After Africa night last night, I was exhausted and fell asleep at about 11:00am. Anyone who knows me knows how uncharacterisitic that is of me. That being said, now I’m awake. So, might as well be productive.
I came across this: http://www.wikihow.com/Give-Yourself-Dreadlocks
It is a post on how to get dreadlocks….? Or try to? I’m not quite sure. But anyways, I guess this is going to show my opinion on this topic a bit more. Rastafarians wore dreadlocks in a freeflowing natural manner, and although I know people who don’t wear their dreads naturally, I’ve also heard of a few people who after years of growing dreads, decided to cut it and start over again because they felt like it was defeating the purpose if it was not natural.
So what about people who have a connection of some sort to Rastafarian culture, or who have “permission” I guess, (as the word I’ve heard people who feel attacked by this idea use) but who don’t wear it in a natural manner? This leads me to an article I read, one line of which said “we don’t also import the cultural meaning behind them”. I think that’s the real issue. I cannot speak for every Black person but personally, the decision to radically change one’s hair, and consciously identify the change usually has a cultural aspect to it. Especially when you know your hairstyle will be frowned upon in the business world by people who don’t like your look. The link for the article above: http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/cbracy/2010/02/19/white-people-shouldnt-wear-dreadlocks-thoughts-on-appropriating-culture/
Although the author’s ^^^ arguments are flawed in many ways, there are a few substancial points, such as the one I quoted above.
I decided to read the comments and came to the realization that this article did not sit too well with some, a recurring argument being that Blacks were not the first to wear dreadlocks. I have mentioned this in my past few posts, however, if it is a matter of other cultures having worn it too, are those other cultures beign acknowledged? It does not only have to be related to “Black culture” for it to be appropriated.
Note: I honestly don’t judge anyone for their decision or the way they wear their hair, I know what it’s like to be on the other side of that relationship. However, this topic is a very interesting one considering how many emotions seem to surround it.