Sol, Juliana, Emma, and Lilly were all playing in the house corner of their classroom. As the space was small, I stood on the outskirts, observing them over the bookcase that was serving as Emma’s desk where she was working at her computer (aka – an old keyboard). Their play shifted back and forth naturally between “family” and “store” – it was never totally clear to me which theme was in play at any given time. I glanced down at Lilly and Juliana, their arms outstretched side by side, as they began to debate about arm hair - “Everyone has hair!” “I don’t because I have different skin.” “Brown people have no hair.” “Yes you do!” “No I don’t.” Sol was sitting across from them, quiet until this point. “You’re not in control of her body. Basically, if she doesn’t want to have hair then she doesn’t.”
Yes, we know that it is not possible to simply will our body hair away on a whim. But the idea of being in control of our own bodies and respecting each other’s opinions and physical differences is, from my perspective, a much stronger truth. This is what I think Sol was trying to share with her friends. Her comment successfully ended the debate and the family/store play resumed naturally…but what a big lesson to learn.
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