Waithe went on to detail how different hairstyles can sometimes make lesbian women feel that they fall into certain categories.

“I think I thought for a long time, ‘Oh, if I cut my hair, I’ll be a stud, I’ll be — in the gay world, there’s a lot of categories — I’ll be a stud or I’ll be a butch,’ and I’ve always thought, ‘Well, no, I’m not that, I’m still soft,” she said, referencing her sexuality.

After considering how she was letting the world, and other people’s potential judgements affect how she lived her life, Waithe says she knew she had to “put (those concerns) down, ‘cause that’s something that’s outside of me.”

When Waithe took the plunge, and shaved off her trademark dreadlocks, she says she was filled with “happiness and joy” and “really stepped into” herself.

She added: “If people call me a butch or say ‘she’s stud’ or call me sir out in the world — so what? So be it. I’m here with a suit on, not a stitch of makeup, and a haircut — I feel like, ‘Why can’t I exist in the world in that way?’”

We love how Waithe looked the pressures she felt directly in the face, and found the strength to go against them and be true to herself. Let her be an example to all of us to move away from society’s definition of femininity and beauty standards, and do what feels right for us.

Images: Getty

Lena Waithe decided to shave her head for this powerful reason