My head, not yours!

I have a habit of wearing scarves on my head. Sometimes the scarf is black, sometimes striped with fringe. It is not because I am Muslim, a cancer victim, going bald in any way...nor am I making light of any person who falls under the former categories. I am simply a girl who likes to wrap my head in a scarf. One of my genetic gifts happens to be an excess of dark, curly hair with a mind of its own at times. When this hair of mine refuses to be tamed, I rely on a small box full of lovely scarves. I do not mean for this decoration to represent any personal choice or battle I am fighting. It is simply a symbol of me.

On two distinct occasions, I have been ridiculed for wearing these harmless scarves. In the first instance, I was told I could not wear a scarf on my head while at work. An explanation was never offered as to why this action was necessary. There was no dress code in place that would have forbade the wearing of this particular accessory. I leave you, dear reader, to come up with what may have been the feeble reason behind this directive.

In the second instance, all it took was a glance. Any talk after that was just a confirmation of what I already knew to be true. "Why does she wear that thing on her head?" I'm certain that if I looked, I would find no dress code violation for wearing my beloved scarves at this place either.

What is it about a simple piece of fabric, wrapped carefully around a woman's head that so offends certain individuals? This is a timely questions that is asked all over the world. I was surprised that, as a white American female, I would ever be forbidden to have a certain look. Oddly, even as the above, I have been discriminated against many times. For my skin being too dark, my hair too curly, my accent all wrong, my body too slim. I ask you, if I were a redhead or a blonde...would I be so threatening with a scarf on my head? Therein lies the fundamental issue of fear and ignorance that keeps wars going, lines continuously drawn, countries destroyed. Or maybe it just keeps little girls from having friends, or a big one from wearing a pretty white scarf in her dark hair.