Dreadlocks, Dreads, Locs, or Knatty and Racial Stereotyping

You wouldn't believe some of the arguments that folks have had regarding terms for their hair. I personally do not care what folks refer to my hair as, as long as they're not being insulting about it. But I personally call them locs because I really like the way that it sounds. My family is from Jamaica, so we tend to refer to them as dreads. Some people who have this hair may find it insulting because historically, this hair was called "dreadful" by the English and was then referred to as those "dreadful locks" or "dreadlocks"... I guess nowadays, we no longer appreciate the association (and I'm sure that we didn't appreciate it then either) and we want to get as far away from it as possible.

I don't refer to my hair as "locs" trying to be politically correct. Rather, I just love my hair and when I think of locs. I think of beautiful hair. I think of Samson whose locs of hair were his strength. I think positive, so that term works for me. When I say dreads, I pick up on a more negative assocationl; not from an old british perception, but rather from a current stigma attached to Rastafarians.

I am Jamaican and I have dreadlocks, but I do not smoke sesimillia/ganja/marijuana/weed, nor do I sing praises to Haile Selassie or view him as any kind of prophet. I do love Bob Marley and I constantly listen to reggae, and I can be somewhat conservative especially from a religious/ moral standpoint, but my hair does not by default define who am I.

But it is kind of interesting that others think it does.

I look at some of the terms for locked natural hair and I am really amazed that there are so many innocuous terms for it, but people still find some offensive nevertheless.. Then again, I suppose I can understand it much easier when I apply racial terms..

For example, descendants from the African diaspora can be referred to as blacks, negroes, niggers, african-american, caribbean-american, niggas, sistas, brothas, blackies, etc. However, different groups find the different appellations offensive. For example, I am Jamaican and would be offended if someone called me African-American, but that is because I do not see myself as being a part of that group, nor do I have their particular mindset or set of experiences. A history of slavery is both a reason and excuse for today's perceived inequalities and inability to advance. But does it explain single-mother homes? high school drop-out rates? gang-related crimes? "thug love", etc? That's a whole other discussion right there. And I am getting way off topic, but my initial point was that such a term would be offensive to someone of my ilk. However, we see nothing wrong with using the term "blackie" to refer to a dark-skinned person, or calling someone who is mixed "red" or a light-skinned black person as "fair" or "yellow".... it's a colour and colour is very important to us on the island- a product of the slave mentality; one that has not yet been overcome in its entirety. But regardless, even though the terms may have been somewhat offensive in their inception, they are no longer used in order to be disparaging.

But then, take the words "nigger" and "nigga". A non-black uses either term and it's insulting and automatically puts this person into the category of being a racist. But a black person uses either term and it can be all right. But then again, it depends on the kind of black person using the term. A "brotha" or a "sista" can use either term and get away with it. But have a scholarly-never-raised-amidst-poverty-poindexter-type of black male say either term and the entire black community would be up in arms. Conversely, have a roughneck-devo-type "brotha" call this poindexter-type of black man a "nigga" and every educated professionally advanced black man would be up in arms. Crazy isn't it?

Where am I going with all of this rambling? Well, it relates back to what I said before about the different terms for hair. Many people find the different terms offensive, but it isn't just because of the origin of a particular term. It also plays into ones perception of self, ones social standing, ones ethnic background, ones educational background, etc. There are so many factors that play into it, that it becomes so much more complicated than one could anticipate.

I'm a Jamaican-born, American-raised, young black female with dreadlocks that I refer to as locs. I drink on occasion. I've smoked a few times. I love natural hair and currently wear mine down at just below shoulder length. I'm in a long-term relationship, but fiercely independant. I love exercising and I'm a firefighter. I listen to Tracy Chapman, Ella Fitzgerald, Buju Banton, Coldplay, Floetry, Jill Scott, WuTang Clan, Cypress Hill, U2, Elvis Presley, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Tom Jones, The Ataris, System of A Down, Barbra Streisand, Aretha Franklin, Natacha Atlas, Punjabi MC, Paulina Rubio, Maria Callas, Yoyo Ma, Sara Brightman, Lucy Pearl, Me'shell Ndegeocello, Cecilia Bartolli, Duke Ellington, Dinah Washington, Billie Holiday, Elvis Crespo, La Banda Gorda, Fulanito, Cesaria Evora, Johnny Cash, Neil Diamond, System of A Down, Marilyn Manson, The Corrs, Moby, David Gray, The Black Keys, Abbey Lincoln, David Sylvian, Cassandra Wilson, Morcheeba, Jamiroquai, and so many many many others... What does that say about me? I have a multitude of piercings and tattoos hidden beneath my clothing that only my partner gets to see. What does that say about me?

I've completely lost the focus of this entire rant. Now what does that say about me?