am a 32F. We'll talk about the boobage some other time. The other, and the one that is probably the source of the most discomfort for me, is also my most noticeable and most unique. That's my hair.

( This is in no way meant to be a tirade, even if part of it comes across that way. I mean this to be more of a case study in what I have experienced in my life. )

On being a white girl with "ethnic" hair

I have been thinking about writing this since, well, probably since before IBARW but then I decided that it is not so much about race, especially since I am white, even if some of the same issues usually apply to people of other races. Usually I try to take a step back and read and consider what other people have to say during IBARW and I felt like writing about this then might come across as "here's a white girl who is trying to play at being oppressed."

But it has come up a lot lately. In the past 24 hours I have seen two different instances on LiveJournal of people making incredibly insensitive comments about the appearance of Jewish people, and I have been stopped by two different strangers on the street who commented on my hair. Two friends have hit me up and specifically discussed my hair.

I am, like I said above, white. I am fairly slender and of above-average but not extraordinary height. I am very rarely subject to any kind of discomfort based on my appearance, with two exceptions. One is my boobs. I am a 32F. We'll talk about the boobage some other time. The other, and the one that is probably the source of the most discomfort for me, is also my most noticeable and most unique. That's my hair.

( This is in no way meant to be a tirade, even if part of it comes across that way. I mean this to be more of a case study in what I have experienced in my life. )

On being a white girl with "ethnic" hair

I have been thinking about writing this since, well, probably since before IBARW but then I decided that it is not so much about race, especially since I am white, even if some of the same issues usually apply to people of other races. Usually I try to take a step back and read and consider what other people have to say during IBARW and I felt like writing about this then might come across as "here's a white girl who is trying to play at being oppressed."

But it has come up a lot lately. In the past 24 hours I have seen two different instances on LiveJournal of people making incredibly insensitive comments about the appearance of Jewish people, and I have been stopped by two different strangers on the street who commented on my hair. Two friends have hit me up and specifically discussed my hair.

I am, like I said above, white. I am fairly slender and of above-average but not extraordinary height. I am very rarely subject to any kind of discomfort based on my appearance, with two exceptions. One is my boobs. I am a 32F. We'll talk about the boobage some other time. The other, and the one that is probably the source of the most discomfort for me, is also my most noticeable and most unique. That's my hair.

( This is in no way meant to be a tirade, even if part of it comes across that way. I mean this to be more of a case study in what I have experienced in my life. )