Unlike India, I am my hair

So...the only other black woman on the floor told me yesterday that she got upset with someone recently who asked her why I wear my hair the way I do.

Apparently this unnamed person asked her why I don't wear my hair the way she does - straight and processed - to which she replied that she liked my hair and asked Unnmaed Person what was wrong with my hair.

"Well, it's not very professional" was the reply.

Interesting.

We work in an environment where jeans and baseball caps are the norm, curse like sailors and watch the World Cup throughout the day. Professional?

The software developers have abandoned their chairs for exercise balls because they're fun to roll around in but my hair is not professional?

Despite the fact that I wear 3 1/2" heels everyday, work entirely by myself and get all my work done, my hair belies my professionalism.

Whatever shall I do? Go get my hair "trained" by pressing it on a weekly basis or subject my hair to an array of chemicals so that I can then be "professional" in an environment that doesn't call for any?

I've worn my hair natural for almost exactly 10 years, it grows out my mf'in head this way and aside from those 3 years when it wanted to get real wavy on a sistah, it's always been thick and defiant...just like me.

I'm curious to who Unnamed Person is, I'd love to have a sit down with him about this "professionalism" thing and call on him to show me one "professional" thing not only in our office but in Hollywood as a whole where professional is relative. We're all still making movies and making moves and I still have a strong work ethic and motivation regardless of what my hair looks like. I'm still polite, work quickly and am willing to help wherever I'm needed. I speak to everyone in a respectful tone, show up on time and always look nice. My contract here has been extended repeatedly while other people who came in with me and before me have been terminated. I left for what I thought to be a better opportunity and within 24 hours was asked to come back.

My bad, I thought THAT was professionalism.