[*Anya*]

Hair.

I have pretty much always had long hair.

When I was a little girl, my mom would set my hair in strips of rags so I would have long, Shirley Temple ringlets.

One time, in the late 90's, I wanted to try short hair for the first time in my life. I went to Vidal Sassoon. It was a terrific haircut and I got a lot of compliments.

It did not help me in the femme visibility department. I did not get any butch or femme head nods as though I was suddenly recognizable. (The only thing that has ever made a difference in terms of recognition, has been when I have been out and about with a butch girlfriend).

I did not like my short hair. I felt like a boy. I really felt different. I did not feel like me when I looked in the mirror.

I grew it out and never have had really short hair since. Not the kind of hair where my ears showed or my neck would show (different than if I put it in a bun or in a ponytail).

It's not that I think femmes need long hair, I do not. Femmes are Femmes no matter our length of hair.

This particular femme feels "normal" and it feels right for me to have long hair.