Prioritize what makes *you* feel good
ZORA Fam, I’m tired of my hair.
I’ve had big, curly, kinkly natural hair most of my adult life and for that time I’ve thought of it as beautiful. But lately, it just feels in the way. As I find myself standing in front of the bathroom mirror in the morning struggling against summertime humidity, I’m very tempted to just chop it all off. Looks like lots of women are feeling the same way. Writer Melissa Harris Perry, actress Yvonne Orji and comedian Tiffany Haddish, all posted pics of some drastic big chops and stylish shaved heads over the week.
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I really want to follow suit but I have to admit, that’s easier to dream about than do. I put a lot of value in my hair (well, not just me. My family, my friends, people I’ve dated, strangers on Instagram, Black culture at large). My hair has become as much a part of me as my name. It’d be hard to let it go.
As the pandemic rages on, we’ve been faced with having to let a lot of things go. Maybe we can also learn to let go of the idea of what we’re supposed to look like, the idea of what’s beautiful, professional or presentable.
They say when a woman changes her hair she’s about to change her life, but I’m actually starting to think it’s the other way around: When major life changes happen, hair follows suit with a major change of its own.
There’s a lot going on. We’re all scratching and surviving, and the last thing I want to worry about is my hair or what I look like. And it’s the last thing any of us should be worrying about.
We should feel free to change our hair, our whole look, our whole outlook on what it means to feel good. Because feeling good when things are not so good right now is all that matters.
Take care,
Jolie A. Doggett, platform editor
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👀 Honestly, If 👀
Moments we want to see more of… or never again.
Honestly, if you don’t know anything about Harriet Tubman, please stop bringing her up in conversation. We need rappers (*cough* Kanye and Nicki Minaj *cough*) and the rest of y’all to stop using false quotes or outright lies about the famed abolitionist to prove some kind of point about their own agenda. Harriet Tubman is not a mascot. She is not your hype man. Without her and the work of others like her, many of us wouldn’t be free to do what we do today. So please, just stop.
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💖 Introducing the ZORA Check-in, where we share quotes from amazing women of color, and offer you life advice and sage wisdom that we’ve gleaned from their words. We hope to introduce you to inspiring women to help you get through your day. We also want to hear from you. Follow us on Twitter and Instagram, and let us know how you’re doing and what’s on your mind with the hashtag #ZORACheckIn.
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🌙 ICYMI: Yesterday, astrologer Ashleigh D. Jay joined ZORA features editor Adrienne Sammuels Gibbs in conversation about what the planets still have in store for us and how to protect our energy. Catch the conversation here. And don’t forget to check your Zorascope every Monday! (If you follow Ashleigh on Medium, you’ll be notified every time her horoscopes go live.)
✨ The Best of Us ✨
News, art, and stories worth celebrating. All by or for WOC.
Hoops are back! The WNBA tips off their abbreviated season this weekend.
Pick up the debut novel of author Kim Johnson. This Is My America grapples with the criminal justice system and being Black in America.
Listen to A Little Juju podcast by Juju Bae. Juju fosters conversations on Black spiritual practices, healing, and community.
Georgia State Senator Nikema Williams has been pegged to replace the late Rep. John Lewis on the Congressional ballot in November.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez had an epic response after a GOP senator called her a “fucking bitch” on the Capital steps on Monday. “But hey, b*tches get stuff done,” Ocasio Cortez tweeted.
ZORA contributor Nazlee Arbee pens an essay about how the pandemic gifted her a global queer community.
Actress Yara Shahidi and her mother Keri Shahidi inked a deal with ABC Studios and launched their own production company, 7th Sun Productions.
ZORA explores into the hidden history of Lena Horne and Stormy Weather. Men groped women on set and the director disliked Blacks, but what else is new?
🗣️ The Last Word 🗣️
“I feel like my entire life has been a protest. My production company is my protest. Me not wearing a wig at the Oscars in 2012 was my protest. It is a part of my voice, just like introducing myself to you.” — Viola Davis
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