New tings. Cut by : @barberdolltheslayer

A post shared by Lena Waithe (@lenawaithe) on Jul 13, 2018 at 10:14pm PDT

Lena Waithe’s new haircut has made the actress, producer and screenwriter feel “gayer.”

Waithe appeared at the Hollywood Foreign Press Association’s Grants Banquet on Thursday and explained to Variety’s Marc Malkin she had been contemplating the big chop for a long time.

“I felt like I was holding onto a piece of femininity that would make the world feel comfortable with who I am,” Waithe said. “I thought for a long time, ‘Oh, if I cut my hair, I’ll be a stud — 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,’ and I said, ’Oh, I gotta put that down, ’cause that’s something that’s outside of me.’”

Waithe joked that the cut made her feel “gayer” but on a serious note she says the decision makes her feel “so free and so happy and so joyful.”

“I really stepped into myself,” 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?’”

In a constant state of gratitude. ?? cut by the one and only : @barberdolltheslayer

A post shared by Lena Waithe (@lenawaithe) on Aug 9, 2018 at 10:11pm PDT