Hello Blog,
It's 2022, I know. Where does the time go? In many ways it feels like it was just yesterday I sporadically started a blog. It feels like I am the same person even though it has been almost eight years, at the same time it feels like I am a completely different person.
I don't need to tell you how much I or the world has changed in the last eight years; how blogging is literally now obsolete, how our attention spans are now three seconds long; how I might not be able to sit through writing this entire blog post without distracting myself scrolling down meaningless reels and how I would be lucky if anyone ever read this blog post as it's not going to have any pictures or videos of me dancing to the latest trending insta song.
If you got to paragraph three, BRAVO! So, let's get to the gist of this post or the ideas will get lost. About five, six probably seven years ago I had the idea to make a documentary about Dàda, locs, dreadlocks... The complexity of the discussion around "black" natural hair isn't news to anyone. In recent years, I can attest to the fact that natural hair is more accepted by society. In my opinion, the conversation has advanced from being a movement and evolved into being a trend or a fad. However, as a hair stylist, I sit with clients every other day trying to help them navigate the world ensuring that they are not judged or stereotyped by how they choose to wear their natural hair. Locs are definitely more "accepted" but the conversation has not changed since when I consciously realized that my hair meant more than just hair growing out of my head; this was 11 years ago.
This has lead me to question, Why?
- Why do we approach the world with caution when it comes to our hair?
- Why is our hair tainted with some negativity?
- Why do we still need to tame our hair to fit in?
From my perspective, growing up in Lagos Nigeria (mainly referencing the 90’s) three things come to mind:
- The unkempt mentally ill persons that littered the streets of Lagos
- The white garment Christian sect
- The reggae artist affiliated with the Rastafarian and marijuana smoking cultures.
None of these groups of Dàda wearing people were attributed to success or their lifestyle emulated for attainment. Perhaps this is where some of the negativity lies, but how did we get there?
Today things are changing/have changed with world waking up to more liberal ideas, a key pointer is that marijuana is being legalised in more parts of the world and artists have more opportunities to achieve financial success.
Here are some answers that come to mind:
- The effect of colonialism/ Slavery on African hair
- The term “dreadlocks”
- Questionable beauty standards (Straight hair vs. Curly hair, Long hair vs. Short hair. The Disney
princess)
- The shame of natural African hair... Why do most people feel uncomfortable with their Dàda?
- Police brutality – Dàda and the “yahoo boy”
- Dàda in the corporate world
- Dàda in relationships (men having to cut their Dàda before they are accepted into a woman’s family)
- Do African’s perceive Dàda as primitive?
Well, I wonder if this discussion is still as relevant as it was about six years ago when it came to mind. One of the best ways to evolve is to keep asking questions and keep having the conversation. Do you have locs? Do you approach the world with caution? Do you have preconceived stereotypes about people who loc their hair? and more importantly Why?
I leave you with my presentation at TEDxYaba 2017.
Give the why's some thought and hope to hear from you. Bye now!
Till later,
Ade
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