hair racism...locs or not....

[etienneSAI]

interesting topic (good to talk about something NOT related to greek life sometimes...hee hee. i'm with thatgirl when i say...chill the hell DOWN, preppie...)

i've actually been discriminated against for my piercings. it's not THAT bad...i have seven in my ears and one in my navel. my hair is red, but i have brighter red streaks in it (chemically, not naturally, unfortunately). i've had employers tell me i'd get fired if i didn't remove my earrings or dye my hair to a "natural" color. i can't help it if i want to look this way, right?! i work at victoria's secret where our dress code is all black. this i have no problem with. they've been good about my appearance except for NAIL POLISH! they think it's not professional to wear nail polish on the job! (can't deal with that, man...) i could see if i was working in food service adn it could chip off into someone's food *that makes me sick just thinking about it* but this is retail...calssy retail at that. and if i want to wear glittery nail polish the color of pond scum, i should be allowed to! hey, it matched my outfit....

etienne
sigma alpha iota-the hartt school of music...for now...

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"red is the color of music and has been since the very earliest of times. the caps of faeries and musicians are well-nigh always red."~*~w.b.yeats

"I think that happiness is when you can let yourself feel every emotion you want at any time instead of being a lying little fuck." - Tori Amos

[Asia2000]

The man I am dating now wears his hear in locs. I love them. I help him take care of them, keep them fresh for him - I love it. (Hey, he learned to eat with chopsticks, we learn and we compromise and it's beautiful . . .)

Anyway, I've been with him watching him struggle to find a "real" job. Without going into too much detail, we pretty much knew that several times he was denied a position because of his "wild" hair. His locs are very well kept (with my help) - I understand if someone didn't keep them up at all -- any hairstyle unkempt is not pleasant.

I am sure much of it was racist, but there were times when other Blacks didn't hire him. I think it is also a part of conformity - just the brainwashing we all undergo going through public school and through society in general.

His poor mother pleads with him to cut them off so he can conform and join the professional working world.

This is one reason I really commend up and coming young businesses. Some, not all, have such open and new policies and visionaries. They appreciate and respect things like locs or piercings or what not. I wonder, though, if it will ever change. Tattoos have been around for a minute and barely hold any taboo anymore. Damn near every American has one, from corporate executive to local hood rat. But you will still find it rare for a company to allow it's employees to show them while on the clock.

[Corbin Dallas]

I personally have no problem with locks. I like the look of them, as long as they are well kept. All I'm saying is if they let him keep them, then what's to keep another police officer from growing his hair long, or something else, then just claiming it's part of his religion? I don't know what this police departments other rules are on hair, but maybe they added the locks, cornrows and braids rule as an extension (no pun intended) of rules against long hair or whatever.

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Steve Corbin
Lambda Chi Alpha
Theta Kappa Chapter
Rose-Hulman Inst. of Tech.

[The Original Ape]

Originally posted by preppie:
This has absolutely nothing to do with greek life........

I beg to differ with you, Preppie. As we promote ourselves as leaders, we maintain that only by taking up issues of our people...and this is definetly an issue facing our people. You should know that we are shut out for one reason or another, but each of these reasons relate to our skin complexion or our culture. We should do all we can do to change the world's perception of us by showing our worth and standing up for our rights.

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[33girl]

I read an article a looong time ago about dress codes and the people who hate them. It said that if a rule is applied equally to everyone, you can’t fight it – for example, Disney has rules against coloring your hair and even regarding what size earrings you wear! But since it applies to everyone it isn’t discrimination. However, I believe it said something about cornrows and dreads being exempt since they are largely particular to one race and to ban them would be discriminating.

Personally, I would MUCH rather see an officer with dreads than a mullet (aka the Billy Ray Cyrus/redneck haircut). If they are kept clean & tied back (and since the officer says they can’t even be seen under his cap) what is the difference?

[MaMaBuddha]

hey people...i am bad for a new day...

first of all preppie....you must be from the other side....so you don't understand!!!

keep it moving!!!!

Originally posted by 33girl:

Personally, I would MUCH rather see an officer with dreads than a mullet (aka the Billy Ray Cyrus/redneck haircut).

No kidding. Dreadlocks can look good on the right person. Mullets look dumb no matter what.

[MaMaBuddha]

people please do not refer to them as Dreadlocs there is nothing dreadful about this hair style.

america is ironically suppose to be the land of the free and the home of the brave....the free part i don't know about. we are still trapped in the white corporate america.

[Corbin Dallas]

Out of curiosity, where does the term dreadlocks come from?

And you couldn't outlaw mullets because that only applies to inbred white folks. Has anyone ever seen http://www.mulletsgalore.com It is one of the funniest sites I've ever seen!

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Steve Corbin
Lambda Chi Alpha
Theta Kappa Chapter
Rose-Hulman Inst. of Tech.

[This message has been edited by Corbin Dallas (edited July 26, 2000).]

[MaMaBuddha]

many people continue to face resistance because of similar myths surrounding the hairstyle -- that people with locks are Rastafarians or from Jamaica, that they are dirty and don't wash their hair, or that they smoke marijuana. Based on these and other stereotypes, people with locks continue to face discrimination and would sometimes call them dreadful...

It is very commonplace to see Rastas with locs. It is important to keep in mind, however, that not all Rastas have locks, and not all locsmen are Rastas. It is just a common characteristic among Rastas, symbolizing deep devotion to the Holy God. Rastas view locks as having biblical origin. In the Old Testament, there are many references to "locs."

Another reason that Rastas wear locs is that locks are a semi-permanent symbol signifying their devotion to Jah. Locks take time to grow, and one can't just change their hairstyle without shaving all of his hair. Therefore, it is a symbol of a commitment.

[MaMaBuddha]

Dread means threat or danger and it has to do with the fact that the first Rastafarians lived as outcasts and people were afraid of them. Another explanation is that the wearer of the locks is in fear.

[Corbin Dallas]

Back on the original topic, I think as long as they are kept under his hat it shouldn't matter, I assume in such a case this would mean they are fairly short. However, if they have a rule about length of hair, whether it can touch your ears, shoulders, back or whatever, and if these locks are that long, they SHOULD be cut off, trimmed, shortened, or whatever you can do with them.

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Steve Corbin
Lambda Chi Alpha
Theta Kappa Chapter
Rose-Hulman Inst. of Tech.

[Caramelattsu]

First of all-To those who say that this is not important to Greek life, it is. If a fraternity or sorority discrimates against hair, tatoos, and piercing that would be very important.

Secondly-Here at Bellsouth, ther are many men, and a couple of women, wear their hair natrally. Locked up, cornrolled and braided. I think it's beatiful. But it is wrong for corporations to discriminate against people who wear their hair the way that God gave it to them. And for many African-Americans it is our heritage to braid, loc and cornroll our hair.
And there are many other races where the men grow their hair long. I don't think anyone, esp. males, should HAVE to cut their hair to please corporate America.

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Reach for the Moon, because even if you miss, you will still be among the stars!
-unknown

[This message has been edited by Caramelattsu (edited July 26, 2000).]

[Asia2000]

Ok, I am all for banning that mullet hairstyle!!

I agree with you, MamaBuddha, with dropping the word "dread" -- they're only dreadful when not well kept -- as is any hairstyle.

[etienneSAI]

okay okay okay....while we're fresh talking about locks and mullets, PLEASE let me say my peace about mullets!

here in south jersey, we have many varieties of the mullet, my best friend and i actually distribute POINTS to worthy mullet-wearers. the best (and one that should be banned unted all costs) is the spiked mullet: spiked up top, very long and curly in the back worn on a man (or woman, for that matter) with a muscle t-shirt and a beer belly.

whew...i HAD to get that out of my system. as for locks, i think they're goregous. a sister of mine liz dated a man named dwayne with the most beautiful locks. i loved dwayne for it (and for the fact that he said i had nice lips, but that's different...) if i could grow locks and make it look good, i would...

etienne

oh, and mama buddah, i thought your "keep it moving" comment was just about hilarious!

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"red is the color of music and has been since the very earliest of times. the caps of faeries and musicians are well-nigh always red."~*~w.b.yeats

"I think that happiness is when you can let yourself feel every emotion you want at any time instead of being a lying little fuck." - Tori Amos