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  • Essay / Dreadlocks: origin and some stereotypes about people wearing dreadlocks

    Dreadlocks are rope-shaped strands of hair formed by braiding or braiding. Its origins date back to ancient Egyptian mummies, the Indian deity Shiva, as well as biblical passages of the character Sampson whose strength comes from his seven locks of hair. But the term “dreadlocks” itself comes from the religious movement called Rastafarianism. Rastafarians' dreadlocks constituted their identity as well as a symbol of spiritual resistance against an imperialist structure that had a history of oppression of people of color. They gained popularity among the black Jamaican community and played a major role in popularizing this look in Western culture. Bob Marley, as we all know, also contributed to the popularity of the style. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Dreadlocks have been appropriated over the years as a fashion trend, neglecting their historical significance to a marginalized group. Due to its diverse background, no one truly owns this style, but nonetheless, I think adopting this look as a trend while carrying power and privilege and placing it in another context is detrimental. The first point I will make is an irony. There are black people who are criticized for leaving their premises alone, while white people are praised for having “trendy” dreadlocks. The fact is that black people needed to straighten their hair because they were told that it didn't look clean and that they were less beautiful, while there are others who do efforts to obtain these locks for fashion. This seems like a small argument, but hair is not something small, it is a part of their lifestyle and its impact on people is so big. A better take on this is an incident between the fashion police and Zendaya, a half-black woman. American star. Zendaya wore her hair styled on the Oscars red carpet and was criticized for it with an insult saying she looked like she smelled like "patchouli oil or weed." She responded to this maturely by saying that successful people like Ava Duvernay and many other people of all races have dreadlocks and "none of them smell like marijuana." She further emphasized that her gesture in coming to the red carpet locally was to highlight Africa. -American hair in a positive light, reminding the community that “their hair is pretty enough.” It's just to show that white people can claim their locations and be praised for it, while black people get so much criticism for something natural of them. Another case is how black people have to compromise their hair to look professional. Most women have to do this to increase their chances of getting a job, as dreadlocks are not suitable for the workplace. This is a case that black women still encounter today. This is actually reasonable when you think about standards, because the current mentality is that textured hair is messy and it seems appropriate to fix it. But it's unfair when these dreadlocks are natural for black women and they put more effort into it than just tying their hair in a bun to look professional. Keep in mind: this is just a sample. Get a personalized paper now from our expert writers. Fashion fear becomes so visible when there is cultural appropriation, and in the fashion industry this has often been..