[NatalieH]

How do African Americans feel about white (esp. upper middle class) teens wearing their hair in dreadlocks? I always feel uncomfortable because it looks like those teens are appropriating a cultural symbol that is clearly out of their realm, but I've never asked an African American about this.

User Detail :  

Name : NatalieH, Gender : Female, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Methodist, Age : 45, City : Madison, State : WI Country : United States, Occupation : physical therapist, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Upper middle class, 

[AmberW]

Why would Blacks care about that? Many, many Black women adopt a "straight hair" style that is not "in their cultural realm" ( you DO realize that most Blacks do not have naturally straight hair, right?). Interesting that when blacks adopt a style that is "mostly white" it is seen as normal, but when white people adopt a "black" style, it is seen as strange. People take styles from all different cultures all the time...it is personal choice. Whites have a right to wear their hair in whatever style they choose, same as Blacks. Please remember, we are all suppossed to be ONE "culture"....AMERICAN!

User Detail :  

Name : AmberW, Gender : F, Race : Black/African American, Age : 23, City : Greenville, State : NC Country : United States, Occupation : student, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[JackWheeler]

White kids with dreadlocks bother me, but not always because of cultural misappropriation; not all white kids with dreads are pretending to be Rastafarians. What bothers me is the hygiene standpoint. Because of the kinky texture of African hair, it's possible to make dreads out of clean hair. On the other hand, non-kinky hair will not stay in place if twisted together, unless it's matted together with something sticky. Besides that, it's typical that white people need to wash their hair daily, or at least several times a week, whereas black people, who have very drier hair which doesn't accumulate dirt as readily, can get away with washing their hair less frequently.

User Detail :  

Name : JackWheeler, Gender : Male, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Black/African American, City : Tampa, State : FL Country : United States, Education level : 4 Years of College, 

[Author]

Posts