Bobos Or Bussdowns? The Internet’s Latest ‘Too Grown’ Hair Debate Reveals A Bigger Conversation About Over Policing Black Girlhood [Op-Ed]
A viral video of twins in hair baubles sparked a debate about the death of the "tween" era and the pressure on Black girls to grow up or stay little. The post Bobos Or Bussdowns? The Internet’s Latest ‘Too Grown’ Hair Debate Reveals A Bigger Conversation About Over Policing Black Girlhood [Op-Ed] appeared first on MadameNoire.
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The internet recently found itself in a surprisingly heated debate over a hairstyle.
In a now-viral video, a Black mother films her daughters while they’re out and about. The twins—tall 11-year-olds—sit with their hair styled in a look many Black women recognize instantly: hair baubles, also known as bobos, knocker balls, bubbles, or knockers depending on where you grew up. In the video, the mother asks the girls whether they like their hairstyles and whether anyone at school teases them about it. The girls seem unbothered, as they share they also wear crochets and braided styles. The comment section, however, not so much.
What followed was a flood of opinions from Black women who grew up with those same plastic hair ties marking a very specific era of childhood. Some commenters argued that the style kept the girls looking appropriately young. Others said the girls had outgrown it years ago and that there were more tween-friendly hairstyles that still honored their age without making them look like toddlers. Watching the conversation unfold, I couldn’t help but think: surely there has to be some middle ground. There can’t just be the polarity of bobos or bussdowns.
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Beneath the hairstyle debate is a much bigger conversation about Black girlhood—specifically what the transition into young womanhood should look like for Black girls today.
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The post Bobos Or Bussdowns? The Internet’s Latest ‘Too Grown’ Hair Debate Reveals A Bigger Conversation About Over Policing Black Girlhood [Op-Ed] appeared first on MadameNoire.
