White People With Dreads Phenomenon Needs To Stop

I identify most as an Afro-Latina. My mother is Puerto Rican and my father is Black and Native American. I have tried to pull off dreads before. This Black hairstyle does not fit me. I am of European descent since the Spaniards conquered Puerto Rico and raped the Taíno natives. I believe that whoever is mixed with mostly European descent needs to stop wearing dreads. Black women and men have been ridiculed for centuries, as their hairstyles called dirty, their hair called too nappy. In our white supremacist society, White people’s hair is considered more beautiful than Black people’s hair. White people with dreads are not aware of their privilege. Black people are the only ones that can pull off dreads for reasons of empowerment.

White and mixed people including my past self argue that they are entitled to wearing whatever style they please to express themselves. Yet the only expression that I see now is a glowing light of ignorance. When I decided to knot my hair and misuse beeswax, I wanted to be cool in my subculture world. Since I lived in a White conservative community, I wanted to be more like a White hippie liberal. I was a very ambitious nonconformist. I lived in a bubble of whiteness. I did not embrace my Black or Latina identity when I was seventeen with pathetic dreads that looked more like gooey curls. When a white person wears dreads, they wear to express their individualism, not to embrace their roots. They see their independence to do whatever they want and they can not be critically conscious of cultural appropriation because they live in a white privileged world. Culturally appropriating a Black hairstyle, then stating that as a White person, it is a new and hip style is malicious. Whereas in my teens, I sought rebellion from conservatism which set me up for a lifetime of defensiveness, the Black community seeks empowerment after centuries of continued oppression.

Black women and men are ridiculed for wearing their hair naturally. Dreadlocks worn by Black people have been called filthy, unkempt, messy. Dreadlocks and natural curly hairstyles in general are seen as unprofessional. Many Black women must choose between living a life of rude looks and discrimination due to their natural hairstyles or a life of respectability and popularity with straighten hair. In actuality, Black people with dreadlocks are gorgeous and clean and they do not have to prove that to anyone. We live in a society that cares more about light skinned folks or White folks than dark skinned Black folks. From magazine advertisements and TV commercials to films and TV shows, the fact is that Black people are not represented enough and when they are it is stereotypical, disrespectful and/or racist such as a character in Black face. Discrimination against Black people does not stop at hairstyles and media representation, most Blacks live in impoverished cities, are subject to police brutality, are less likely to succeed in education, are racially profiled and unjustly imprisoned. When white folks state that they want the freedom to express themselves through wearing dreads, they are ignoring the fact that to this day, years after the abolishment of slavery, Black people are still not entirely free since they are victims of oppression and institutionalized racism.

It’s time to decolonize our minds from the white supremacist culture we live in. It’s time to be more aware of how the cultural appropriation of dreads enforces racist belief systems. Don’t wear dreads if you are white. If you are mixed, truly contemplate if this choice to wear dreads is an act of empowerment for your Black identity or if you’re just trying to piss off your moderate liberal parents. If it’s the latter, remember that parents just don’t understand and choose another way to enhance your natural beauty.

Disclaimer: This post was written by a Feministing Community user and does not necessarily reflect the views of any Feministing columnist, editor, or executive director.

Bronx, New York

Tiffany Joy Butler is a writer, experimental filmmaker, artist and director of the video social initiative, Hot Cabinet. One of her ongoing projects is the White People With Dreads Calendar where her and her friends count the number of white people with dreads they see per day.

Tiffany Joy Butler is a writer, experimental filmmaker and artist.

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