White People and Dreadlocks: A Problematic Union

I have several white friends who have or had dreadlocks and we've gotten in many arguments about their hair.  I tell them I don't think white people should have dreads and that it's cultural appropriation.  They say they respect and embrace the cultural roots of dreadlocks; that it's appreciation, not appropriation.  As much as I like my friends, they're wrong. 

The only white people who should even in the least be permitted to sport locks are white Rastafarians.  To me, that seems to be a contradiction in terms anyway which I'm not going to deal with here, but since I'm guessing 98% of white people with dreads don't identify as Rastafarian, then it's safe to say that in general white people shouldn't have dreads.  I don't care about your reasons behind it - get some scissors and cut 'em off.  Please. 

Several years ago when I was even more naive than I am now, I seriously considered getting dreadlocks.  I thought it was cool and counterculture-ish (yes, I was trying to assimilate into that counterculture uniform).  I didn't have a full grasp on the significance of dreadlocks, but I figured since I meant well then it was ok.  Luckily, someone wiser than I pulled me aside and informed me that it was a bad idea.  As a result, I still got a curly, poofy mop that at least pisses off no one else but me.

Though it should seem clear enough that white people + dreadlocks = cultural appropriation, a lot of white people don't get it.  (Surprise, surprise!)  The best way I've found to explain it to them is to remind them that they're white.  Dreadlocks are not devoid of meaning.  By a white person wearing them they are taking on or displaying a symbol that is expressive of a racial pride or a stand against oppression or other meaning that does not pertain to white people.  It doesn't matter what meaning a white person gives their own dreadlocks, dreadlocks already come with meanings that do not pertain to, nor belong on, a white person's head.

The bottom line is that white people can cut off their dreads and recover all the privileges that might have been deferred because of their hairstyle.  It doesn't work like that for anyone else.  I feel like dreadlocks to a degree is just a way of flaunting white privilege - you might as well walk around with a sign saying, "Look what I can do!  I can adopt your culture and still have white privilege!  I can cut them off and get even more white privilege!"  While certainly it's not intended that maliciously, I imagine for many people of color that's the message that comes across.

Since we're talking about hair, the same goes for the "Mohawk."  Actually, what inspired me to write this was a short piece I just read about "Mohawks."  Other concise info on dreads and "Mohawks" can be found here. Those of you white folks with dreads or who have friends with dreads, keep this in mind.  It's not an attack on anyone individually; it's just the way things are. 

PS - I'm thinking of starting a "White People and..." section on topics like hip hop, tourism, wealth, privilege, etc.  Any ideas or suggestions?

Comments

Kim, you didn't prove any point whatsoever. You just brought up unrelated topics derived from delusional rants of afrocentrism.

[Tulip]

The most interesting thing about this stream of comments is that most of the people I would assume are white because they haven't identified as a color do not understand what cultural appropriation is.
I get the feeling these people are approaching this topic from a narrow perspective: their own.

I understand that most white people wearing dreadlocks identify with being counter cultural and open minded and all that jazz. I would also guess that these white people don't consider themselves racist and are offended at what Scott wrote.
The problem is, they see themselves as respectful of the other culture without taking into account what the people of that culture think about their hairstyle, clothing choice, or household decorations. When I see someone with dreadlocks,wearing a cute cheong sam, decorating their houses with African masks, I see a denial of history. A denial of where things come from. The swastika was originally a powerfully good Hindu symbol that was appropriated and now holds a terrible meaning for most people. Every word, every man made object are a result of a history that was most likely violent and full of opression for one group or another.And for some reason (read Guns, Germs, and Steel), most of that history involves the first world fucking over the third, the white people fucking over the dark. I don't believe most white people are intentionally racist, but they still can be one way or another.
Here's what I see: white people adopting other cultures as trendy and profiting off of them in the fashion world etc. while pushing their cultures on the rest of the world to profit even more. McDonald's in every country! Walmart every 30 miles! Buy cute Asian shoes at the mall and get your hair done in dreads.
I'm not trying to piss anyone off because I understand your perspective. I understand you don't think you are responsible for the McDonalds and you like your cute China flats. But the Asian guy who made them probably gets paid 2 cents a pair and his country had the shit bombed out of it by our country which is why his country has a shitty economy and he gets paid shit and some other white country colonized it before our country bombed it and brought in opium etc. You are responsible for seeing how every action you do is connected to a chain of previous actions. And for taking a stand and fighting this cycle of apathy. You think Scott is crazy and stupid for blogging about dreadlocks but he's just making a connection for you that you don't like. The connection between seemingly innocent actions like white people dreading their hair and the history of the oppression of one people by another. Wake up guys, we can only prevent history from repeating itself if we can learn from it, cliche though that is.

Yes, listen to Tulip, take dire warning, for if you are white and if you braid your hair, the Native Americans will surely be massacred again! And Hitler will rise from the grave.

You missed the entire point of the counter-arguments. That being that you can't unintentionally be racist (saying that you can is just a kneejerk way of being a witch hunter, so that you can disregard the other person's argument and simply write them off as racist and "you don't hate us, but you're prejudiced and you just don't see how", it's b.s., arrogant and is a pathetic weasel maneuver to avoid debating the issue and simply attacks the other side, I suggest you pick up a book sometime, you'll find it listed as argumentum ad hominem) and also that dreadlocks were not invented by black people, or at least that white cultures in Europe wore dreads thousands of years ago, and hence it ain't a "black thing"

This debate is also pretty much arrogant dribble to begin with, since the one side continuously claims the other is stupid and doesn't see their point. Yeah, we get it, you said it over and over again, "White people, it's not that you're intentionally racist, it's just...". Wow, how generous of you, as if most white people were racist to begin with and spend their days scheming on how to catch the next black person and skin them alive.

I've got an idea, why don't I respond to any further comments by saying, in contrast, "Listen black people, it's not that you're stupid, it's just that..."

Doubt that would go down well.

[Kim]

Denial is a motherf%^$#, no one here is willing to admit that they are wrong...let's try it from this angle; if you wore this style orginally, why hasn't it be documented and seen as an everyday occurrence BEFORE 'blacks' wore it. Dig this, you are not black, not willing to be arrested and profiled for wearing this style, or for wearing your pants off your rear end. The minute these things happen, you'll change you tune. Damn right, I'm Afrocentric; I refuse to let anyone think they are above me, simply for the sake of their skin. I refuse to let anyone tell me lies about myself or my 'race'. As for the clown who stated I brought up unrelated topics... they are very related, so much so, you just simply brush it off as hog wash...because you can't defend it. How much more of history is rewritten by jerks like you for the sake of the 'white race'. Case and point...the looters verses the finders (Katrina). If you didn't want an answer from a black woman, you should have never asked a black question. I'm here to tell you that I will not be emilimated no matter how much crock you talk. The Truth always rises to the top. Everytime some one claims something of mine, I going to be there to call you out. So while I'm at it, if I see any of you with dreads, I'll just snatch them out of your head. If they were 'yours' to being with, why would you consider them 'dreadful'. I don't know what you learned in school, but you are NOT the beginning of the human race. And that's the kicker that pisses you off into oblivion. With that being said, you were not the first to 'wear' this style, and have no right to claim it. The word 'dreadlocks' in it self is a negative connotation for afro-americans. For that fact alone, one outside of that race should not wear it. Why not just call me N*%%@. (Although, no doubt some of you have already, beacuse I'm not staying in my 'place'). I know who I am, and I refuse to give you any more of my identity, to do with as you wish.

[AmBer]

Kim,

Of course you are going to take everything someone says out of context - you are a self proclaimed racist, and therefore closeminded.

[scott]

I don't see Kim taking anything out of context - actually, I see her putting things back into context.

The snatching dreadlocks off white people's heads reminds of this article I read when writing this post. It's a good one for other whites to read, and also deals with the anonymous allstar who is posting here and contending something along the lines of "if you don't know you're a racist then you're not a racist" or some other nonsense.

from here:

"Further, it has always struck me as interesting that there are white people who will attempt to wear what will signify “Blackness,” whether it is dreadlocks (which, in my opinion, should be cut off from every white person’s head), “gear,” or Black masks at rallies. There is a sick way in which white people want to emulate that which is considered “badass” about a certain existential position of Blackness at the same time they do not want the burden of living as a non-white person."

Kim, you're just a racist moron, end of story. You've fully admitted that you're "Afrocentric", which is inherently racist, as in any race-centered train of thought. Eurocentric, Afrocentric, they both define racism.

"How much more of history is rewritten by jerks like you for the sake of the 'white race'."

1.) Grow up. At no point did I do anything to deserve being called a jerk, except of course for not agreeing with you in a debate, which I guess somehow makes me a jerk. I guess I was the one who didn't stay in his place. Why don't you call me Yacub?

"If you didn't want an answer from a black woman, you should have never asked a black question."

2.) I didn't ask you anything, you're simply an idiot.

"I'm here to tell you that I will not be emilimated no matter how much crock you talk. The Truth always rises to the top. Everytime some one claims something of mine, I going to be there to call you out."

3.) Meaningless babble. I don't recall trying to "shut you down", unless you consider debating any particular subject an exercise in oppression. If you do, grow up.

So while I'm at it, if I see any of you with dreads, I'll just snatch them out of your head.

4.) No, you won't, you're full of it. If you honestly grabbed the dreadlocks of the next white person you saw, you would go straight to jail...

On second thought, I fully endorse your plan and encourage you to carry it out as soon as possible.

"I don't know what you learned in school, but you are NOT the beginning of the human race. And that's the kicker that pisses you off into oblivion. With that being said, you were not the first to 'wear' this style, and have no right to claim it."

5.) "We're" not the beginning of the human race? Wow, guess when we learned that? Sixth grade. Guess what? You're not either. KNow why? Cause you weren't born 500,000 years ago. Why the hell would I care where my ancestors came from? Yes, my ancestors. Hate to break this to you, but white people didn't land on planet earth on a space ship. You aren't the "first people". The first people are dead. You live in the year 2005, so grab yourself a calendar and shut up about your ancestors.

We get it, you're black, now find a personality.

"Why not just call me N*%%@. (Although, no doubt some of you have already, beacuse I'm not staying in my 'place')."

6.) Pathetic, cliche weasel argument. You can't defend your point, so you disregard the facts, and scream RACIST RACIST RACIST. I don't recall calling blacks this or that, making any generalized statements about anyone's race, but merely debated the issue of the origins of "dreadlocks" or whatever you would like to call them, and argued that in a free society people can do whatever they want as long as they aren't purposefully hurting someone else.

So no, I won't call you a "nigger". I'll call you what you've earned. You're a petty, pathetic, racist little brat who undoubtedly spends her time arguing that whites are truly human because the first humans had black skin and therefore are the superior race.

Disregarding the dreads debate for a moment, I would like to point out that if you truly get your panties (or boxers) all mangled over something like this, you're probably a flat out lunatic, since this issue is so small to begin with on the scale of things.

Live on with your delusions, I'm going to use my "super secret white people special card" to score me some free pizzas from Pizza Hut.

Edit: 6.) ...who undoubtedly spends her time arguing that whites are NOT truly human because the first humans had black skin and therefore are the superior race.

[Kim]

I never said that we were the superior race. Your guilt tells you that. (The truth must be eating the hell out of you.) What I said was that it was impossible for you (pc's) to claim that you also wore this hair style, when your hair has never functioned like this. And as far as us being the foundation of the human race, yes, we are. And with that you can't say that we don't have the right to claim the style. That's what you don't get.It's not a style, but a characteristic our hair. You are so guilty of the things that happened to us as a race, that when someone proves you wrong, about anything, you manifest this anger and self-righteousness on yourself. White people could never say that their hair behaved like ours. Again, how can you find something dreadful about yourself, if you had identified with it before? With me saying that we were the beginning of the Hue-man race is that this 'style' started with us. And if, that reminds you that you are descendents of us, and you hate that fact, pssh , too bad. Deal with it. Your attitude, it the very reason why our history has been twisted, manipulated, and hidden. You know the truth, and it's eating a whole in your heart.

"You are so guilty of the things that happened to us as a race..."

End of discussion. That comment is as racist as they come. I'm about as responsible for Hitler or Duke as you are for the African invasion of Spain. Coincidentally, that happened long before the colonization of Africa by Europe.

Looks like you're the guilty ones. And no, I don't care that humanity evolved in Africa, and neither do most people. Know why? Because it doesn't matter. If the only thing that makes you proud is the fact that you have the same skin color as the original humans, that's pretty pathetic. And no, idiot, I'm not "your" ancestor. I'm the original human civilization's ancestors. And you ain't that. You aren't the original human civilization. They're dead. Looking like them doesn't make you them, idiot.

I don't think I'm going to respond to anymore of your idiotic babbles, since you very clearly did NOT read what I wrote, that being that I don't care about the hair style, and was merely making a point that you're a racist idiot who is arguing over something so trivial it's laughable.

By the way, if you're so superior, why did you allow us weak, stupid white people to essentially conquer your entire continent?

Seriously though, go do that thing you said you were going to do earlier, with the whole "yanking the dreadlocks off the next white person's head". That would be so awesome. You could post the results to Scott from jail and tell us about the criminal industrial complex and all the black people in there who were all framed.

Peace.

Oh, by the way, just one last thing.

It's HOLE, not WHOLE. ROFL. That was simply perfect.

[Kim]

Oh, by the way...concerning the way you took apart my statement and gave it a "new meaning"...the characteristics of it all... You're right, you're not jewish, your a Jehovah's Witness.

[Kim]

Thank you for saying I'm superior... Strike two for another white genius...Got any proof to defend your arguments concerning me? Right.

Kim - GET A LIFE. You're not in search of the original 'everything', you are in search of a fight. Yet again you completely ignore the statements made and points proven. Looks like I'm not the only person who can prove how obviously wrong you are. And if you are not wrong, why can't you defend yourself? YOU CAN'T. Get over yourself.

Yes, blacks were enslaved. But like I have told you before, BLACKS WERE NOT THE ONLY RACE TO EVER BE ENSLAVED... yet, they were the only ones to be sold by their own people. Stop being so racist and hating whites for something you (and they) have had nothing to do with (because SLAVERY ENDED 150 YEARS AGO). If you want to hate someone for making your ANCESTORS (NOT YOU) slaves then be angry at your OWN people for selling eachother to the whites.

You were never a slave. I'm Jewish, do I hate Germans for what Hitler did? No. Not only because all Germans were not in on it (proved by the fact that I am also German) but because it happened years ago. Slavery was way before that, even, yet you refuse to let go. Not all white people owned slaves, so why hate every white person?

And nobody ever said you were superior - nobody said you were INferior, either, so don't try to twist that around, you manipulative 'Person with Excessive Melanin'. To quote, the person said,:

"By the way, if you're so superior, why did you allow us weak, stupid white people to essentially conquer your entire continent?"

And, of course, you didn't even bother to answer, most likely because you know this person is right.

You remind me of a little girl dressing up in her mother's clothes. If you can't defend yourself, Kim, you shouldn't try to debate at all. You look ridiculous.

[scott]

As much as we're all enjoying this nonsensical back and forth, the time has come to ask you both to cease and desist. If you want to keep ranting at each other, please take it to Kim's site or over email. I don't want to have to close the comments on this entry, but I will if this keeps up.

Not to mention that the anonymous commenter is sounding a lot like Barkovitch, who was banned for his extremely offensive and occassionally racist attacks.

Sorry, but please stop. Thanks.

Thank you for proving my point, Scott. That being that no one on the anti-whitedreadlocks side could make a valid point, and merely spewed "racist, racist, racist" without actually pointing out anything posted that was racist.

Like I said, I'm done arguing with Kim, since it's pointless, and I'm not that other anonymous contributor.

[Bored by all of this]

Wow, Squat, that's about the first good decision I think you've ever made, ending the ranting.
Kim, get a hobby, and a life, and a brain. Anonymous, you're right, but calm down about it.

[young gurl]

i'm black. and uh, i don't claim to be rasta, but i've done my research. dreadlocks have such a deep meaning, and i feel that wearing dreadlocks is more of a commitment than a hair do. point is, white people rock your dreads, but, leave the dreadlocks to the rastas.

i am white and i have dreads because i don't want to brush my hair. the end of the story- absolutely nothing to do with any race.

also, dreads are not owned by black people. white people (celts, vikings, etc), jewish people, indian people, etc...all had dreads- before rastifarianism.

If I'm so wrong look up race, or origins of race on Wikipedia.com.

[Guilty]

Things are getting pretty ugly on this site, and I have a bad feeling about getting involved. But, question to y'all: funny how few of us ever claim to be racist, but the moment a bone of contention comes up we ALL start getting back to basics. Interesting, huh?

(Note to anonymous re your Sept 09 post: Wow, you're so on top of the history you seem to think blacks were the only people who sold each other into slavery. Well shucks, sweetie, check out the records: you should know even in the concentration camps there were Jews whose job was to help keep the Nazi machine oiled and moving: I bet it wasn't just Aryan hands getting bloodied with human remains as they chucked 'em in the oven. And I bet those poor sods hated every second of it -- but funny you don't accuse them of being sellouts: perhaps you happen to understand, in this single instance, that the reasons that could compel folk to contribute to apparently horrendous acts of betrayal are, to put not too fine a point on it, complicated.)

To make it long-windedly brief: I do not think anyone with clean hands should be blamed for the misfortunes of any given race (though we must never use that as an excuse to deny that crimes have been commited against vast swathes of humanity). We aren't stuck in the Old Testament: no one should be held accountable for the crimes of their forefathers. I grew up in South Africa -- and we all know what happened there -- but that didn't stop me, a black woman, falling in love with a good man who also happened to be an Afrikaner. I am not ashamed to say that not all Afrikaners are n*gger-bashing freaks, the same way not all blacks are peace-loving angels.
It may come as a shock to some of ya, but there's no patent on being a c*£t.

But that being said, I _am_ a black woman with dreadlocks, and I do wear my locks because (a) I have come to embrace myself for who I am, whether it pisses anyone else off or not, and part of the process involved growing tired of frying my hair into something it wasn't, pretending to be someone I was not. (b) My hair naturally forms into locks: it is not so much a "style" as the way my hair evolved: perhaps you could call it the most energy efficient state of black hair.
No, of course we don't "own" dreadlocks, anymore than the celts (braids in mud?) or rastas or hindu holy men or anyone else did/does. But there is something to be said for the fact that black hair does readily lock, left to its own devices.

The world is a rich place, full of fantastic cultures, languages, beliefs, races, people, and we should all be encouraged to taste of everyone else's offerings, even if just so we stop being afraid of the Other. That having been said, I do sometimes mentally roll my eyes when I see the proverbial white kid with dreadlocks: not because I have the right to say who or who shouldn't wear their hair that way, but because I wonder whether a moment is ever taken to understand the philosophies underpinning the dreadlocked lifestyle. Oh, it is so much more than just "a look"!
But this sentiment is no different from the way I feel when I see a teenager purporting to be an anarchist simply because he/she styles his/her hair in a mohawk and wears black clothing. Surely the philosophies governing anarchism, buddhism, vegetarianism (is it an "ism") -- fill in any other belief here -- should be governed by more than just a superficial desire to be cool.

So there, that's my piece.

[Guilty]

Oh, and one more word for "anonymous": did I hear you claim the "weak white race" (I paraphrase here, these are your words and not mine) conquered "all of Africa?" Shucks gal/guy, you apparently are not on top of your history. Ethiopia, for one -- despite not having white people or fancy guns -- was never a colony: the Italians never colonized it, whatever you may wish. And no, the colonizers did not "conquer" (your word once again, but personally I prefer "lay waste") a great continent you did not do it by physical prowess: even a child can become Sango if you put a gun in his hand.

[Guilty]

Oh, and one last word for all you folks out there who seem to think it's a thing of pride to look back on a continent short-changed by history: the Persian empire was once great, but many millenia after the great Alexander, Iran's struggling to make ends meet (not to mention the fact it could be dodging some fancy white bombs soon). Today's superpower could be tomorrow's worm, so you can put that in your white supremacist pipe and choke on it.

[Kim fanclub]

If this keeps up the whites with dreads will start to hate black people and no longer emulate them with their stolen hairstyles.

Remember this, whites with dreads, you guys look cool to each other, but their are a lot of people of color out there who see you too. Don't you wonder what they are thinking? I guess you are not obligated to please others, I mean if you love having dreads sooo much... whatever, but be ready to be called on it.

At 1st I thought Scott was off the mark, but as I see the weak arguements whites use to defend their dreads even at the risk of pissing off black writers, I see that he has a point.

Come on whites, it's just a fashion for you, drop it.

[What a Passel of Idiots You All Are]

OK, white people, you look like absolute wannabes for wearing this unbelieveably stupid hairstyle. Cut it out, now. And no more suntanning, or perms.

Black people, by the same token, you also have to stop doing anything invented by whites -- no more pants, for example, just kinte cloth or zebra skins or something. Or shirts, or short hair -- unless you can prove some pre-colonial African wore it. Or Spam -- you can't have any, we white people invented it, it's part of our heritage, and you're cultural graverobbers and imperialists for eating it.