Sis, Leave the Bonnet at Home

The debate on whether Black women should wear bonnets in public has resurfaced, especially on Southern University’s campus. I understand that this topic is overrated to many, but my question is: how did bonnets become a fashion trend in the first place?
Just because a bonnet may have a high end logo plastered all over it, doesn’t make it okay to wear everywhere. Over time, bonnets have become something easy to just keep on when our hair isn’t done, or something convenient to help if women just simply don’t want to be bothered with their hair.
The main use of a bonnet is to protect hair while bathing, to keep hair from tangling during a night of sleep, or to just preserve a hairstyle until you’re ready to take it out or off. In my opinion, bonnets and pajamas are only to be worn at home, but nowadays women wear both just about everywhere.
My next question is should women wear bonnets in the public eye? Honestly, I was raised to get up and do my hair. My reasoning was that I was not going to be seen in any other place besides my home with a bonnet on my head, even if I didn’t feel like doing my hair that day. Still, many students feel that wearing a bonnet to class or out in public is alright. With that being said, I think it’s time to adjust the level of professionalism we have on campus in all areas.
Let’s imagine if our professors were to come to their job where they’re preparing students for their careers, with a bonnet on their head. It would show a lack of professionalism on their part that students would be hard pressed to ignore. We would probably wonder why our professor didn’t get up and do her hair. So the same understanding should apply to the students. The fact of the matter is if I put my bonnet on, that means I’m not going anywhere else for the rest of the day but in my home. So if someone was to call me and ask me to go somewhere, the answer is plainly no. Bonnets symbolize sleepwear.
I vividly remember getting into my mother’s car one day with my bonnet on and she looked at me and said “you must be staying in the car.” I laughed while confused on why my bonnet was an issue. My mother explained that I should care about my appearance and wearing a bonnet in public illustrated that I clearly didn’t care enough to get up and do my hair. After that day I knew not to ever wear a bonnet outside my home again. But truthfully, I thank my mother for teaching me early on how to care about my image.
When we realize that our appearance is all we have, our mindset will change. We have to recognize that how we present ourselves to the public is our choice. So if we’re choosing to go in public with a bonnet we may as well keep the pajamas on too…just kidding.
I know many women feel that we should be able to wear whatever we want to protect our hair. I agree that we can but let’s limit the bonnet to being at home only. As Black people trying to break into professional fields, let’s just do our best to not set cultural precedents that would provide them a reason to keep us out of those career spaces in the future.