So this little girl asked me if I was a boy or a girl....

[AuNappturale]

LOL at OP worried about the cute guy she was eyeing. I wonder if she told that part to her boyfriend?

[Princess Pamplemousse]

I once said 'Oh I'm sorry ma'am!' thinking I bumped into an old white women. It was actually a much younger white guy, with an old bag face!

Pay no mind to children. They don't even know not to play in traffic so what does that tell you about kids?

You are ACTUALLY stone cold WRONG for this

[Napia Mia]

Yeah. I know right. I was at work on Tuesday during one of our "Kids Eat Free" nights. This little BLACK girl came up to me and asked me if I was a boy or a girl. Right in front of this really cute guy who I had been eyeing all night. I dont think I look like a boy...i mean I had on makeup and earrings, and my hair decided it wanted to do the curly thing all over that day, instead of just in the front and top of my head. I was kind of feeling myself. The thing about it is, I would expect this from a little white girl, because let's be real, adult white women don't understand the concept of afro-american hair, so you KNOW their kids are going to be equally confused. But this little girl was black, and like...8 or 9 years old. And she looked like she had 4b/4c hair because she was rocking cornrows braided up into a puff. So that really confused me. And on top of all that, her mom had short hair. Starter dreads that hadnt even begun to lock, so idk why she didnt understand. It was a definite confidence deflater. Blahh. I told my boyfriend and he laughed at me, which didn't help. But I just can't wait till my hair is long enough to do a puff so there is absolutely NO question about my gender. Anyone else have this problem?

Girl don't sweat it. Ok? There's a young lady on my niece's high school basketball team and about 4 weeks ago she chopped all her perm off and is currently sporting a itty bitty lil fro. She is absolutely adorable. My niece says when she first came to school ery'body was telling her she looked like a boy. And these are high school kids at a high school with a 40 or 45 percent AA student population. According to my niece, she just smiles and laughs it away and just says, "Yeah, I know."

When she's on the b-ball court, from the back in a baggy uniform, I guess you could mistake her for a boy. But straight on, she's the cutest thing out there...next to my niece of course. LOL.

That said, I saw her when I was working part time at the Y tonight. She so dang adorable and incredibly comfortable in her own skin. So if this young lady can be that way, so can you. It's all about attitude and not caring what anyone else says about your hair. If you were feeling yourself tonight, then let that comment from a baby roll right off your back. Ain't nothin behind it but her own little honest observation. Kids just always say what's on their mind til they are corrected and can better sensor what they say. High schoolers know better, but teens can just be butt heads.

So just remember, you own your feelings and your perception of yourself. No one can make you feel bad unless you let them. So rock your TWA like you mean it and nothing else will matter.

[AuNappturale]

So just remember, you own your feelings and your perception of yourself. No one can make you feel bad unless you let them. So rock your TWA like you mean it and nothing else will matter.

Okay, Chacha. LOL!

On a more serious note, NM is on to something about the child making a simple observation. Maybe she equates short hair with boys & was trying to put two & two together. This reminds me of a 4-year old boy who asked an older woman if she was a clown. We were all shocked and the lady went a little off on him. As I asked myself why he would say something like that, I thought about clowns and got his connection. The lady had extremely pale pasty skin caked with makeup, dyed wispy strawberry blond hair, and red lipstick. In his child mind, it had all the makings of a clown. (The funny killer part is she's Black & from high cotton, so she thought she was the shyt with her almost-white complexion. Probably applied the brown paper bag test to her friends back in the day.)

[Napia Mia]

Okay, Chacha. LOL!

It took me a minute to get that reference. You silly.

[rootzdawta]

Just some food for thought: my boys (6 and 4) associate long hair with women and short hair with men despite the fact that I have really short hair and their father has waist long locks. Kids at the playground regularly ask me if I'm a boy or a girl and I just respond by asking them what they think. They think and *always* say girl. And I don't wear makeup or big jewelry or anything. Sometimes kids just don't think about it too hard and say whatever comes into their mind.

[NaturalDiva03]

Nevermind......smh

[Denny]

Children tend to say whatever comes to their heads, they can be nosy little buggers, (think about yourself at the same age) they are still learning how to be tactful.
Even grown adults make silly comments about natural hair.
Let it roll off your back, why let a little child's inquisitiveness get to you?

[caprimom]

Yeah...it seems as if the lil girl was just thrown for a loop. Prevailing cultural norm is long hair for females, short for men so I don't think she was meaning to say you look like a boy but rather you were challenging that norm for her but she can't articulate it so clearly. I mean, think about it this way: if the only thing keeping you from seriously looking like a boy is long hair, then it's not really the hair hmm?

[Veviticus]

...Plus, an 8 or 9 year old should have been raised NOT to approach and speak to strangers.