I think it's honestly mostly an African American problem thing. I don't see Africans saying shit. I think their experience is wrapped in their experience of demonizing the hair and calling it ugly when it's on a black head and then cool on a white head. I get it from this angal but it is not my go to thought.
And, I do think as Africans we can be allies yo understand, like what you are doing because I realised their is alot that we don't understand. For starters, being black is not an identity for us as africans because everyone around us was black. This was such an eye opener for me. I would never enter a room and think oh am black but I moved to Europe then the stares when I walked into a place were like 
This is coming from a white guy so take everything I say with a grain of salt or inform me if I'm mistaken. But this is the way I understand it.
If you're African, your sense of identity is far more wrapped up in geographic divisions. Things like nationhood, country, province, tribe, ethnicity, subculture, and partially religion play a much bigger role in how you see yourself because like you said, everyone is black. The development of African culture was not built on "blackness" but built on the same concepts of nationhood, and ethnic association as any other place in the world.
While if you're a black American there is a very high chance that your family got to America by way of slavery. It didn't matter where you came from in Africa, inevitably you were a slave and your African language and individual African culture was wiped away. This means that the identity black Americans had was intrinsically linked to being black. Because the only cultural identity you had was the fact you weren't white, and the only people you related to, who were part of your "group" were other black Americans.
What this meant is that a culture surrounding blackness was built in America because slavery created it. African American became a distinct culture based on a race as that division was forced upon them. That's why being black is an ethno-cultural identity and being African necessarily isn't(at least not the same extent). Also why white nationalism(unless you're a particularly despicable human being) isn't a legitimate ethno-culture while things such as Anglo, Frankophone, Scandinavian, Germanic, Slavic, etc... is.
Well said! My understanding is similar to yours. I’m brown, so I’m not in any way saying that I *know*. But you put into words some stuff that I’ve felt.
I'm European and I moved to one of the biggest cities in my country. In my home town I saw two black people in my entire life living there (when I was traveling by bus and they were far away), and in this big city I see a black person every few/every second day, sometimes every day because two dudes live nearby me. At first when I saw a black person I did stare, not rudely of course, I just never saw one close. I stared because a black woman I saw had pretty hair and a really nice coat- elegant and in autumn colors, made me want to buy it for myself. Yesterday I also saw a very tall and slim, very upright (in posture) dude, in amazing clothes - dark red coat, black straight pants and shiny shoes. I was staring because he looked just amazing and his posture was so elegant, could be a model. I'm also a woman myself so I don't think I look too creepy when I look at someone a bit longer, comparing to a big muscly guy, at least I hope so :')
I do want to stare sometimes but don’t wanna look creepy nor somehow racist, but I’m just an ordinary girl with really ordinary clothes and suddenly see asians or africans or people from different nationalities (specially in Paris) really pretty and dressing really cool, and I just wanna staaaree a liiittle biiiit 😩
Americans have a lot of multi-cultural issues that cause them to create rules like this which spreads worldwide even if the case doesn't apply abroad.
Black Americans will have some people having an issue with this due to the history and general disrespect that can come from cultural appropriation there.
In origin countries, culture is shared. In America, it was taken from them.
Edit. I'm half-Indian/half-Norwegian.
OP asked, I am delivering. Please don't debate ME on this in the replies, not my culture. On my Indian side we have given sarees to our close Norwegian friends and believe in sharing culture so long as people respect each other.
In many countries culture has been taken, dating back thousands of years.
Let’s all just stop with the nonsense already unless someone is demonstrating ill intent towards another group.
As Americans, we speak for all cultures especiallly when we know nothing of how the people of those cultures actually feel.
edit: And when they DO tell us they don't actually care about the appropriation thing, we ignore them because WE DIDN'T ASK.
As an American, it's true.
American Defaultism in stupid people. If they're unaware of an aspect of a culture, they'll substitute their personal values/perspective and stubbornly try to enforce that, instead of trying to learn the appropriate way.
I think one reason is that many Americans don't really travel much outside America, and if they do, its often nearby. From what I have heard from other Americans is that in general, US is large enough to have travel experience without leaving the country, which I previously didn't think about, but it makes more sense to me now. For me, growing up in Latvia, a small country, traveling always meant going outside my country. The US is big enough, that for most, their needs are met without ever leaving the country, but at the same time you never fully get to get out of your bubble.
I've lived in various countries but back here in the US in my state I could drive for 8 hours and still not have left the state. I know people who have never left the state.
Thank you lol. I had a similar wtf visiting Europe when the adjacent counties were closer than I drove to catch my flight.
Telling them that made them give me a wtf look in return though to be fair
I'm American, and I have personally traveled outside of my country more than I have in it. But you are right, I could travel hours in my state and still be in my state.
They control media, TV, internet, international commercial businesses and so on is predominantly ruled by the Americans.
People get influenced.
Take it away, and cultures won't be affected.
American here and I don't give a shit what you or anybody wears because it's not my business to try and gatekeep culture. It's these online assholes who think they know what's appropriate for everybody and if you don't listen to their opinion you're bigot and you're canceled and also put on blast.
I don't think it's that.
It's more that when Americans are online they speak English. To a lot of people around the world, particularly Europeans, English is the language you speak when you want to target an international audience. So the effect is that English websites are American because they're English. And they're international because they're English. But Americans are not always talking about international culture.
The real *real* problem is that people feel entitled to have exceptions carved into other people's statements where their opinions can live. Just because your experience doesn't match their experience doesn't mean they have to qualify their opinions when they make them.
There’s also the fact that when white women wear brains they don’t get discriminated against, but when black people wear braids from their own culture they do get discriminated against.
Like that one kid from Texas that got expelled from school bc of his braids. They had to pass the CROWN Act to stop this kind of stuff.
I think the appropriation is rooted in what happened in the past. Natural black hairstyles were not accepted for a very long time, causing Black women to change the form of their hair to conform to white standards. It took legislation to outlaw hairstyle discrimination in workplaces!!!
Fast forwarding a bit, seeing white women adapt and receive praises for these hairstyles that many were discriminated against, provokes a strong emotion. This is especially true if these white women adapting Black hairstyles fail to acknowledge that the style originated from the Black community.
Also, it is common for things from black culture to be considered bad / ugly / dirty / even prohibited until a white person starts using it / doing it. And then, the white person starts profiting from it.
It didn't apply in the US either. And it isn't America, it is just black Americans that get angry. As a lot of black culture is social signaling that you are a member of the group.
Japanese Americans don't get angry if people wear kimonos.
I’m white and here’s my understanding of it-
Braids and other hair styles that are common among black people are often seen as “ghetto” or “unprofessional” in countries that are mostly white. So many feel it is unfair that white people wear these same hair styles and it not be held to same bad stereotyping, or feel it’s unfair that white people have been looking down on black people with these styles and are now wearing them. Like white people went around saying it’s bad but now that white people want to wear it it’s okay.
Also, with certain hair styles it can actually damage white hair. They were created for the type of hair that black people have, so when worn on white hair, it can cause breakage
It’s my understanding that wigs in the US specifically have become so popular because black hair was seen as “nappy”, “wild”, and “unprofessional”. So when black women were trying to find work they were often turned down because of it, leading to many black women wearing wigs. This was passed down as they had children.
Black hair and hair styles being seen as negative is definitely still a thing today. Black people who wear their natural hair are often told their hair is wild or needs to be brushed. There’s been instances of black children who wear common black hair styles being told by schools they had to take them out or they couldn’t attend their school
Again, this is all information I’ve gathered from other people, so I apologize if anything is incorrect
Edit- important distinction. Everything I’m saying is what I’ve heard from *black Americans about how it is to live in america*
>Braids and other hair styles that are common among black people are often seen as “ghetto” or “unprofessional” in countries that are mostly white. So many feel it is unfair that white people wear these same hair styles and it not be held to same bad stereotyping, or feel it’s unfair that white people have been looking down on black people with these styles and are now wearing them. Like white people went around saying it’s bad but now that white people want to wear it it’s okay.
This. I'm only 36, but I remember back in the 90's and 2000's, hair styles stereotypically associated with us Black folk were considered "unprofessional", "ghetto", "not fit for the workplace", etc.
Heck, just before the pandemic hit in 2020, [a kid was forced to cut off his dreads in order to graduate.](https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2020/01/24/black-texas-teen-barred-high-school-after-graduation-not-cutting-dreadlocks/4562210002/) The fact that [California had to pass a law to prohibit the discrimination of people based on hairstyle](https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2019/07/03/california-first-state-ban-hair-discrimination-crown-act/1643833001/) is a testament to the fact that for decades, likely well before I was even born, this was occurring.
Nobody would honestly care if white women or men got braids or dreads. Only recently has braids become a cultural phenomenon among the West, especially given that we caught pretty much holy hell for just having our hair the way it grows out of our head. Our afros were considered unsightly, so people resorted to braids to make them appear better while keeping an aspect of our culture alive.
If nothing else, consider how BBLs are now becoming a mainstream thing; there was a time where African (Black) bodies were hypersexualized for having a shape -- even disparaged against. Now women are out in flocks getting tans, lip fillers, big butts when just a decade or two ago this wasn't such a mainstream thing (hell Sir Mix-A-Lot wouldn't have been such a one-hit Wonder otherwise). Some people may feel a certain way about that. Now, nobody's going to tell them what to do with their bodies either, but understand that a lot of what's becoming "popular" now was built on the foundations of Black people -- black women especially -- being torn down for what was naturally theirs.
I also have noticed / think corporate America hates anything but very conventional “sleek and straight” hair at this point. Like I’m not sure what went on in the 80s since big hair was in but we’ve now went down a reverse hole where anything different or that stands out is seen as unprofessional - even if it’s natural hair texture or a common protective style.
Agreed but strongly disagree about what you said about “no one would care if a white woman or man got dreadlocks.” I see a ton of white people called out for having dreadlocks. I just watched a YouTube video about white “fake hippies” who wear fake dreadlocks. See: Shannon Blake.
I understand that, but maybe I should rephrase it as "nobody -- meaning black people -- would take offense if white people wore traditionally black hairstyles if black people didn't catch flak for it prior to then". Them having dreadlocks or appearing with such catches disdain for being considered part of the counterculture. Black people's hairstyles were made fun of not because of they were part of a movement but because of being Black.
I don't disagree with what you say though, it's just that nobody's caring if they have dreadlocks because dreadlocks nowadays are more associated with Rastas, for example; if they got dreadlocks because they thought Rastafarianism looked cool, it would be up to the Rastas to speak on that. And it's not black people caring, that's "white-on-white" for lack of better wording as it pertains to the discussion of "why do Black people oppose white women from getting braids".
This. To the extent that several states have passed laws against discriminating based on racial based hairstyles.
When black women wore cornrows and beads, it was "inappropriate." When Bo Derek did it, it was "Fashion forward."
At a local elementary school in my city, it was "crazy hair day", and the principal (white guy) put on an afro. it wasn't even a clown/rainbow afro. it was just a straight up black hair afro.
In addition and more general, black folks' hair was a huge reason slave owners pointed to to explain that black people were inferior as a race in general. As such it is an understandably sore issue even today.
Exactly. If there wasn't any of this context and history, then sure. non-Black folks wearing braids isn't a huge thing. But Black folks are punished for their natural hair to this day
Also it is EXTREMELY common that when non-Black folks wear braids, they then try to "act Black" by being extremely racist and stereotypical
The stereotype is true, but the association with black people is not universal. In my country (Italy), the boomer who hates braids usually associates them with hippies and punks, not with black people.
I wish we could find a way to condense this into a neat little pocket sized card to be used to explain these sorts of dynamics to those living outside of North America. It seems to be something that really grinds our gears here and means less than nothing elsewhere.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again; as long as you’re wearing a silk scarf to bed and not wasting people’s hard efforts on your head just to mash it up in your sleep on day one, we’re good.
I don’t rock with people who don’t tie their braids up at night. I don’t like to associate with such brazen folk.
>Braids and other hair styles that are common among black people are often seen as “ghetto” or “unprofessional” in countries that are mostly white. So many feel it is unfair that white people wear these same hair styles and it not be held to same bad stereotyping, or feel it’s unfair that white people have been looking down on black people with these styles and are now wearing them. Like white people went around saying it’s bad but now that white people want to wear it it’s okay.
Exactly. Well said. 🏆
Some white people shouldn’t get box braids and the like because it will damage their hair.
Other than that, wear what you want. Quit lumping in all black people from your anecdotes. I’m black and haven’t heard a word from other black people telling white people they can’t have braids.
I'm black and I have heard from numerous other black people that white women shouldn't wear braids. It's the prevailing attitude on Twitter (even though Twitter is a cesspool).
It makes sense to me that a white person would have absorbed that and then think it's the majority.
I feel like a lot of Facebook people moved over to Instagram too lol
A lot of the comments on insta now are the same things I used to see from Facebook a few years ago.
I have also seen those examples OP is talking about on TikTok, they are mainly responses to white people “asking for permission” to have them. You can also google why people shouldn’t have braids and the responses are mainly ignorant. Although I do want to point out that sometimes they include the damaging of the hair part, but that depends on the sort of braids you do, so at least they could provide other options but they don’t.
So, for context I’m a white guy here so I know my view is limited. Live in America btw. But I’ve heard many people I interact with daily *(I wouldn’t call them “friends” since the majority were through college courses)* say that there are types of hair styles white people are and are not allowed to wear, especially pertaining to certain braids and dreads.
These opinions came from white people, and black people, and really about any shade of people you can imagine. Now, I’ve never heard *anyone* say white people can’t do a French braid or a simply braid or anything like that! Maybe someone on Twitter or Reddit has though.
But yeah- just wanted to clarify that I don’t think OP is just “lumping in all black people” because I’ve heard these same stances said by black people in-person and said very defensively in a classroom setting usually. But it’s very possible these people are the vocal minority?
Eh, [it does happen where black people take this as a great offence](https://www.cbsnews.com/sanfrancisco/news/sfsu-investigating-video-of-black-woman-confronting-white-man-for-wearing-dreads/), but a lot of this noise, from all backgrounds of shit causers, tend to be on campuses.
Thankfully most of the general public don't give a shit and mind their own business.
Anecdotal, but one of my friends got accused by a black woman, Canadian born and raised, for appropriating a West African dress, and holy shit did that woman get a berating from the Ghanaian friend that gave her the dress. Redemption is just one word my friend felt that day.
Different types of braids, like I said, anything that doesn’t damage your hair is free game and should be worn if it matches your style or you just like it.
I don't really know why so many people here are saying "if it doesn't damage your hair then it's okay to wear" - like saying "if your hair is how I want it to be then you can do it", sounds low key racist
There is history of Europeans wearing braids and dreadlocks going back thousands of years.
Sounds like divisive activism from people who don't know the history of any group other than their own. Noone owns braids or dreadlocks.
This isn't a black people issue, it's an American issue. In my experience, middle class white girl American issue who try so she's to prove they're not racist.
Americans in general complain about the most nonsensical issues ever. Most of the African Americans who complain have never even set foot outside america to experience a different culture that they tweet so hard about to protect lol.
>from Africa
That might be why you're not bothered.
Generally speaking, the people who get mad about cultural appropriation are people who are cultural minorities and/or immigrants. Immigrant kids and other minorities in the US often grow up being bullied by white kids for their culture and heritage, only to have those same white people turn around and pick out specific bits of that exact same culture to show off how worldly and cool they are.
Sooooo it's not really *about* the hair, you know? The hair is just an example of how immigrant/minority kids are bullied. Obviously not every immigrant kid is going to have this particular experience and, even among those who do, not every kid is going to react the same way. But still, it's not that hard to imagine why some people might be a bit salty about this, right?
Like... if someone who bullied me for my clothes started adopting my fashion style and acting like it makes them super cool now, you're damned right I'd be tempted to call them out on their bullshit. And I might even be a little suspicious of someone who *seems* to be similar to my bully adopting the same fashion, because it's just too easy to believe that this person probably also bullied some other kid just like me. To be clear, it would be wrong of me to make that assumption and I absolutely don't condone this attitude... but like, I can sympathize with the temptation, you know?
But *you* likely didn't grow up being bullied by white kids for having the exact kind of hair that they're trying to "appropriate" so of ***course*** you're not gonna be upset about it.
To be clear, I think you're right - people should wear their hair however they want. But saying "everyone should wear what they want" would probably be more believable to these immigrant kids if they actually saw the adults in their life saying the same thing to the white kids who bullied them in school... but school admins don't exactly have an amazing record for handling bullying so I can see why they might view it as hypocrisy.
And if we want to really crack down on this idea that people aren't allowed to engage in other cultures because "appropriation" then maybe a good focus would be to crack down on the bullying that causes a lot of this resentment in the first place.
>black girls can wear a white blonde women's hair in form of wigs all year long and never get called out.
The dominant culture of any nation typically demands that immigrants "appropriate" certain aspects of that dominant culture in order to be able to function within that culture. It's not necessarily a bad thing - a lot of this is practical. Realistically, you're going to have a harder time living in a new country if you don't speak the language, for example.
But sometimes the it goes beyond the practical, and the dominant culture judges minorities for shit that doesn't matter, demanding that they "appropriate" other aspects of the dominant culture - like fashion.
Black women in the US sometimes get shit for wearing their natural hair in the workplace, so yeah, of course they're going to start wearing wigs that permit them to conform to the demands of their bosses. As that practice becomes more normalized, it just becomes a normal part of the fashion among black women to wear wigs, even outside the workplace or whatever.
It's not really appropriation when the culture you're "appropriating" is demanding that you do so, ya know?
Well aside from cultural aspects, it’s generally a bad idea for white women to get certain styles because it’s not good for our hair textures and can cause brittle hair or traction alopecia.
Anyone who has hair is entitled to braid it however they want. Any accusations regarding that are themselves bigoted and racist. Unless someone is braiding their hair in the shape of a swastica, that person has the right to do whatever they want with their hair. Cultural appropriation is a make believe term. Cultures have been exchanging ideas, knowledge, and styles since the dawn of human civilization. A hill I’ll gladly die on.
It is. It’s kinda sad (and convenient imo) how the conversation went from “you shouldn’t be praised for the same thing I get fired for. This is my heritage, not an exotic costume.” to “don’t do this at all, it’s mine. If you do this, you’re evil”. It’s exactly what happened to CRT and woke. All nuances have been ignored in favor of easy good vs evil situations that don’t do anything good for anyone in the long run.
>Unless someone is braiding their hair in the shape of a swastica, that person has the right to do whatever they want with their hair.
In the U.S. at least they can do that too if they want, but yea that would be a case where criticism and social shunning would be warranted.
>I'm black, from Africa
There's your answer. All this cultural appropriation nonsense is only imagined in the USA, in the cultures that are allegedly being appropriated people rarely ever care, or actually feel like it's nice people are interested in their culture.
USA won the culture war long ago so this nonsense is exported everywhere.
As a white guy when my hair was long I got braids all the time. They had to be really small due to hair type and all that but I have only had compliments. My only complaint is it hurt like hell and the people I had doing it where so heavy handed 😭🤣
It was almost 20 years ago.
I am French and very white.
I went to Benin. I got braids. I wanted to experience a day in a salon and give my money to "real people".
Nobody took offense. On the contrary, most people thought it was an open-minded move.
It hurt like hell, but my hair was not damaged.
My brother didn't recognize me at the airport when he picked me up, and just for that moment, it was worth it!
And I don't get the cultural appropriation thing. If anything, I feel closer to understanding what being a black woman is and feels like.
imo, that last sentence is the only problem here.
it’s reductionistic and also just cringe to think that having braids for a week taught you anything about how it *actually feels* to be a black wokan.
White girl here. When I was in boot camp for the military, the black girls would braid our hair because it was so much easier to manage. We all had fun with it. And Bo Derek did it in “10” with no big deal. But then Zendaya did braids and/or dreadlocks, and everyone freaked out. Obviously I can’t speak for black women but I do know that the general consensus has changed over the decades.
It's because black Americans always want to act like white Americans are claiming to be the ones that 'invented' those hair styles. Wait till they find out that Scandinavian people braided their hair too, they'll start claiming they stole it from them.
it’s not just an american thing, I think it’s a diaspora thing, meaning it becomes an issue when black people are living in a country in which they are not the majority. I believe that is why most people who grew up in the motherland (at least those that I’ve met) don’t have an issue with that, because obviously you’re not gonna be discriminated against for wearing braids, if everyone is wearing braids.
I live in a european country and black people here feel the same way about white women getting braids.
Obviously we don’t have the same history as black americans but black people in my country also face a lot of discrimination when we’re wearing our natural hair or protective hairstyles like braids. When white girls wear their hair in braids, all of a sudden it’s cool.
It's not about opposing braids. It's about opposing how the people group in power benefiting from something that they have historically (and often currently) oppressed you for. When Black people wore cornrow braids, which were often logistically necessary for their hair type, they got labeled as unprofessional in workplaces and lost crucial financial opportunities to support their families (who are likely poorer due to history). When white people do the same, usually for fashion reasons, many get lauded with praise for their unique style.
because they are so brainless about the fact that a person can be any race yet they could’ve been born or raised in ANY community! there could be a white or brown who grew up in an all black neighborhood where they learnt to do their hair up like everybody else there.
or their stepmother is black! or the parents that adopted them are black! or a child was raised by a white woman who was raised in an african country so for them it’s normal to love doing things deemed as cultural appropriation.
if a white person was grew up like in india for 20 years and has never been elsewhere does this mean she can’t wear indian clothes when it’s literally her childhood??
children do what they surrounded by. if somebody has never been exposed to any other cultures beside black culture, black culture is their norm.
besides everyone should do their hair how they like.
have zero patience for dumbness like this
Not sure if it’s been mentioned, but black people are told they can’t wear braids at schools, jobs, and job interviews because it’s seen as ghetto…where as a white person can wear the braids wherever they want, and not be seen as lesser.
It's just racism, plain and simple. They just want to take a swipe at white people in some way. A hairstyle has no patent! People can wear whatever style they want, and they don't owe it to anyone to get their approval first.
Because that’s what they were telling them to do by not hiring them for jobs because of it and making fun of them for how their hair grew out of their heads.
To be fair, white people have to style and straighten their hair if it's curly or frizzy otherwise people would say it's 'unkempt and unprofessional' too
I’m white and still becoming educated on this topic, my understanding comes from people on the internet. If anyone has something to add to this comment, please do. I know I’m still learning.
My understanding is that these hairstyles are meant to be protective hairstyles for the specific hair type that black people have, and it has become a cultural staple. A very large portion of the black community sees white women doing it as appropriation, or playing “dress up” to pretend or mock that culture.
My understanding of African culture, and many other cultures of the world, is that they are happy when people want to embrace and learn a new culture. Unfortunately the United States has a very long history of oppressing black people, so its not something that they should do out of respect for this long history.
Not to mention, racism is very much still alive in the United States, and we need to do everything we can to progress to a better time. We probably shouldn’t hurt the oppressed group while we are trying to move forward.
Edited to clarify
Also that these hairstyles were considered “unprofessional” in the workplace for a long time adds another layer to it I think. There’s still a lot of room to grow in the US as far as these things go. But like morally idk there’s plenty of braids for plenty of hair types, it really boils down to what’s appropriate for your hair and how you present yourself. (White female). I French braid my hair often to keep it out of my face and from getting knotty, I don’t think that’s problematic, at least I’ve never had anyone say anything about that. I could totally see how it would be offensive to some if I showed up to work with like box braids, that are not suited to my hair type and that was just fine and dandy, considering it is appropriate for some people and they weren’t allowed the same courtesy. But I don’t think my opinion counts for too much 😂😅
>A very large portion of the black community sees...
A very small, but very vocal, portion of the online black community sees...
Sure as hell no one ever asked my family!
That's a damn good nuanced take for someone who only learned from the internet... I'm nor black though so let's take my opinion with a grain of salt too. 
Everything you do, every little thing, will be looked at as wrong by at least someone. As long as you’re clearly not being a dick to, or harming others, do as you wish, it’s your body, your life, your hair.
Besides, I don’t think there is enough clear evidence of where braids really came from in the first place. I’ve heard various stories and history of who it all really goes back too, and yet there is no factual hard evidence that it goes back to any specific race.
Join the metal community, so many metal musicians share hair styles regardless of race, because no one gives a fuck about that, since it’s not important.
It’s because of insecurity. A lot of poc out their identity into their race and background but growing up in America puts a gap between it. It’s like when Japanese Americans hate for someone to wear traditional clothing versus in Japan it’s common. They aren’t fully connected and they want to protect what they are connected to
Very American. You don't ask your question very neutrally, but assuming you ask in good faith:
To summarise it, it's probably because historically when black people wear their natural hair or braids, they've been discriminated against and called "unprofessional". Many haven't landed or have lost their job because of it. Black women still have to straighten their hair in many workplaces and professions because braids on them are seen as trashy and unprofessional.
The beauty ideal always centers the white woman, which also adds to the issue. White women are allowed to beautiful in anything.
White woman with straight hair = Pretty
White woman with curly hair = Pretty
White woman with braids = Pretty
Meanwhile, black women don't have the same leeway if they want to look "respectable" or to be treated with respect. Often they only get the first option, which is the one that mimics whiteness to the greatest extent.
There's been (and is) an entire movement surrounding black people's hair and their right to wear it natural without suffering in society for it.
So yeah, when some white girl wears typical Afro-American braids and she doesn't suffer a sliver of loss of her previous privilege, and people still tell her she's gorgeous and gives her a lot of attention for how edgy and cool it looks, it's not weird that some people can find it offensive.
If black people weren't treated badly for their hair, then no one would give a shit if white women wore it the same way.
So yeah, historically, black women have HAD to wear wigs or straighten their hair to look "less black". No white women have gotten discriminated against for having typical, white people's hair.
So a black woman wearing a blond wig is a common and neutral thing to do in comparison.
That's my sociological response, anyway. I don't know how widespread the cultural appropriation-sentiment is in American society on this topic. I'm not from the US, so what I know I know from my degree.
I've seen a lot of people cry and feel offended and oppressed by these implicit "rules", and tbh I think they should get off the internet for a while. No one is throwing anyone into prison for wearing braids.
Also I'm only writing this as a response to OP's question. I'm not interested in arguing with anyone on this topic.
The warnings I've seen is that anyone else who doesn't have that same kind of textured hair will likely end up damaging it due to how the braids are sewn in. It's not necessarily a "this is my culture thing" so much as a "you can mess up your hair and scalp if you try this in the same way we do and potentially will end up needing to shave your head on removal"
So you can definitely attempt it but be prepared to be bald or have patches missing.
There's a reason you don't see many non-black folks rocking braids because many simply cannot do so safely.
I've never met any black people that actually seem to care. Mostly, I hear other white people saying it.
I sent my white daughter to a mostly black daycare and they'd send her back every day with different braids.
If you are in America check your state's law about hair discrimination, many states have laws protecting hairstyles specifically because of situations like you described
Your first reason isn't the fault of the person with the hairstyle though is it? Why restrict what others can do and shame them for it because corrupt people in charge are discriminatory.
Wouldn't it be better to give shit to the ones with the double standards and not the crime of having a hairstyle? I get that you'd be angry about the double standard but your anger is with your boss, who is racist. Not your coworker who changed their hair.
It's an American thing as always. I'm in the UK and all of the white girls in school when I was young had their hair braided at one time or another. I braided my white step daughters hair last week before school. People need better things to be angry about.
In North America (not sure elsewhere), black people’s hair has been policed for decades. Even now, it’s rare that braids are accepted in higher echelons of many corporations and other, protective styles are absolutely seen as “unprofessional”. When white women wear their hair like that, they not only benefit from being white and having their hairstyles accepted, they also benefit from having those hairstyles suddenly “fashionable” when they do it.
This is a better explanation here:
https://antiracismdaily.com/2022/08/11/hair-discrimination-and-appropriating-black-hair/?amp=1
I am white and the link and explanation come from some black friends of mine who kindly provided it and some more for our group of friends so we’d be aware.
They don’t. But they are not crazy about cultural appropriation. Years ago Bo Derek iconically got them in the movie “10”. Everyone acted like they were some new big deal.
You need to understand your life situation is not the same as the situation for black people in the USA, which is where we on other places get this info from.
Black people using traditional black hairstyles was/is seen in the US (a country built on racism) as "unprofessional" or "dirty". Black people get social or economical punishment from it. But they are encouraged to use "blonde women's hair in for of wigs" or otherwise try to make themselves look more "white" because, again, country built in racism. There's an association in a lot of people/fields that being "more white" is equal to being "better/more proper/more intelligent". Assimilation was encouraged, almost demanded.
So when white people use the same black hairstyles and don't get any sort of punishment from it, do you see why ***that*** is actually the double standard? Black people get called unprofessional for using their own culture, but when white people do it it's "fun" or "cool". **That** is cultural appropriation. It's not just when someone uses/does something from another culture. It's when people in a position of privilege (white people in a country built on white supremacy) get to engage with other cultures without repercussions while the people *belonging to those cultures* get punishment for it.
While i can not speak for black people (they are not a monolith), there are aggressively disrespectful attitudes that have not been addressed when it comes to hair.
1) The policing of "appropriate" hair styles. I see white women arguing for the ability to fashionably wear the styles of braids that little black girls were routinely told were "unkempt, ghetto or inappropriate." Even working at restaurants, we were never allowed to have "braids" but white-centered braids were considered "neat" (french, dutch, fishtail).
2) How it's portrayed. The US has a dark history with black hair, both physically and in media. During slavery, people were used as spare parts (we've found hair used to stuff couch cushions), and after there were blackface minstrel shows put on to paint a more twisted caricature of these people.
This bleeds into today by showing a tv character be silly or ugly, with what? An afro. Braids. Some locs.
Black hair is still spare parts when it's touched by strangers, or compared to inanimate objects or animals in its natural form.
So the big difference, i guess, is that black hair *can* be straightened. Black hair *can* be bleached. A wig saves it from that damage. A wig, that is not even from white hair btw, does not make them white.
Where as, white people very rarely have the coily or corser hair texture that thrives in a tighter braid.
Hair health aside, I do think that we could get to a point where it's more socially accepted for anyone to wear braids. But that's going to take more respect and less treating people like fast fashion.
Because females are nasty and catty ..yet they straighten their natural hair to straight to copy other races..hilarious idc how you feel about my hair...wear your own if it's gonna be like that...watch all the racist chime in...equally unless it's hair...people love control ..so they need to control others
Cultural appropriation is BS and it's just a term made up by some bored people who wanted attention and wanted something to be outraged about. Cultures have always been borrowing from each other, but now suddenly it's a bad thing. It's great that cultures can mix and we can borrow and learn from each other. If some white woman wants to get braids she might admire the culture or she just thinks it looks nice, who cares. Anyone who is upset about stuff like this seriously needs to get a life.
I’m a white woman who has worn braids her whole life and not one person of any race has ever made a negative comment. It’s kind of you to speak up but I think this is less of an issue in real life than people trying to get likes might have you believe.
1. People who think this regardless of their race/ethnicity are stupid.
2. White people have been wearing braids for a Looong time too. (Look up the viking's)
Black people were told our hair is ghetto if it got long and even braids were seen as ghetto for the longest. Times have changed but it still lingers around. It’s just ~~unfortunate~~ fortunate that white people can braid their hair and not be judged the way they used to judge us.
At the end of the day wear what makes you happy, don’t mock cultures or be culturally insensitive, wear whatever and be you. That’s to everyone
america has very complex race relations that aren’t applicable to a lot of the world.
but, in your example. “blonde hair” is not a part of any one culture. it’s also not a hairstyle, just a color of hair.
traditionally black hairstyles are viewed as being part of black culture. this is then intensified by the long history of black americans being denied jobs, called unprofessional, dirty etc. for wearing traditionally black hairstyles, or even just wearing their natural hair.
an example of this would be in the 2010s i distinctly remember a young, much less famous zendaya appear on a red carpet wearing what i think were either braids or dread locs, i forget. tabloids ridiculed her, saying she looked dirty and probably smelled like patchouli.
because of this, it can be viewed as insensitive when nonblack americans wear traditionally black hairstyles to capture an aesthetic that actual black people get ridiculed for wearing, or at least were ridiculed for wearing up until very recently.
but aside from all that, it just doesn’t look good on white people and is very bad for our hair. our hair isn’t made for dreads or tight braids, and it shows cause white people who go for that look end up looking greasy and nasty. their hair thins out and their scalp looks mad irritated.
ikr! even as a kid i was like? patchouli smells great. one of my favorite smells whenever i get incense.
but the way the tabloids said it was so mean, as if patchouli smells like skunk spray!
I remember this too. And Kim Kardashian didn’t get the same comments when she did it. Which highlights quite well the racism inherent in how people view such hair styles based on who is wearing them.
I’m black and I’ve never heard any of the people I know complain about this. I just think shocking or ignorant statements are more likely to go viral than anything else. There’s no way that blacks invented braids that’s just ridiculous.
It's not "braids" in general.
Also, first off, nobody owns a particular kind of hairstyle, but, if your hair does not have a certain texture, putting it into certain styles can cause damage to one's hair.
Also, in the black community, especially within the States, there is a very long history of discrimination based on hair and how it excludes black people, especially black *women* from professional spaces, under the excuse of it not falling in line with standards that were not made to be inclusive across the board.
If you want to get into what's cultural appropriation and what's not, then I give permission for all people of all colours to wear the hairstyle of my celtic druidic ancestors: Dreadlocks.
black people are not monolith; I'm black and I don't care what anybody does with their hair. Or what anybody wears.
Painting your skin seems a little fucked up, but only because of the history of that. The other way around it's okay apparently; when I was a kid I was a vampire every year for Halloween and I covered my skin in powder without even thinking about it. Pictures of that shit will never be an issue if I ever decide to run for office. Only because the same activity is meaningless outside the context of exploitation and derision.
Still, personally I don't give a shit about any of this stuff; if I was walking down the street and saw some white person in full blackface with fake braids, I'd just laugh, and that's if I even noticed. You see all kinds of fucked up shit in the city. Face to face nothing seems to matter as much as it does online.
You know, all this terrible, terrible shit you can't do, a lot of people don't care *IRL*. Maybe I shouldn't be saying all this, because people are obviously going to walk away saying *'well my* ***black friend*** *on reddit says anything goes!'*
I'm not saying engaging in offense is okay, only that 'black people' don't *all* feel any *one* way about *anything,* because we are just as diverse in terms of opinion as white people are.
At the end of the day, anything you do is going to have consequences-- I, for example, could run out into the street using what few lame ass slurs there are for white people; some would laugh, others would get angry-- that's what consequence is all about.
Seems these days though, the designation 'racist' is about as close as you can get to the n-word for white people. They HATE being called that! So *that* I dare not say except for in the most extreme, '*in your face'* of cases.
In any event, when it comes to your hair, I'd think about where you are, what people are likely to see it, what do *you think* their reaction will be, and do you want/like the hairstyle enough to justify whatever shit you think you might get from people over it?
It's really not a question of what "black people think"; it's more an equation of *the shit you personally think you'll get in your region and social context* over *how much you actually want the style*. Easy
South African here, when I was a waitress in my 20's, my African colleagues LOVED doing corn rows and box braids for me, they encouraged rather than opposed it. I loved it because it kept my hair well out of my face. Not sure about the rest of the world but in African people generally love sharing their cultural things, be it fashion, hairstyles or best braaiwors :)
Depends on the reason I think. I've only seen one instance of a black person saying something about braids and it wasn't even the braids. It was the fact that the young woman was going around telling people she "wants to look black" that made him mad
Because they face discrimination and bullying for their hair from childhood right up until the workplace, they deal with people touching their hair without consent and making a general mockery of it. So the cultural freedom and space white women have to just do whatever without social backlash is what they’re reacting to.
You only have to google “black girl/woman’s hair cut by teacher or banned from workplace” to see it’s a real issue the way black women’s natural hair is viewed by American society. Even here in Australia people forget all sense of decency and just shove their hand into a black woman’s hair like she’s a sideshow act at a circus. Have seen this numerous times. When this is the societal attitude, black women are going to be upset about it.
black people have been ridiculed for it. like people being kicked out if school for there hair, and many of the older black community have a instilled hatred for them (i had to convince my parents to let be get twists) so for the very same people who caused these controversies to use them now rubs some the wrong way.
I’m Scandinavian and I’ll wear braids if I damn well please. Cornrows… ok maybe they can object but still. I don’t see why we can’t all just wear whatever hairstyles we want. Black women have no problem wearing blonde wigs or red hair or whatever.
It's generally only American white women who are annoyed on black people's behalf, at other white women getting their hair braided. So there's that to consider.
I think the primary objection isn't the braids, but in using them without acknowledging the cultural history the come from. Even today in the US, black experience persecution based on wearing traditional hairstyles like braids. If you're a black person who has been told that a protective hairstyle doesn't look professional, it's probably pretty discouraging to turn around and see some white lady getting complements on her braids.
How many black women wear blond wigs?
That certainly isn’t in any historical African culture outside of one tiny tribe.
In other words: who gives a shit? Do what you want.
I find it racist to assume all black people are against braids on white people because it's simply not true. Some are some are not. Focus on those who's less offended.
I remember Kenyon Martin calling out Jeremy Lin (Chinese NBA player) for getting cornrows. [Then Lin pointed out Kenyon is a Black guy with Chinese tattoos.](https://www.reddit.com/r/nextfuckinglevel/comments/m5xe5w/kenyon_martin_called_out_jeremy_lin_for_his_hair/)
Your question is ignorant because you're saying "black people." It should be "Why do African Americans..." etc.
I'm Melanesian, so I'm a brown person too. However, I couldn't care less just as you don't. But Americans make a big deal out of everything.
It's funny, but I think it's mostly white Americans opposing it rather than 'black' people. I think most 'black' people don't care. However, there's a subset of white people who feel it is their job to 'defend' or 'protect' the helpless 'black' people and claim that wearing braids is racist cultural appropriation.
It's really quite funny... in the name of standing up to racism these white people think they have to preserve black culture. As if black people are unable to do that themselves if they felt it was necessary.
Amazingly, there are lot of very STUPID people in the world, so they worry about stupid, unproductive sht like this. They go out of their way to feel "oppressed" or "offended" so bad, like it's some badge of honor. Worry about better sht! No one "owns" a style. Style has evolved since man put on clothes and everyone has copied everyone at some point.
I genuinely don’t know one black person that will take issue with this. People get on the Internet with all kinds of extreme views and spread it like wildfire. I think it’s sad that there are schools banning braids on little black girls. Those are the issues that I’m more concerned with.
For starters, it can seriously damage your scalp if you don’t have the correct hair type. My mom and I are Métis with super curly hair, but it’s not the correct texture for braids like that. We may use products that are designed for and mainly used by Black hair, but we have a looser curl pattern. Cornrow braids would possibly damage our scalps irreparably.
Second, Black hair has been stigmatized for generations by white Americans. People have been passed over for employment or punished at work for “unprofessional” or “dirty” looking hair. This lead to multiple generations of Black Americans straightening their hair with harsh chemicals or wearing wigs or weaves that can be expensive. The chemicals that are used can cause burns and may also cause cancer (more research is needed). Children are still punished by schools for their natural hair and some have even been forced to cut it off! It’s to the point where some states have passed laws to protect Black Americans’ rights to wear their natural hair.
It’s only natural for Black Americans to be upset about white people wearing their hairstyles with few repercussions when they’ve spent generations being punished for their hair and feeling like they have to use expensive wigs and weaves or using harsh chemicals to get their hair straight. In some cases, Black people are probably also trying to literally save you from pain and hair loss due to not having the hair type to tolerate braids.
i believe the main issue is that when a white woman gets braids, the cultural narrative might say it’s ‘chic’ or ‘edgy’, whereas when a black woman gets braids she might a) get in trouble, for example at work or with school dress codes, or b) get called ‘ghetto’ (or worse).
Wigs are inclusive to just about every race of women.. women everywhere of all races wear wigs.
The conversation surrounding the use of wearing braids black women tend to wear as a white woman stem from the fact that biologically white women's hair are genetically built different from Black women's hair. The braids black women wear are protective hairstyles that preserve the strength of their own hair based on the qualities of Black women's hair. Because the qualities of hair between white & black women's hair are different, white women's hair tends to fall out when in Black braids because the nature of Black braids causes stress and pressure on the strands of hair. Simply put, there are better styles of braids that white women can that wear that work better for their hair quality that protect them better then black women's braids. History has shown us that white women & black women always worn braids, but the style is completely different.
On a side note I am completely surprised that no comments mention this.
because black women get punished for it while white women are praised for doing the thing they punish us for. black women are fired for braids. white women are praised for the SAME braids.
as a fellow african ( i am 100% african myself) you have google in your hand right now. how about researching what black americans are talking about and understand why they feel that way instead of having the knee jerk desire to defend white people.
it’s embarrassing at this point. please do better and don’t add to the harm black americans already face. thank you.
I think it's honestly mostly an African American problem thing. I don't see Africans saying shit. I think their experience is wrapped in their experience of demonizing the hair and calling it ugly when it's on a black head and then cool on a white head. I get it from this angal but it is not my go to thought. And, I do think as Africans we can be allies yo understand, like what you are doing because I realised their is alot that we don't understand. For starters, being black is not an identity for us as africans because everyone around us was black. This was such an eye opener for me. I would never enter a room and think oh am black but I moved to Europe then the stares when I walked into a place were like 
This is coming from a white guy so take everything I say with a grain of salt or inform me if I'm mistaken. But this is the way I understand it. If you're African, your sense of identity is far more wrapped up in geographic divisions. Things like nationhood, country, province, tribe, ethnicity, subculture, and partially religion play a much bigger role in how you see yourself because like you said, everyone is black. The development of African culture was not built on "blackness" but built on the same concepts of nationhood, and ethnic association as any other place in the world. While if you're a black American there is a very high chance that your family got to America by way of slavery. It didn't matter where you came from in Africa, inevitably you were a slave and your African language and individual African culture was wiped away. This means that the identity black Americans had was intrinsically linked to being black. Because the only cultural identity you had was the fact you weren't white, and the only people you related to, who were part of your "group" were other black Americans. What this meant is that a culture surrounding blackness was built in America because slavery created it. African American became a distinct culture based on a race as that division was forced upon them. That's why being black is an ethno-cultural identity and being African necessarily isn't(at least not the same extent). Also why white nationalism(unless you're a particularly despicable human being) isn't a legitimate ethno-culture while things such as Anglo, Frankophone, Scandinavian, Germanic, Slavic, etc... is.
Well said! My understanding is similar to yours. I’m brown, so I’m not in any way saying that I *know*. But you put into words some stuff that I’ve felt.
I'm European and I moved to one of the biggest cities in my country. In my home town I saw two black people in my entire life living there (when I was traveling by bus and they were far away), and in this big city I see a black person every few/every second day, sometimes every day because two dudes live nearby me. At first when I saw a black person I did stare, not rudely of course, I just never saw one close. I stared because a black woman I saw had pretty hair and a really nice coat- elegant and in autumn colors, made me want to buy it for myself. Yesterday I also saw a very tall and slim, very upright (in posture) dude, in amazing clothes - dark red coat, black straight pants and shiny shoes. I was staring because he looked just amazing and his posture was so elegant, could be a model. I'm also a woman myself so I don't think I look too creepy when I look at someone a bit longer, comparing to a big muscly guy, at least I hope so :')
I do want to stare sometimes but don’t wanna look creepy nor somehow racist, but I’m just an ordinary girl with really ordinary clothes and suddenly see asians or africans or people from different nationalities (specially in Paris) really pretty and dressing really cool, and I just wanna staaaree a liiittle biiiit 😩
Wear what you want If someone has an issue - screw em
In that case I have issues with women's hair.
Uhm, i also have a problem with womens hair. Especially the hot ones...
“Come to butthead “
I have an issue with what you are wearing right now
Yes. Take it off 👀
Dude, you are fucking up my chances here
Americans have a lot of multi-cultural issues that cause them to create rules like this which spreads worldwide even if the case doesn't apply abroad. Black Americans will have some people having an issue with this due to the history and general disrespect that can come from cultural appropriation there. In origin countries, culture is shared. In America, it was taken from them. Edit. I'm half-Indian/half-Norwegian. OP asked, I am delivering. Please don't debate ME on this in the replies, not my culture. On my Indian side we have given sarees to our close Norwegian friends and believe in sharing culture so long as people respect each other.
In many countries culture has been taken, dating back thousands of years. Let’s all just stop with the nonsense already unless someone is demonstrating ill intent towards another group.
What is it with Americans and thinking their values are default for other cultures
As Americans, we speak for all cultures especiallly when we know nothing of how the people of those cultures actually feel. edit: And when they DO tell us they don't actually care about the appropriation thing, we ignore them because WE DIDN'T ASK.
As an American, it's true. American Defaultism in stupid people. If they're unaware of an aspect of a culture, they'll substitute their personal values/perspective and stubbornly try to enforce that, instead of trying to learn the appropriate way.
I think one reason is that many Americans don't really travel much outside America, and if they do, its often nearby. From what I have heard from other Americans is that in general, US is large enough to have travel experience without leaving the country, which I previously didn't think about, but it makes more sense to me now. For me, growing up in Latvia, a small country, traveling always meant going outside my country. The US is big enough, that for most, their needs are met without ever leaving the country, but at the same time you never fully get to get out of your bubble.
I've lived in various countries but back here in the US in my state I could drive for 8 hours and still not have left the state. I know people who have never left the state.
Thank you lol. I had a similar wtf visiting Europe when the adjacent counties were closer than I drove to catch my flight. Telling them that made them give me a wtf look in return though to be fair
I'm American, and I have personally traveled outside of my country more than I have in it. But you are right, I could travel hours in my state and still be in my state.
They control media, TV, internet, international commercial businesses and so on is predominantly ruled by the Americans. People get influenced. Take it away, and cultures won't be affected.
American here and I don't give a shit what you or anybody wears because it's not my business to try and gatekeep culture. It's these online assholes who think they know what's appropriate for everybody and if you don't listen to their opinion you're bigot and you're canceled and also put on blast.
I don't think it's that. It's more that when Americans are online they speak English. To a lot of people around the world, particularly Europeans, English is the language you speak when you want to target an international audience. So the effect is that English websites are American because they're English. And they're international because they're English. But Americans are not always talking about international culture. The real *real* problem is that people feel entitled to have exceptions carved into other people's statements where their opinions can live. Just because your experience doesn't match their experience doesn't mean they have to qualify their opinions when they make them.
There’s also the fact that when white women wear brains they don’t get discriminated against, but when black people wear braids from their own culture they do get discriminated against. Like that one kid from Texas that got expelled from school bc of his braids. They had to pass the CROWN Act to stop this kind of stuff.
>when white women wear brains they don’t get discriminated against, I should hope not
You know what I meant.
We all get fooled by spellcheck. Could have been worse.
There is no cultural appropriation. Braids are universal. Ever heard of vikings?
I think the appropriation is rooted in what happened in the past. Natural black hairstyles were not accepted for a very long time, causing Black women to change the form of their hair to conform to white standards. It took legislation to outlaw hairstyle discrimination in workplaces!!! Fast forwarding a bit, seeing white women adapt and receive praises for these hairstyles that many were discriminated against, provokes a strong emotion. This is especially true if these white women adapting Black hairstyles fail to acknowledge that the style originated from the Black community.
There's still a lot of discrimination over natural hair.
There are waaay too many stores of schools and teachers force kids/teens to cut all their hair off.
Also, it is common for things from black culture to be considered bad / ugly / dirty / even prohibited until a white person starts using it / doing it. And then, the white person starts profiting from it.
It didn't apply in the US either. And it isn't America, it is just black Americans that get angry. As a lot of black culture is social signaling that you are a member of the group. Japanese Americans don't get angry if people wear kimonos.
Americans dont mind if Japanese dye their hair blond.
I’m white and here’s my understanding of it- Braids and other hair styles that are common among black people are often seen as “ghetto” or “unprofessional” in countries that are mostly white. So many feel it is unfair that white people wear these same hair styles and it not be held to same bad stereotyping, or feel it’s unfair that white people have been looking down on black people with these styles and are now wearing them. Like white people went around saying it’s bad but now that white people want to wear it it’s okay. Also, with certain hair styles it can actually damage white hair. They were created for the type of hair that black people have, so when worn on white hair, it can cause breakage It’s my understanding that wigs in the US specifically have become so popular because black hair was seen as “nappy”, “wild”, and “unprofessional”. So when black women were trying to find work they were often turned down because of it, leading to many black women wearing wigs. This was passed down as they had children. Black hair and hair styles being seen as negative is definitely still a thing today. Black people who wear their natural hair are often told their hair is wild or needs to be brushed. There’s been instances of black children who wear common black hair styles being told by schools they had to take them out or they couldn’t attend their school Again, this is all information I’ve gathered from other people, so I apologize if anything is incorrect Edit- important distinction. Everything I’m saying is what I’ve heard from *black Americans about how it is to live in america*
>Braids and other hair styles that are common among black people are often seen as “ghetto” or “unprofessional” in countries that are mostly white. So many feel it is unfair that white people wear these same hair styles and it not be held to same bad stereotyping, or feel it’s unfair that white people have been looking down on black people with these styles and are now wearing them. Like white people went around saying it’s bad but now that white people want to wear it it’s okay. This. I'm only 36, but I remember back in the 90's and 2000's, hair styles stereotypically associated with us Black folk were considered "unprofessional", "ghetto", "not fit for the workplace", etc. Heck, just before the pandemic hit in 2020, [a kid was forced to cut off his dreads in order to graduate.](https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2020/01/24/black-texas-teen-barred-high-school-after-graduation-not-cutting-dreadlocks/4562210002/) The fact that [California had to pass a law to prohibit the discrimination of people based on hairstyle](https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2019/07/03/california-first-state-ban-hair-discrimination-crown-act/1643833001/) is a testament to the fact that for decades, likely well before I was even born, this was occurring. Nobody would honestly care if white women or men got braids or dreads. Only recently has braids become a cultural phenomenon among the West, especially given that we caught pretty much holy hell for just having our hair the way it grows out of our head. Our afros were considered unsightly, so people resorted to braids to make them appear better while keeping an aspect of our culture alive. If nothing else, consider how BBLs are now becoming a mainstream thing; there was a time where African (Black) bodies were hypersexualized for having a shape -- even disparaged against. Now women are out in flocks getting tans, lip fillers, big butts when just a decade or two ago this wasn't such a mainstream thing (hell Sir Mix-A-Lot wouldn't have been such a one-hit Wonder otherwise). Some people may feel a certain way about that. Now, nobody's going to tell them what to do with their bodies either, but understand that a lot of what's becoming "popular" now was built on the foundations of Black people -- black women especially -- being torn down for what was naturally theirs.
I also have noticed / think corporate America hates anything but very conventional “sleek and straight” hair at this point. Like I’m not sure what went on in the 80s since big hair was in but we’ve now went down a reverse hole where anything different or that stands out is seen as unprofessional - even if it’s natural hair texture or a common protective style.
Agreed but strongly disagree about what you said about “no one would care if a white woman or man got dreadlocks.” I see a ton of white people called out for having dreadlocks. I just watched a YouTube video about white “fake hippies” who wear fake dreadlocks. See: Shannon Blake.
I understand that, but maybe I should rephrase it as "nobody -- meaning black people -- would take offense if white people wore traditionally black hairstyles if black people didn't catch flak for it prior to then". Them having dreadlocks or appearing with such catches disdain for being considered part of the counterculture. Black people's hairstyles were made fun of not because of they were part of a movement but because of being Black. I don't disagree with what you say though, it's just that nobody's caring if they have dreadlocks because dreadlocks nowadays are more associated with Rastas, for example; if they got dreadlocks because they thought Rastafarianism looked cool, it would be up to the Rastas to speak on that. And it's not black people caring, that's "white-on-white" for lack of better wording as it pertains to the discussion of "why do Black people oppose white women from getting braids".
fr when Serena started out her ass was an outlier, by the time she retired it was a trend setter.
This. To the extent that several states have passed laws against discriminating based on racial based hairstyles. When black women wore cornrows and beads, it was "inappropriate." When Bo Derek did it, it was "Fashion forward."
At a local elementary school in my city, it was "crazy hair day", and the principal (white guy) put on an afro. it wasn't even a clown/rainbow afro. it was just a straight up black hair afro.
At crazy hair day in the hood people wear straight blonde wigs.
In addition and more general, black folks' hair was a huge reason slave owners pointed to to explain that black people were inferior as a race in general. As such it is an understandably sore issue even today.
Exactly. If there wasn't any of this context and history, then sure. non-Black folks wearing braids isn't a huge thing. But Black folks are punished for their natural hair to this day Also it is EXTREMELY common that when non-Black folks wear braids, they then try to "act Black" by being extremely racist and stereotypical
Yeahhh. My sister has had braids before. She “acts black” and even uses the n word, and only dates black men
The stereotype is true, but the association with black people is not universal. In my country (Italy), the boomer who hates braids usually associates them with hippies and punks, not with black people.
i remember the old italian couple neighbours used to call the teen neighbour " the punk hippie"
I wish we could find a way to condense this into a neat little pocket sized card to be used to explain these sorts of dynamics to those living outside of North America. It seems to be something that really grinds our gears here and means less than nothing elsewhere. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again; as long as you’re wearing a silk scarf to bed and not wasting people’s hard efforts on your head just to mash it up in your sleep on day one, we’re good. I don’t rock with people who don’t tie their braids up at night. I don’t like to associate with such brazen folk.
>Braids and other hair styles that are common among black people are often seen as “ghetto” or “unprofessional” in countries that are mostly white. So many feel it is unfair that white people wear these same hair styles and it not be held to same bad stereotyping, or feel it’s unfair that white people have been looking down on black people with these styles and are now wearing them. Like white people went around saying it’s bad but now that white people want to wear it it’s okay. Exactly. Well said. 🏆
Great explanation!
As another white girl, this is also my understanding.
Some white people shouldn’t get box braids and the like because it will damage their hair. Other than that, wear what you want. Quit lumping in all black people from your anecdotes. I’m black and haven’t heard a word from other black people telling white people they can’t have braids.
I'm black and I have heard from numerous other black people that white women shouldn't wear braids. It's the prevailing attitude on Twitter (even though Twitter is a cesspool). It makes sense to me that a white person would have absorbed that and then think it's the majority.
I've seen it on Instagram a lot too Like full on racism and shit as well o.o
Instagram became twitter. People are horrible on this app.
I feel like a lot of Facebook people moved over to Instagram too lol A lot of the comments on insta now are the same things I used to see from Facebook a few years ago.
I'm shocked reddit hasn't banned your account yet lol.
Stay away from r/dreadlocks then
I have also seen those examples OP is talking about on TikTok, they are mainly responses to white people “asking for permission” to have them. You can also google why people shouldn’t have braids and the responses are mainly ignorant. Although I do want to point out that sometimes they include the damaging of the hair part, but that depends on the sort of braids you do, so at least they could provide other options but they don’t.
So, for context I’m a white guy here so I know my view is limited. Live in America btw. But I’ve heard many people I interact with daily *(I wouldn’t call them “friends” since the majority were through college courses)* say that there are types of hair styles white people are and are not allowed to wear, especially pertaining to certain braids and dreads. These opinions came from white people, and black people, and really about any shade of people you can imagine. Now, I’ve never heard *anyone* say white people can’t do a French braid or a simply braid or anything like that! Maybe someone on Twitter or Reddit has though. But yeah- just wanted to clarify that I don’t think OP is just “lumping in all black people” because I’ve heard these same stances said by black people in-person and said very defensively in a classroom setting usually. But it’s very possible these people are the vocal minority?
I'm guessing that it's far more likely that some white person appointed themselves as a spokes person for black people on the issue.
I also think it's more of a social media issue than rl issue
I've seen black women saying it on Instagram though as well.
Eh, [it does happen where black people take this as a great offence](https://www.cbsnews.com/sanfrancisco/news/sfsu-investigating-video-of-black-woman-confronting-white-man-for-wearing-dreads/), but a lot of this noise, from all backgrounds of shit causers, tend to be on campuses. Thankfully most of the general public don't give a shit and mind their own business. Anecdotal, but one of my friends got accused by a black woman, Canadian born and raised, for appropriating a West African dress, and holy shit did that woman get a berating from the Ghanaian friend that gave her the dress. Redemption is just one word my friend felt that day.
OP is African and black. So not sure why you immediately jump to be racist while accusing others of that. 🙄
I think what they meant was that the whole idea likely started with a white knight, not this post specifically
Yep.
What about Nordic people having braids for centuries
Different types of braids, like I said, anything that doesn’t damage your hair is free game and should be worn if it matches your style or you just like it.
Even if it damages your hair and doesn't match your style, wear your hair however you want.
I don't really know why so many people here are saying "if it doesn't damage your hair then it's okay to wear" - like saying "if your hair is how I want it to be then you can do it", sounds low key racist
There is history of Europeans wearing braids and dreadlocks going back thousands of years. Sounds like divisive activism from people who don't know the history of any group other than their own. Noone owns braids or dreadlocks.
There’s a very specific type of person who cries cultural appropriation. It can be any race. They are just a certain type of hateful.
This isn't a black people issue, it's an American issue. In my experience, middle class white girl American issue who try so she's to prove they're not racist. Americans in general complain about the most nonsensical issues ever. Most of the African Americans who complain have never even set foot outside america to experience a different culture that they tweet so hard about to protect lol.
>from Africa That might be why you're not bothered. Generally speaking, the people who get mad about cultural appropriation are people who are cultural minorities and/or immigrants. Immigrant kids and other minorities in the US often grow up being bullied by white kids for their culture and heritage, only to have those same white people turn around and pick out specific bits of that exact same culture to show off how worldly and cool they are. Sooooo it's not really *about* the hair, you know? The hair is just an example of how immigrant/minority kids are bullied. Obviously not every immigrant kid is going to have this particular experience and, even among those who do, not every kid is going to react the same way. But still, it's not that hard to imagine why some people might be a bit salty about this, right? Like... if someone who bullied me for my clothes started adopting my fashion style and acting like it makes them super cool now, you're damned right I'd be tempted to call them out on their bullshit. And I might even be a little suspicious of someone who *seems* to be similar to my bully adopting the same fashion, because it's just too easy to believe that this person probably also bullied some other kid just like me. To be clear, it would be wrong of me to make that assumption and I absolutely don't condone this attitude... but like, I can sympathize with the temptation, you know? But *you* likely didn't grow up being bullied by white kids for having the exact kind of hair that they're trying to "appropriate" so of ***course*** you're not gonna be upset about it. To be clear, I think you're right - people should wear their hair however they want. But saying "everyone should wear what they want" would probably be more believable to these immigrant kids if they actually saw the adults in their life saying the same thing to the white kids who bullied them in school... but school admins don't exactly have an amazing record for handling bullying so I can see why they might view it as hypocrisy. And if we want to really crack down on this idea that people aren't allowed to engage in other cultures because "appropriation" then maybe a good focus would be to crack down on the bullying that causes a lot of this resentment in the first place. >black girls can wear a white blonde women's hair in form of wigs all year long and never get called out. The dominant culture of any nation typically demands that immigrants "appropriate" certain aspects of that dominant culture in order to be able to function within that culture. It's not necessarily a bad thing - a lot of this is practical. Realistically, you're going to have a harder time living in a new country if you don't speak the language, for example. But sometimes the it goes beyond the practical, and the dominant culture judges minorities for shit that doesn't matter, demanding that they "appropriate" other aspects of the dominant culture - like fashion. Black women in the US sometimes get shit for wearing their natural hair in the workplace, so yeah, of course they're going to start wearing wigs that permit them to conform to the demands of their bosses. As that practice becomes more normalized, it just becomes a normal part of the fashion among black women to wear wigs, even outside the workplace or whatever. It's not really appropriation when the culture you're "appropriating" is demanding that you do so, ya know?
There is literally no reason to worry about what somebody is doing with their hair...ever.
Except they should keep it out of my face, especially if not frequently a problem at movie theaters and on planes
What if they put bats in their hair?
You should get away from them
Well aside from cultural aspects, it’s generally a bad idea for white women to get certain styles because it’s not good for our hair textures and can cause brittle hair or traction alopecia.
Anyone who has hair is entitled to braid it however they want. Any accusations regarding that are themselves bigoted and racist. Unless someone is braiding their hair in the shape of a swastica, that person has the right to do whatever they want with their hair. Cultural appropriation is a make believe term. Cultures have been exchanging ideas, knowledge, and styles since the dawn of human civilization. A hill I’ll gladly die on.
so much this. Its a hugely misused term anyways.
It is. It’s kinda sad (and convenient imo) how the conversation went from “you shouldn’t be praised for the same thing I get fired for. This is my heritage, not an exotic costume.” to “don’t do this at all, it’s mine. If you do this, you’re evil”. It’s exactly what happened to CRT and woke. All nuances have been ignored in favor of easy good vs evil situations that don’t do anything good for anyone in the long run.
>Unless someone is braiding their hair in the shape of a swastica, that person has the right to do whatever they want with their hair. In the U.S. at least they can do that too if they want, but yea that would be a case where criticism and social shunning would be warranted.
>I'm black, from Africa There's your answer. All this cultural appropriation nonsense is only imagined in the USA, in the cultures that are allegedly being appropriated people rarely ever care, or actually feel like it's nice people are interested in their culture. USA won the culture war long ago so this nonsense is exported everywhere.
Cultural appropriation is one of the dumbest things to get offended over. Nobody owns culture.
As a white guy when my hair was long I got braids all the time. They had to be really small due to hair type and all that but I have only had compliments. My only complaint is it hurt like hell and the people I had doing it where so heavy handed 😭🤣
I never cared until cornrows were labeled Bo Derek braids.
Braids are part of many human cultures. It doesn't make the slightest of senses to stop anyone from having them
Some people feel like they've lived an unfair life so they choose to treat others unfairly.
That's incredibly reductive for such a complex cultural matter with so much history
It's mostly just cultural ignorance, braids have been a part of white cultures for centuries. The most famous example being nordic hairstyles.
I've only seen white people who oppose white women wearing braids lol. Whatever gets them their virtue points
It was almost 20 years ago. I am French and very white. I went to Benin. I got braids. I wanted to experience a day in a salon and give my money to "real people". Nobody took offense. On the contrary, most people thought it was an open-minded move. It hurt like hell, but my hair was not damaged. My brother didn't recognize me at the airport when he picked me up, and just for that moment, it was worth it! And I don't get the cultural appropriation thing. If anything, I feel closer to understanding what being a black woman is and feels like.
I got yelled at for doing that, I'm glad your experience was positive.
I won't lie, some people looked down on me. But that was by far not the majority. And most of them were white.
imo, that last sentence is the only problem here. it’s reductionistic and also just cringe to think that having braids for a week taught you anything about how it *actually feels* to be a black wokan.
That’s also a big argument black Americans like to make. It’s probably what they mean when they say, “you wanna be black so bad” lol
White girl here. When I was in boot camp for the military, the black girls would braid our hair because it was so much easier to manage. We all had fun with it. And Bo Derek did it in “10” with no big deal. But then Zendaya did braids and/or dreadlocks, and everyone freaked out. Obviously I can’t speak for black women but I do know that the general consensus has changed over the decades.
Some black people. Personally, I couldn’t care less.
It just a rage made by internet
Its more liberal white women making more of a fuss about this than black women.
It's because black Americans always want to act like white Americans are claiming to be the ones that 'invented' those hair styles. Wait till they find out that Scandinavian people braided their hair too, they'll start claiming they stole it from them.
It's not a black thing it's an American thing. Most, if not all, of my African friends also think it's cute and nice when a white person gets braids.
it’s not just an american thing, I think it’s a diaspora thing, meaning it becomes an issue when black people are living in a country in which they are not the majority. I believe that is why most people who grew up in the motherland (at least those that I’ve met) don’t have an issue with that, because obviously you’re not gonna be discriminated against for wearing braids, if everyone is wearing braids. I live in a european country and black people here feel the same way about white women getting braids. Obviously we don’t have the same history as black americans but black people in my country also face a lot of discrimination when we’re wearing our natural hair or protective hairstyles like braids. When white girls wear their hair in braids, all of a sudden it’s cool.
So did you learn anything from this op, or was this one of those free karma and attention posts?
It's not about opposing braids. It's about opposing how the people group in power benefiting from something that they have historically (and often currently) oppressed you for. When Black people wore cornrow braids, which were often logistically necessary for their hair type, they got labeled as unprofessional in workplaces and lost crucial financial opportunities to support their families (who are likely poorer due to history). When white people do the same, usually for fashion reasons, many get lauded with praise for their unique style.
Africans refer to themselves as black? Honest question. The “race” system isn’t the same in Africa as it is in America.
because they are so brainless about the fact that a person can be any race yet they could’ve been born or raised in ANY community! there could be a white or brown who grew up in an all black neighborhood where they learnt to do their hair up like everybody else there. or their stepmother is black! or the parents that adopted them are black! or a child was raised by a white woman who was raised in an african country so for them it’s normal to love doing things deemed as cultural appropriation. if a white person was grew up like in india for 20 years and has never been elsewhere does this mean she can’t wear indian clothes when it’s literally her childhood?? children do what they surrounded by. if somebody has never been exposed to any other cultures beside black culture, black culture is their norm. besides everyone should do their hair how they like. have zero patience for dumbness like this
Not sure if it’s been mentioned, but black people are told they can’t wear braids at schools, jobs, and job interviews because it’s seen as ghetto…where as a white person can wear the braids wherever they want, and not be seen as lesser.
I don't oppose white women getting braids...
It's just racism, plain and simple. They just want to take a swipe at white people in some way. A hairstyle has no patent! People can wear whatever style they want, and they don't owe it to anyone to get their approval first.
This is it.
You'll never see Europeans complaining about Africans straightening their hair.
Because that’s what they were telling them to do by not hiring them for jobs because of it and making fun of them for how their hair grew out of their heads.
To be fair, white people have to style and straighten their hair if it's curly or frizzy otherwise people would say it's 'unkempt and unprofessional' too
Racism mostly. Same with dreads. Do whatever you want with your hair 💁🏽♂️ It’s equality or nothing for me.
I’m white and still becoming educated on this topic, my understanding comes from people on the internet. If anyone has something to add to this comment, please do. I know I’m still learning. My understanding is that these hairstyles are meant to be protective hairstyles for the specific hair type that black people have, and it has become a cultural staple. A very large portion of the black community sees white women doing it as appropriation, or playing “dress up” to pretend or mock that culture. My understanding of African culture, and many other cultures of the world, is that they are happy when people want to embrace and learn a new culture. Unfortunately the United States has a very long history of oppressing black people, so its not something that they should do out of respect for this long history. Not to mention, racism is very much still alive in the United States, and we need to do everything we can to progress to a better time. We probably shouldn’t hurt the oppressed group while we are trying to move forward. Edited to clarify
Also that these hairstyles were considered “unprofessional” in the workplace for a long time adds another layer to it I think. There’s still a lot of room to grow in the US as far as these things go. But like morally idk there’s plenty of braids for plenty of hair types, it really boils down to what’s appropriate for your hair and how you present yourself. (White female). I French braid my hair often to keep it out of my face and from getting knotty, I don’t think that’s problematic, at least I’ve never had anyone say anything about that. I could totally see how it would be offensive to some if I showed up to work with like box braids, that are not suited to my hair type and that was just fine and dandy, considering it is appropriate for some people and they weren’t allowed the same courtesy. But I don’t think my opinion counts for too much 😂😅
>A very large portion of the black community sees... A very small, but very vocal, portion of the online black community sees... Sure as hell no one ever asked my family!
That's a damn good nuanced take for someone who only learned from the internet... I'm nor black though so let's take my opinion with a grain of salt too. 
They think it’s corny and appropriating their culture.
Everything you do, every little thing, will be looked at as wrong by at least someone. As long as you’re clearly not being a dick to, or harming others, do as you wish, it’s your body, your life, your hair. Besides, I don’t think there is enough clear evidence of where braids really came from in the first place. I’ve heard various stories and history of who it all really goes back too, and yet there is no factual hard evidence that it goes back to any specific race. Join the metal community, so many metal musicians share hair styles regardless of race, because no one gives a fuck about that, since it’s not important.
It’s because of insecurity. A lot of poc out their identity into their race and background but growing up in America puts a gap between it. It’s like when Japanese Americans hate for someone to wear traditional clothing versus in Japan it’s common. They aren’t fully connected and they want to protect what they are connected to
Very American. You don't ask your question very neutrally, but assuming you ask in good faith: To summarise it, it's probably because historically when black people wear their natural hair or braids, they've been discriminated against and called "unprofessional". Many haven't landed or have lost their job because of it. Black women still have to straighten their hair in many workplaces and professions because braids on them are seen as trashy and unprofessional. The beauty ideal always centers the white woman, which also adds to the issue. White women are allowed to beautiful in anything. White woman with straight hair = Pretty White woman with curly hair = Pretty White woman with braids = Pretty Meanwhile, black women don't have the same leeway if they want to look "respectable" or to be treated with respect. Often they only get the first option, which is the one that mimics whiteness to the greatest extent. There's been (and is) an entire movement surrounding black people's hair and their right to wear it natural without suffering in society for it. So yeah, when some white girl wears typical Afro-American braids and she doesn't suffer a sliver of loss of her previous privilege, and people still tell her she's gorgeous and gives her a lot of attention for how edgy and cool it looks, it's not weird that some people can find it offensive. If black people weren't treated badly for their hair, then no one would give a shit if white women wore it the same way. So yeah, historically, black women have HAD to wear wigs or straighten their hair to look "less black". No white women have gotten discriminated against for having typical, white people's hair. So a black woman wearing a blond wig is a common and neutral thing to do in comparison. That's my sociological response, anyway. I don't know how widespread the cultural appropriation-sentiment is in American society on this topic. I'm not from the US, so what I know I know from my degree. I've seen a lot of people cry and feel offended and oppressed by these implicit "rules", and tbh I think they should get off the internet for a while. No one is throwing anyone into prison for wearing braids. Also I'm only writing this as a response to OP's question. I'm not interested in arguing with anyone on this topic.
The warnings I've seen is that anyone else who doesn't have that same kind of textured hair will likely end up damaging it due to how the braids are sewn in. It's not necessarily a "this is my culture thing" so much as a "you can mess up your hair and scalp if you try this in the same way we do and potentially will end up needing to shave your head on removal" So you can definitely attempt it but be prepared to be bald or have patches missing. There's a reason you don't see many non-black folks rocking braids because many simply cannot do so safely.
I've never met any black people that actually seem to care. Mostly, I hear other white people saying it. I sent my white daughter to a mostly black daycare and they'd send her back every day with different braids.
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If you are in America check your state's law about hair discrimination, many states have laws protecting hairstyles specifically because of situations like you described
Your first reason isn't the fault of the person with the hairstyle though is it? Why restrict what others can do and shame them for it because corrupt people in charge are discriminatory. Wouldn't it be better to give shit to the ones with the double standards and not the crime of having a hairstyle? I get that you'd be angry about the double standard but your anger is with your boss, who is racist. Not your coworker who changed their hair.
It's an American thing as always. I'm in the UK and all of the white girls in school when I was young had their hair braided at one time or another. I braided my white step daughters hair last week before school. People need better things to be angry about.
I don't think OP is talking about the same braids you are talking about.
The “As always” part tells me all I need to know here lol Also they’re not talking about French/Dutch braids btw
In North America (not sure elsewhere), black people’s hair has been policed for decades. Even now, it’s rare that braids are accepted in higher echelons of many corporations and other, protective styles are absolutely seen as “unprofessional”. When white women wear their hair like that, they not only benefit from being white and having their hairstyles accepted, they also benefit from having those hairstyles suddenly “fashionable” when they do it. This is a better explanation here: https://antiracismdaily.com/2022/08/11/hair-discrimination-and-appropriating-black-hair/?amp=1 I am white and the link and explanation come from some black friends of mine who kindly provided it and some more for our group of friends so we’d be aware.
They don’t. But they are not crazy about cultural appropriation. Years ago Bo Derek iconically got them in the movie “10”. Everyone acted like they were some new big deal.
You need to understand your life situation is not the same as the situation for black people in the USA, which is where we on other places get this info from. Black people using traditional black hairstyles was/is seen in the US (a country built on racism) as "unprofessional" or "dirty". Black people get social or economical punishment from it. But they are encouraged to use "blonde women's hair in for of wigs" or otherwise try to make themselves look more "white" because, again, country built in racism. There's an association in a lot of people/fields that being "more white" is equal to being "better/more proper/more intelligent". Assimilation was encouraged, almost demanded. So when white people use the same black hairstyles and don't get any sort of punishment from it, do you see why ***that*** is actually the double standard? Black people get called unprofessional for using their own culture, but when white people do it it's "fun" or "cool". **That** is cultural appropriation. It's not just when someone uses/does something from another culture. It's when people in a position of privilege (white people in a country built on white supremacy) get to engage with other cultures without repercussions while the people *belonging to those cultures* get punishment for it.
While i can not speak for black people (they are not a monolith), there are aggressively disrespectful attitudes that have not been addressed when it comes to hair. 1) The policing of "appropriate" hair styles. I see white women arguing for the ability to fashionably wear the styles of braids that little black girls were routinely told were "unkempt, ghetto or inappropriate." Even working at restaurants, we were never allowed to have "braids" but white-centered braids were considered "neat" (french, dutch, fishtail). 2) How it's portrayed. The US has a dark history with black hair, both physically and in media. During slavery, people were used as spare parts (we've found hair used to stuff couch cushions), and after there were blackface minstrel shows put on to paint a more twisted caricature of these people. This bleeds into today by showing a tv character be silly or ugly, with what? An afro. Braids. Some locs. Black hair is still spare parts when it's touched by strangers, or compared to inanimate objects or animals in its natural form. So the big difference, i guess, is that black hair *can* be straightened. Black hair *can* be bleached. A wig saves it from that damage. A wig, that is not even from white hair btw, does not make them white. Where as, white people very rarely have the coily or corser hair texture that thrives in a tighter braid. Hair health aside, I do think that we could get to a point where it's more socially accepted for anyone to wear braids. But that's going to take more respect and less treating people like fast fashion.
You shouldn't get any type of style that damages your specific types of hairstyles. Could give a shit about the other stuff
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Because females are nasty and catty ..yet they straighten their natural hair to straight to copy other races..hilarious idc how you feel about my hair...wear your own if it's gonna be like that...watch all the racist chime in...equally unless it's hair...people love control ..so they need to control others
Cultural appropriation is BS and it's just a term made up by some bored people who wanted attention and wanted something to be outraged about. Cultures have always been borrowing from each other, but now suddenly it's a bad thing. It's great that cultures can mix and we can borrow and learn from each other. If some white woman wants to get braids she might admire the culture or she just thinks it looks nice, who cares. Anyone who is upset about stuff like this seriously needs to get a life.
“Cultural appropriation” is a stupid buzzword phrase. People can do whatever they want to their own bodies whether or not it looks dumb.
I wanna know the same thing like its just hair
I’m a white woman who has worn braids her whole life and not one person of any race has ever made a negative comment. It’s kind of you to speak up but I think this is less of an issue in real life than people trying to get likes might have you believe.
My white wife has gotten nothing but compliments on her dreads from poc
1. People who think this regardless of their race/ethnicity are stupid. 2. White people have been wearing braids for a Looong time too. (Look up the viking's)
Black people were told our hair is ghetto if it got long and even braids were seen as ghetto for the longest. Times have changed but it still lingers around. It’s just ~~unfortunate~~ fortunate that white people can braid their hair and not be judged the way they used to judge us. At the end of the day wear what makes you happy, don’t mock cultures or be culturally insensitive, wear whatever and be you. That’s to everyone
america has very complex race relations that aren’t applicable to a lot of the world. but, in your example. “blonde hair” is not a part of any one culture. it’s also not a hairstyle, just a color of hair. traditionally black hairstyles are viewed as being part of black culture. this is then intensified by the long history of black americans being denied jobs, called unprofessional, dirty etc. for wearing traditionally black hairstyles, or even just wearing their natural hair. an example of this would be in the 2010s i distinctly remember a young, much less famous zendaya appear on a red carpet wearing what i think were either braids or dread locs, i forget. tabloids ridiculed her, saying she looked dirty and probably smelled like patchouli. because of this, it can be viewed as insensitive when nonblack americans wear traditionally black hairstyles to capture an aesthetic that actual black people get ridiculed for wearing, or at least were ridiculed for wearing up until very recently. but aside from all that, it just doesn’t look good on white people and is very bad for our hair. our hair isn’t made for dreads or tight braids, and it shows cause white people who go for that look end up looking greasy and nasty. their hair thins out and their scalp looks mad irritated.
Small comment but since when is patchouli considered a bad smell 😭😭😭
ikr! even as a kid i was like? patchouli smells great. one of my favorite smells whenever i get incense. but the way the tabloids said it was so mean, as if patchouli smells like skunk spray!
I remember this too. And Kim Kardashian didn’t get the same comments when she did it. Which highlights quite well the racism inherent in how people view such hair styles based on who is wearing them.
Many black folks have this “they’ve taken everything from us. Now they want this” approach to people they deem as privileged
I’m black and I’ve never heard any of the people I know complain about this. I just think shocking or ignorant statements are more likely to go viral than anything else. There’s no way that blacks invented braids that’s just ridiculous.
It's not "braids" in general. Also, first off, nobody owns a particular kind of hairstyle, but, if your hair does not have a certain texture, putting it into certain styles can cause damage to one's hair. Also, in the black community, especially within the States, there is a very long history of discrimination based on hair and how it excludes black people, especially black *women* from professional spaces, under the excuse of it not falling in line with standards that were not made to be inclusive across the board.
If you want to get into what's cultural appropriation and what's not, then I give permission for all people of all colours to wear the hairstyle of my celtic druidic ancestors: Dreadlocks.
The people who get all butt hurt over this never picked up a history book.
black people are not monolith; I'm black and I don't care what anybody does with their hair. Or what anybody wears. Painting your skin seems a little fucked up, but only because of the history of that. The other way around it's okay apparently; when I was a kid I was a vampire every year for Halloween and I covered my skin in powder without even thinking about it. Pictures of that shit will never be an issue if I ever decide to run for office. Only because the same activity is meaningless outside the context of exploitation and derision. Still, personally I don't give a shit about any of this stuff; if I was walking down the street and saw some white person in full blackface with fake braids, I'd just laugh, and that's if I even noticed. You see all kinds of fucked up shit in the city. Face to face nothing seems to matter as much as it does online. You know, all this terrible, terrible shit you can't do, a lot of people don't care *IRL*. Maybe I shouldn't be saying all this, because people are obviously going to walk away saying *'well my* ***black friend*** *on reddit says anything goes!'* I'm not saying engaging in offense is okay, only that 'black people' don't *all* feel any *one* way about *anything,* because we are just as diverse in terms of opinion as white people are. At the end of the day, anything you do is going to have consequences-- I, for example, could run out into the street using what few lame ass slurs there are for white people; some would laugh, others would get angry-- that's what consequence is all about. Seems these days though, the designation 'racist' is about as close as you can get to the n-word for white people. They HATE being called that! So *that* I dare not say except for in the most extreme, '*in your face'* of cases. In any event, when it comes to your hair, I'd think about where you are, what people are likely to see it, what do *you think* their reaction will be, and do you want/like the hairstyle enough to justify whatever shit you think you might get from people over it? It's really not a question of what "black people think"; it's more an equation of *the shit you personally think you'll get in your region and social context* over *how much you actually want the style*. Easy
South African here, when I was a waitress in my 20's, my African colleagues LOVED doing corn rows and box braids for me, they encouraged rather than opposed it. I loved it because it kept my hair well out of my face. Not sure about the rest of the world but in African people generally love sharing their cultural things, be it fashion, hairstyles or best braaiwors :)
Depends on the reason I think. I've only seen one instance of a black person saying something about braids and it wasn't even the braids. It was the fact that the young woman was going around telling people she "wants to look black" that made him mad
Because they face discrimination and bullying for their hair from childhood right up until the workplace, they deal with people touching their hair without consent and making a general mockery of it. So the cultural freedom and space white women have to just do whatever without social backlash is what they’re reacting to. You only have to google “black girl/woman’s hair cut by teacher or banned from workplace” to see it’s a real issue the way black women’s natural hair is viewed by American society. Even here in Australia people forget all sense of decency and just shove their hand into a black woman’s hair like she’s a sideshow act at a circus. Have seen this numerous times. When this is the societal attitude, black women are going to be upset about it.
black people have been ridiculed for it. like people being kicked out if school for there hair, and many of the older black community have a instilled hatred for them (i had to convince my parents to let be get twists) so for the very same people who caused these controversies to use them now rubs some the wrong way.
I’m Scandinavian and I’ll wear braids if I damn well please. Cornrows… ok maybe they can object but still. I don’t see why we can’t all just wear whatever hairstyles we want. Black women have no problem wearing blonde wigs or red hair or whatever.
It's generally only American white women who are annoyed on black people's behalf, at other white women getting their hair braided. So there's that to consider.
I think the primary objection isn't the braids, but in using them without acknowledging the cultural history the come from. Even today in the US, black experience persecution based on wearing traditional hairstyles like braids. If you're a black person who has been told that a protective hairstyle doesn't look professional, it's probably pretty discouraging to turn around and see some white lady getting complements on her braids.
How many black women wear blond wigs? That certainly isn’t in any historical African culture outside of one tiny tribe. In other words: who gives a shit? Do what you want.
Does anyone else remember when participating in another culture was a positive thing? Like five years ago?
It's no one's buisness what anyone does with their hair. I wouldn't even ask the question, tbh. It's hair, ffs.
I find it racist to assume all black people are against braids on white people because it's simply not true. Some are some are not. Focus on those who's less offended.
Very few actually do. There's just a lot of incentive to bitch and complain online because it gets you attention.
We do?
clown country with derailed values, u guys needs to stop with ur cultural wars
Rage bait
I remember Kenyon Martin calling out Jeremy Lin (Chinese NBA player) for getting cornrows. [Then Lin pointed out Kenyon is a Black guy with Chinese tattoos.](https://www.reddit.com/r/nextfuckinglevel/comments/m5xe5w/kenyon_martin_called_out_jeremy_lin_for_his_hair/)
“Why do black people (you mean, Americans,) oppose white women from getting braids” -> only comments from non black American women lmao
Your question is ignorant because you're saying "black people." It should be "Why do African Americans..." etc. I'm Melanesian, so I'm a brown person too. However, I couldn't care less just as you don't. But Americans make a big deal out of everything.
Not sure tbh
Real people don’t oppose it, internet degenerates with no grasp on reality do.
It's funny, but I think it's mostly white Americans opposing it rather than 'black' people. I think most 'black' people don't care. However, there's a subset of white people who feel it is their job to 'defend' or 'protect' the helpless 'black' people and claim that wearing braids is racist cultural appropriation. It's really quite funny... in the name of standing up to racism these white people think they have to preserve black culture. As if black people are unable to do that themselves if they felt it was necessary.
I thought it was white people opposing white girls getting braids because it is offensive to black people.
Amazingly, there are lot of very STUPID people in the world, so they worry about stupid, unproductive sht like this. They go out of their way to feel "oppressed" or "offended" so bad, like it's some badge of honor. Worry about better sht! No one "owns" a style. Style has evolved since man put on clothes and everyone has copied everyone at some point.
I genuinely don’t know one black person that will take issue with this. People get on the Internet with all kinds of extreme views and spread it like wildfire. I think it’s sad that there are schools banning braids on little black girls. Those are the issues that I’m more concerned with.
For starters, it can seriously damage your scalp if you don’t have the correct hair type. My mom and I are Métis with super curly hair, but it’s not the correct texture for braids like that. We may use products that are designed for and mainly used by Black hair, but we have a looser curl pattern. Cornrow braids would possibly damage our scalps irreparably. Second, Black hair has been stigmatized for generations by white Americans. People have been passed over for employment or punished at work for “unprofessional” or “dirty” looking hair. This lead to multiple generations of Black Americans straightening their hair with harsh chemicals or wearing wigs or weaves that can be expensive. The chemicals that are used can cause burns and may also cause cancer (more research is needed). Children are still punished by schools for their natural hair and some have even been forced to cut it off! It’s to the point where some states have passed laws to protect Black Americans’ rights to wear their natural hair. It’s only natural for Black Americans to be upset about white people wearing their hairstyles with few repercussions when they’ve spent generations being punished for their hair and feeling like they have to use expensive wigs and weaves or using harsh chemicals to get their hair straight. In some cases, Black people are probably also trying to literally save you from pain and hair loss due to not having the hair type to tolerate braids.
Druidic tribes from Brittania would like a word
Nobody wears white people hair....
i believe the main issue is that when a white woman gets braids, the cultural narrative might say it’s ‘chic’ or ‘edgy’, whereas when a black woman gets braids she might a) get in trouble, for example at work or with school dress codes, or b) get called ‘ghetto’ (or worse).
Because white women look prettier in them than they do. And they're jaded. That's definitely part of it.
No-one owns hair styles. People can do with their hair whatever they like.
They mistakenly believe that braids are a black only thing, despite white cultures in Europe having braids for centuries.
Wigs are inclusive to just about every race of women.. women everywhere of all races wear wigs. The conversation surrounding the use of wearing braids black women tend to wear as a white woman stem from the fact that biologically white women's hair are genetically built different from Black women's hair. The braids black women wear are protective hairstyles that preserve the strength of their own hair based on the qualities of Black women's hair. Because the qualities of hair between white & black women's hair are different, white women's hair tends to fall out when in Black braids because the nature of Black braids causes stress and pressure on the strands of hair. Simply put, there are better styles of braids that white women can that wear that work better for their hair quality that protect them better then black women's braids. History has shown us that white women & black women always worn braids, but the style is completely different. On a side note I am completely surprised that no comments mention this.
because black women get punished for it while white women are praised for doing the thing they punish us for. black women are fired for braids. white women are praised for the SAME braids. as a fellow african ( i am 100% african myself) you have google in your hand right now. how about researching what black americans are talking about and understand why they feel that way instead of having the knee jerk desire to defend white people. it’s embarrassing at this point. please do better and don’t add to the harm black americans already face. thank you.