Anonymous said:
do you think white and white-passing people should avoid shaving their heads so they don't accidentally give a skinhead vibe to visible POC and make spaces feel even more unsafe? or in your opinion is it not so much the hair but an open skinhead identity? (i've never had a POC tell me they think i'm a skinhead, but i've had white people be like "hey you look like a skinhead" and i'm like "... fuck" because that's the last thing i want to have people associate me with.) any thoughts?

I’m not sure how to answer this, honestly. Yes and no?

What I mean, is… if you want to shave your head, go for it. You’re allowed to shave your head if you want. BUT. Be prepared for the associations that might come with it. Because the reason PoC might not say you look like a skinhead might be that they have reservations about speaking up about it. But then, there are a lot of PoC who trust skinheads, or are in the skinhead movement themselves. So there’s no telling.

If you continue with shaving your head, it’s fine. It just means that you’ll need to understand that if a PoC seems wary of you, that might be the reason, and you should keep that in mind. (And, because of what went down last night, let me add that if PoC are visibly uncomfortable with you and it is because they think you’re a skinhead, please try not to be insulted; it’s for our survival, not out of an attempt to hurt your feelings, that we make these associations; they save lives)

But yeah. I hope that helps. That was probably the most wishy washy thing ever. Sorry! :x

tags: Anonymous. ask.
  1. apatheticsexlife said: I think that’s the most important thing to remember. It’s not a personal judgement and it’s not meant to insult. It’s completely about survival.
  2. thinkspeakstress posted this

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