This Woman Created An Epic Video Game That Puts The "Don't" In Don't Touch My Hair
There's a certain amount of heaviness that comes with the crown a black woman wears. People usually want to touch our crowns. Like, a lot.
Since our crowns are intricate in design, it's not uncommon to have people run their dirty little fingers in your crown, while examining the craftsmanship of your royal headwear.
By now, you've probably figured out that I'm not talking about an actual crown. If I were, it would seem absurd that someone would be so invasive as to touch something so sacred that lays upon your head. Right?
Unfortunately, that's exactly what happens to a lot of black women. Whether we wear afros, braids, or relaxers, someone is quick to invade our personal space to touch our hair. The rudeness can be overwhelming.
Over the years, many black women have collectively lent their voices to tell too curious onlookers to keep their hands to themselves, and they still don't hear us. But a Portland-based game developer named Momo may have been successful in getting the message across.
This week, she presented a video game called Hair Nah over Twitter in response to the generations old retort, "Don't touch my hair!"
Source: Hair Nah
In the game, you play a young black woman, Aeva, who is traveling by air. As she makes her way to her destination, she must slap away curious hands that are interrupting her as she attempts to catch her flight.
Choosing a player is lit, too. The team added skin tones and cute hair styles as selections.
Source: Hair Nah
You also have three destination choices - Havana, Cuba; Osaka, Japan; or the Santa Monica Pier in Cali.
Source: Hair Nah
As you move through the levels, you hear comments like, "Can I touch it?" "It's so fluffy!" and "Is it attached to your head?" The harder Aeva swats, the more energy she loses on the "Nah meter."
If you win (and no, it's not easy to win the game), a screen at the end of the game explains that this is something that black women actually experience, and that people should stop doing it.
Momo sat down with Okay She Goes to talk about the game, and she said that the idea came from her real life experiences after moving to Portland, where she's had plenty of people touching her hair without permission.
I'll be walking, and a woman will reach her hands into my head. I'm talking to a teammate, and a coworker I just met is holding my hair in his hand. I'm in the checkout line, and the cashier will reach across to caress my braids. I shudder thinking about it. It's so creepy. And it sucks because I know a lot of women have had this issue their whole life. But for me, it all came at once!
She said that she hopes that the game will give people a better understanding of what it means for people to touch your hair without invitation.
I'm hoping to push the conversation further. Because I don't know how many times Black people can keep telling folks to stop touching our hair and in how many different mediums before they get it. There are countless videos, hella memes, Solange made a song, now there is this game. So if folks don't get it, it's because they don't want to.
What's amazing about the game is that Momo has gotten plenty of support, and has also helped people better explain why it's rude to the people around them.
Have you gotten any work done playing Hair Nah? I know, it was hard for me too, sis.
Head on over to Hairnah.com, and give the game your best shot.
ItGirl 100 Honors Black Women Who Create Culture & Put On For Their Cities
As they say, create the change you want to see in this world, besties. That’s why xoNecole linked up with Hyundai for the inaugural ItGirl 100 List, a celebration of 100 Genzennial women who aren’t afraid to pull up their own seats to the table. Across regions and industries, these women embody the essence of discovering self-value through purpose, honey! They're fierce, they’re ultra-creative, and we know they make their cities proud.
VIEW THE FULL ITGIRL 100 LIST HERE.
Don’t forget to also check out the ItGirl Directory, featuring 50 Black-woman-owned marketing and branding agencies, photographers and videographers, publicists, and more.
THE ITGIRL MEMO
I. An ItGirl puts on for her city and masters her self-worth through purpose.
II. An ItGirl celebrates all the things that make her unique.
III. An ItGirl empowers others to become the best versions of themselves.
IV. An ItGirl leads by example, inspiring others through her actions and integrity.
V. An ItGirl paves the way for authenticity and diversity in all aspects of life.
VI. An ItGirl uses the power of her voice to advocate for positive change in the world.
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Stress Awareness Month: Sneaky Workplace Triggers Affecting Black Women, And How To Cope
We all know about the major stress triggers of everyday life, from relationship woes to monthly bills to unexpected emergencies, but there are small, subtle triggers that impact Black women in a big way, especially when it comes to work. It’s good to be aware of these sneaky stressors in order to maximize your day and find ways to incorporate solutions into your self-care routines.
Since it’s Stress Awareness Month, we caught up with Keanne Owens, LCSW, founder of Journey To Harmony Therapy Center, to talk about these triggers and what Black women can do to manage and cope.
Owens is an experienced South Florida-based counselor and social worker who offers her services via Grow Therapy, a therapy and medication management platform. She has worked with Black women professionals to unpack issues related to workplace stressors. “One is the pressure to perform–having to meet deadlines and deliverables. And a lot of times, these subtle stressors from performance are put upon ourselves as Black women. We want to make sure we’re doing our best. We don’t want to be critiqued in certain ways.”
Excessive micromanagement leading to fear of overly critical bosses is another subtle trigger that can negatively impact Black women in the workplace.
“Whenever something is done wrong, or we experience some type of injustice and have to report it, it’s the fear of retaliation–[fear that] we won’t be taken seriously or [our words] will be taken out of context because of being deemed as the ‘angry Black woman,’” she said.
Black Women And Workplace Stress Triggers
Her sentiments are backed by research. A recent report by Coqual found that 28% of Black women (compared to 17% of White men) say their supervisor uses “excessive control or attention to detail” when managing them. There’s more: A survey by the National Employment Law Project found that Black workers were “more likely to have concerns (80 percent) and twice as likely as white workers (18 percent) to have unresolved concerns at work, with 39 percent reporting they were “not satisfied with the employer’s response or did not raise concerns for fear of retaliation.”
The survey also found that 14 percent of Black respondents said they “avoided raising concerns to their employer for fear of retaliation—more than twice the average rate of 6 percent for all survey respondents.”
Owens pointed to the fact that these subtle stress triggers can negatively impact our physical health and our career advancement. “A lot of time it’ll affect our productivity,” Owens added. “We start to have negative thoughts of ourselves. The stressors can also cause fatigue. We’re no longer meeting or working up to our desired potential.” Other challenges as a result include insomnia and increased insolation, withdrawal, and lack of motivation to apply for jobs or promotions even when qualified.
valentinrussanov/Getty Images
How To Manage Subtle Stress Triggers
While there are systemic issues at play for Black women at work that has less to do with us and more to do with major overhauls that must be addressed by the powers that be, there are steps we can take for the betterment of ourselves and our mental health. Owens offered the following tips:
Tap into a support system, whether it’s a coworker you trust, a family member, an organization, or an outlet like a hobby.
Create a good work-life balance before burnout even starts. “Having certain boundaries [is the goal] such as, for example, if you get off at 5, you get off at 5. If your job description is this, you don’t go above and beyond because that brings you to a lot of burnout,” Owens said.
Prioritize self-care, whatever that means for you. “If you don’t have a routine, create one. Practice mindfulness and even some meditation,” she added.
Create structure in your life outside of work. “Even if you have a family, applying some structure in your routine helps relieve stress,” she said.
Get into grounding techniques. “Do a real quick square breathing exercise, that’s literally 30 seconds, or you can do a grounding technique that’s less than two minutes, right there where you are. You don’t need any other materials. That’s something you can do with just yourself and your body.”
Ask for help. “As Black women, we don’t ask for help enough,” she said. “Find where you need to ask for help. A lot of times, people think that’s indicative of weakness, but we need to rewrite that narrative. It’s okay to ask for help where you see fit. [If] you’re a mom, [it could be] every Wednesday from 5 to 6, your children are with the dad. You have to carve out that time.”
For more information on Grow Therapy, visit their website. You can also find out more about Keanne Owens, LCSW, via BeginYourJourneyToHarmony.com.
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Featured image by Charday Penn/Getty Images