Discussion: Other Races Wearing Protective Hairstyles

Secretz · September 27, 2019, 9:59am

Tbh, I’ve been wanting to discuss about this topic for a long time, because there are people are fine with it and there are others who are not.

Please be civilised when discussing this topic and respect other’s opinions.

First thing's first, what are protective hairstyles?

Protective hairstyles are hairstyles that tucks the ends of your hair away from being exposed to damaging agents such as sun, heat, and constant manipulation. Protecting hair is beneficial to all types of hair textures, relaxed, and natural.

Examples of protective hairstyles:

Buns

Braids

Protective-Hairstyles-Braids

Summary

Drawn string ponytails

Etc.

However, there are many hloggers who are against other races wearing protective hairstyles.

To sum it up, they believed that other races wearing protective hairstyles are like fashion to them, but it means a lot to the black people, as there is a deep history behind it.

However, there’re people like S.Langson who are fine with it. There is one character of hers wearing a protective hairstyle in Haute as Hell. She posted in her ig story once that it’s ok for other races to wear protective hairstyles.

Personally, I’m ok with it. (I’m aware that I don’t have the right to say this so please don’t attack me) The history is all in the past and we all should move on. We all are treated equally now. If you love your own culture, then show it proudly. At the end of the day, as long as you don’r wear as a stereotype, people can wear what they want.

For example, I’m fine with Rihanna wearing this yellow dress althought it resembles the China emperors’ clothing:

rihanna-met-gala-2016-ftr

So my questions are:

Are you fine with other races wearing protective hairstyles? Why do you think so?
Should it be treated as fashion? How to avoid treating it as fashion?
What about wearing as a stereotype? Why do you think so?
Do you have any cultures you can proudly tell about? Do you think others are allowed to wear your culture?

I’m sorry if any of you find this offensive, I don’t want to start a fight. If it goes too far, I’ll just ask the staffs to close this topic.

line123462 · September 27, 2019, 10:58am

people are saying people can’t have this hairstyle because they are not black you know there is a word for that racism

Secretz · September 27, 2019, 10:59am

ELx · September 27, 2019, 11:10am

I just don’t get it… it can damage your straight hair, there’s a difference between straight hair and kinky hair, after all. People weren’t using those hairstyles while thinking of straight hair, they were using them and created them for their own hair texture.

If you really want to wear them so much why not buy a wig? I’m just gonna pass. My hair is already thin and I don’t want it to be even more damaged.

Kudos to you if you are wearing them tho.

PensiveShadow · September 27, 2019, 11:30am

I don’t like it in all honesty. They get praised while we get bashed and a lot do not understand that. I know blacks wear other styles without appreciating or knowing much but how does that make you better for doing the same? It’s not “just hair”. It has a history behind it and I don’t like it when they think they can speak above us for these things. You can be apart of the discussion, not superior.

PensiveShadow · September 27, 2019, 11:32am

And it’s not the same as wearing blonde wigs and straight hair. That’s not exclusive to white people at all. I think Protective hairstyles should just be worn with people with the hair or apart of the culture for it.

ShanniiWrites · September 27, 2019, 4:30pm

I don’t think that anything should be exclusive to any race. I think that either way, excluding someone from doing something because of their race is racism. The whole racism = prejudice + power thing is a ridiculous lie. They’re talking about institutional or systemic racism and saying that’s the only kind of racism you can experience. Stupid.

How can we ever get rid of the fact that black people get bashed for the hairstyles thing if we are barring people who are interested in them and love them from wearing them?! All we’re doing is willingly segregating ourselves. If we accept that white people are going to try our hairstyles out and embrace that, they can start to appreciate us and our cultures more.

As long as credit is being given where it’s due, cultural exchange is a GOOD THING

liyahsdiamond · September 27, 2019, 4:33pm

To be brutally honest, we always get bashed for wearing these hairstyles and it was made illegal in New York to discriminate against people with these hairstyles just recently. But when white people wear braids it’s ok. I don’t see the point of them wearing protective hairstyles unless they credit the culture and not claim it as their own.

ShanniiWrites · September 27, 2019, 4:34pm

We’re at a stage of socio-politics where people want to hear about diversity and inclusion from white people. Why do you think left YouTube’s so white? Because we’ve been socially segregated for so long that other races are finding it hard to integrate with us. If we embrace other races liking our culture and show them guidance and love, it brings us together — as long as they don’t appropriate by claiming it as their own

ShanniiWrites · September 27, 2019, 4:36pm

“I noticed you’re interested in dreads. They’re a part of my culture that I love! Here’s how to do/take care of them properly” is going to give us a lot more credit and respect than “hOw DaRe YoU wEaR dReAdS?! yOuRe WhItE”

Educate, don’t segregate — ShanniiWrites, 2019

line123462 · September 27, 2019, 4:40pm

Secretz · September 27, 2019, 4:49pm

Jass · September 27, 2019, 4:50pm

I completely agree with your point of view @ShanniiWrites!

ShanniiWrites · September 27, 2019, 4:53pm

I’m just so sick of people claiming they want equality and then not practicing what they preach when they have something other cultures don’t

Jass · September 27, 2019, 4:56pm

I can’t agree with that more, if you want people to have respect for you or something that’s important to you, you have to show them respect as well

itsjenn_a · September 27, 2019, 5:10pm

Well I can’t ban non-black people from wearing box braids but I wouldn’t recommend wearing protective hairstyles if you don’t have textured hair. It’s called a protective style for a reason. It was made to help kinky/textured hairstyles increase in length and also reduce dryness because if I were to have afro puffs, I’d need to braid it each night as my hair would lose moisture throughout the day. It’s not “just hair”.

No. Again, these hairstyles were created for a specific purpose and the “fashion” never includes the people who wore them originally or looks like the hairstyle’s creators. We can avoid treating them as fashion by giving credit and using models that look like the people that made them.

Absolutely not. Braids being linked to aggressiveness or being ghetto is extremely damaging to black women and girls. If you include the history, it’s basically saying “Hey! That hairdo you have to protect your hair and have done since forever is ratchet but when someone who looks different to you does it it’s fashion ”

Give credit, know the history and be respectful

itsjenn_a · September 27, 2019, 5:58pm

I have some more stuff to say:

1. Cultural appropriation is plagiarism. It’s when someone who is A takes something from B (let’s call it “B culture”) and renames it or makes it more palatable for an audience mostly made up of A people. 99% of the time, the A person is profiting off of B culture whilst B people still face discrimination for it.

Cultural appreciation is learning. It’s when someone is A learns about something from B culture. Either someone who is B taught them or the A person took time to learn the history of the thing. I say this because when people say “cultural appropriation is good” they mean cultural appreciation.

itsjenn_a · September 27, 2019, 6:29pm

2. “What if B appropriates from A?”
This is not the same thing. This is assimilation.

Historically, B culture has been considered the “other”. A culture has been considered the norm.

To cut to the chase, black women and girls having weaves is not the same as non-black women and girls having braids. For centuries, textured hair has been considered the “other” so black women and girls have had to manipulate it for a looser curl pattern so they can be “acceptable” e.g. Tignon laws, the term “nappy”, the term “good hair”, the black women and girls who’ve been fired and reprimanded for having “inappropriate hairstyles” and the abundance of hair straightening products that have been advertised for decades.

B takes part in A culture because they need it to be “acceptable”. A takes part in B culture because it’s fun. B can’t drop A culture because it’s “the norm”. A can drop B culture because it’s “not fun anymore”.

3. “So we’re banning A from taking things from B?!”
No. Telling someone to be careful of something is not telling them not to do it. ~The bigger picture please.~

4. “Why can’t B just teach A? Problem solved!” For some reason I used a cake analogy so just roll with it
B teaching A is great! But again, the difference. B can choose to share their cake with A if they want, but a long time ago, let’s say 400 years, it was common practise for A people to steal cake from B people. Nowadays, some A people make fun of some B people because they bake a certain way so it makes sense why B isn’t eager to share recipes. Does this excuse B being rude about it? No, but it isn’t B’s job to teach everyone how to bake.

bisou · September 27, 2019, 6:37pm

I believe people are against other races wearing it because it’s more to do with culture and the prejudice people receive for having these hairstyles.

I’m from an African country (only some will know which one) and most of us have textured hair and those who wear braids, or other protective hairstyles, have the proper hair texture. Those who do usually wear cornrows or dreadlocks.

I’ve lived there for most of my life do I really can’t speak from the perspective of people outside my home country.

From what I’ve heard (from authors I follow) not only people are mocked for having these hairstyles in certain countries but it can lead to them being denied jobs? Such hairstyles have also been described as “unprofessional” or “messy”.

Before reading about it, I didn’t know that there were so many negative stereotypes associated with protective hairstyles. I’m still learning so please tell me if I’ve got something wrong but I definitely agree with what Shannii about cultural exchange.

I believe that it’s okay if people are being respectful and giving credit. I wouldn’t get angry if I saw people of other races wearing protective hairstyles but if they didn’t know about it being a protective hairstyle I’d just tell them? One of my friends is from S.A and says he’s not offended by this as well.

line123462 · September 27, 2019, 7:24pm

yeah that suck. in the country I live its actualy ilegal. you can not deny people. on race regligion gender sexuality or how they dress.