Marc Jacobs came under fire for featuring models sporting dreadlocks during New York Fashion Week early September.
Jacobs was criticized on social media for his use of this hairstyle. It’s hard to tell where the line between cultural appropriation and cultural diffusion is drawn, but the black community has made the wrong call here.
Dreadlocks have a history rooted in the African continent beginning with the ancient Egyptians, but not necessarily in the black community.
We can start by addressing the fact that not all countries in Africa identify themselves as African or black. In fact, most Egyptians prefer to be called Arab or Muslim.
Dark-tinted skin does not always mean black. Skin color and ethnicity varied in Africa just as they do now during the time dreadlocks were worn in ancient Egypt.
Dreadlocks can be dated as far back as 2500 B.C. and can be found in different religious documents, such as the story of Samson in the Old Testament of the Bible and the Hindu deity Shiva.
The transition of dreadlocks into mainstream society began with musician Bob Marley, as well as the introduction of Rastafarianism outside of Jamaica.
The history of Rastafarianism, however, is rooted in black culture, but the point of the column isn’t to give you a history lesson. The intent is to show that blacks are subject to cultural appropriation — no matter how hard it is to admit.
African-Americans didn’t create dreadlocks. We appropriated it after it underwent its own round of cultural diffusion in Africa. It would be ignorant to think that cultural appropriation doesn’t happen anymore within U.S diversity.
For instance, much to the consternation of the black community, Kylie Jenner wore a do-rag to NYFW.
For the record, it looked completely ridiculous and it was obvious Jenner didn’t know what it was other than to make herself look “edgy.” Her fashion choice brought cultural appropriation back to the forefront, reminding African-Americans that some things just aren’t sacred anymore.
Most African-Americans don’t know the history of dreadlocks or its meaning to Jamaicans. How can we say it’s cultural appropriation other than knowing it’s a predominantly black hairstyle?
The arguments for why wearing dreadlocks could be seen as cultural appropriation are valid.
Why is it fair that whites wearing dreadlocks are called “chic,” while for blacks it means they either frequently indulge in marijuana or don’t groom themselves?
Case in point: E! News anchor Giuliana Rancic’s comment on Zendaya’s Oscar night hairstyle.
“Zendaya is more high-fashion,” Rancic said. “The hair to me on her is making her a little more boho. Like I feel like she smells like patchouli oil. Or weed.”
Classy. There’s failing to pay homage to a culture and then there’s disrespecting it.
Although Jacobs could have been more elegant in his response to the hairstyle backlash, it shouldn’t have caused as much of an uproar as it did.
The use of dreadlocks on the runway should not be more important than the fight for justice following another spree of police shootings across the country. The U.S. is too diverse to cry out every time another group of people uses something of ours. We have bigger issues at hand.
The blending of cultures is inevitable.
The U.S has been heading towards this cultural diffusion for decades now. While we can demand respect when it comes to our cultures, we cannot claim cultural appropriation for a hairstyle that never belonged to African-Americans to begin with.
Senior staff columnist Caprice Carter is a communication junior and can be reached at [email protected]
Such a lack of understanding of basic history in this article. The Arabs that occupy Egypt today obviously aren’t the same black Africans that created Pharaonic Egypt thousands of years ago.
Also to quote the Christian Bible as history…smh. I suppose this author would suggest Earth is only 6,000 years old.
Obviously you can’t read as well as you think you can. Had you bothered to read, you would see there’s no quote specifically from the Bible, other than only when it relates directly to the history of dreadlocks. Jumped the gun, didn’t you, bud? Such a lack of understanding.
Hmm…my comprehension is fine. Maybe my wording was problematic. You are correct. There was no direct quote. My point was that one should not mix validated history with stories from books like the KJV Bible (and other versions) that contain no real historical reference. Is this not a valid point?
Yes, but as the column states, the author is relating dreadlocks to rastafarianism which is a religion. Without that necessary information and the historical context, then the argument about cultural appropriation would be invalid.
Ancient Egyptians weren’t black either. Their closest living relatives are the Copts. There’s a reason why they made a big distinction in their drawings with the ethnically black Nubians from the south (modern day Sudan).
First of all, the term dreadlocks is deeply offensive. My hair is nothing to “dread”