Mimi Nguyen: My Hair Trauma
This is something that I first read a long time ago—it’s an essay that really influenced my conceptions of race, gender and representation (for whatever that’s worth). Academic/author Nguyen says that this essay makes her cringe (in part because it’s so totally of its late-90s moment), but I’m glad she’s reposted the whole thing online; while it does feel overly condescending or self-righteous at points, it’s still a fiery and insightful piece of writing, with ideas that are certainly still challenging 14 years later.