Afro's And Locs Are a Professional No No

[hidaya]

Here's an excerpt from an article I read online. This statement was made by a Glamour magazine editor:

"First slide up: an African American woman sporting an Afro. A real no-no, announced the 'Glamour' editor to the 40 or so lawyers in the room. As for dreadlocks: How truly dreadful! The style maven said it was 'shocking' that some people still think it 'appropriate' to wear those hairstyles at the office. 'No offense,' she sniffed, but those 'political' hairstyles really have to go."

[Jimi Spanish]

jajaja always amusing to me that some people are so easily intimidated by someone else' hairstyle.

[hidaya]

my thoughts exactly.

Jimi Spanish said:

jajaja always amusing to me that some people are so easily intimidated by someone else' hairstyle.

[stefany]

Are there any black people who actually view fros and dreads as primarily political anymore? I sure don't. Is it just irrationally threatened white people who think that now? Most of the people I know with dreads and such have their hair that way because it just looks awesome. And of course, I realize that by "political" she really means "anything that doesn't resemble white hair". Bwahaha. Dumb broad.

[hidaya]

i know.

stefany said:

Are there any black people who actually view fros and dreads as primarily political anymore? I sure don't. Is it just irrationally threatened white people who think that now? Most of the people I know with dreads and such have their hair that way because it just looks awesome. And of course, I realize that by "political" she really means "anything that doesn't resemble white hair". Bwahaha. Dumb broad.

[jahluv]

Actually, it seems like it's Black folks in the workplace who are usually the most bothered by one of their own going natural. Most White folks could give two shits how you wear your hair from my experience. When my wife shaved her head and started growing her dreads, I thought I was going to have to come up to her job and fight some of the White guys who suddenly found her "sexy..."

I remember the statements back in '07 that jumped this post off... The person who made these statements; Ashley Baker, was forced to quit. Editor Cindy Lieve posted an apology on the magazine's Web site.

The blog Racialicious posted an excellent follow up to the story. Click here to check it out.

[Rosenda]

Right on JahLuv. I remember when I first wore my longer fro out natural to work downtown, out of all the sisters I ran into, most them glared and looked funny at me and only two actually smiled and said something nice. Crazy white folks just loooooove seeing the hair. You'd think that our hair was a new invention. It's like a big novelty to them and they like it for whatever reason.

As far as office appropriate, I think in general keeping whatever your hairstyle, be it straight or nappy, just keep your hair clean and sort neat, and no one should ever give you problems. If we on point at our work and overall looking pretty good, nobody should talk shit about us, least of all our own people. That kind of shit pisses me off.

[gs56ca]

aren't there some points where you just dont want to cut your damn hair or you;re too busy too, does anyone think about this?

[The L. is good for you]

God forbid the black image breaks through societal conditioning and takes the power back... Good grief. This women deserved all the backlash she got from this nonsensical fear-of-black-independence statement.

[Rage_Proletaire]

stefany said:

Are there any black people who actually view fros and dreads as primarily political anymore? I sure don't. Is it just irrationally threatened white people who think that now? Most of the people I know with dreads and such have their hair that way because it just looks awesome. And of course, I realize that by "political" she really means "anything that doesn't resemble white hair". Bwahaha. Dumb broad.

For whatever reason, some people in public have designated my hair as more "political" than "hip-hop-inspired." I get "Hey, Rasta man!" from old and young alike; someone hinted to me that it's because of "my roots showing" (which would correspond with what my sister said about more young men wearing "extensions" than I'm aware of) -- I recently ran into an old schoolmate who said I "have the right face for a Rastafarian."

Maybe it's not as precision-oriented as the youth prefer these days.

[Gullah*Gotham*Glitter]

That bitch is trippin on some real real. Is showing some African Pride really that offensive to Caucasins? Do they think that some big Mandingo warrior is going to jump up on their desk and throw a spear through their cowardly hearts? Is shit really that serious? It's hair people!!!

[PuellaExMachina]

Rosenda said:

Right on JahLuv. I remember when I first wore my longer fro out natural to work downtown, out of all the sisters I ran into, most them glared and looked funny at me and only two actually smiled and said something nice. Crazy white folks just loooooove seeing the hair. You'd think that our hair was a new invention. It's like a big novelty to them and they like it for whatever reason.

As far as office appropriate, I think in general keeping whatever your hairstyle, be it straight or nappy, just keep your hair clean and sort neat, and no one should ever give you problems. If we on point at our work and overall looking pretty good, nobody should talk shit about us, least of all our own people. That kind of shit pisses me off.

Yeah, I had people give me the same reaction. It was surreal.
Strangely enough, the only people giving me problems about my hair being unprofessional are my family and their black friends. No one at any of the places I worked at actually said anything about my twists. I also find it beyond laughable that this editor actually thought that natural styles are only some sort of bold political statement. Welcome to the 21st century!