Do you have luscious curls that you love? Whether they’re loose waves or tight ringlets, your curls define your bubbly personality and style. What if someone kicked you out of a club or fired you from your job because of those curls you love? Crazy right?! That is exactly what happened to 11-year-old Makayla Fallaw.
Makayla has cheered competitively for years in her hometown of Tomball, Texas. And it’s no secret that competitive cheerleading has just as much to do with appearances as tumbling and cheers. In April, Makayla joined Woodlands Elite Cheerleading and not long after, it was decided all of the girls were to have straight hair in a ponytail for competitions. While her curly hair was acceptable for practices, when it came to competition time, her hair was to be in a straightened ponytail. This may not have been a problem for girls on the team with naturally straight hair or hair that just needed a little straightening, but it was a big problem for Makayla and her thick curls. Heating her hair that much with a straightener severely damaged her hair.
Makayla and two other curly-haired girls were told they needed to adhere to the straight hair requirement or quit the team. Quit the team is exactly what Makayla did.
Her story has gone viral and the cheerleading squad has been receiving a lot of backlash due to their unfair dress code. Whether Makayla’s original cheer team will change their mind and allow her to rock her natural curls or if she will have to take her talents to another team is still up in the air. All we know is, for the sake of girls everywhere, can we please stop policing their bodies?! Every girl is beautiful, curls and all!