Over the past 12 years, my
locs have grown into a very noticeable feature. Strangers frequently ask how
long I have been growing them and compliment me on their appearance. When I
wear them down, they almost reach my butt. I am known to refer to my locs as
The Hair. They have evolved into at least a portion of my self-identity, and I
cannot imagine my life without them.
It was not always this
way. When I decided to go natural, it was during my undergraduate years when I
became fascinated with Afrocentric spoken word venues, racial concerns, and
generally learning to become proud of my Blackness. I do not believe I ever was
not proud, but developmentally, my early 20s were times of discovery and
acceptance. (I prefer to refer to my teenage years as my stage of chaos and
confusion.)
I stopped putting relaxers
in my hair, and eventually cut it off altogether. As a result, I wore a very
low boy’s cut for some time. My hair wasn’t even long enough to comb out into a
mini Afro. I often wore variously colored wraps over my hair when out in
public. Needless to write, I have no pictures of this very awkward time period
when I felt very good about my decision while also being conscious of how the
rest of the world would view a woman with no hair.
My awkward, just beginning
to grow out my natural hair phase was short. Eventually, the hair became long
enough to twist and after that moment, it was just the patience of allowing
them to take on their new form. And without the chemicals found in relaxers, my
hair grew quickly, long, and dare I say it…beautiful. Of course, beauty is in
the eye of the beholder, but I don’t concern myself with persons who don’t find
natural hair beautiful. Who are they to judge?
Back in April, there were
several headlines asserting that banning loc hairstyles, as found in newly
published professional appearance standards for persons in the United States
military, is racially biased. However, the banning of locs is not some new
phenomenon, as can be exemplified from the following excerpt dated at least
5 years ago:
Dreadlocks (unkempt, twisted, matted individual
parts of hair) are prohibited in uniform or in civilian clothes on duty. Army
Regulation 670-1
I am not aware of any
petitions concerning the above regulations 5 years ago. However, when the
revised manual was released essentially banning locs (I prefer the term locs to
dreadlocks, but that is an entirely different blog), twists, and large
cornrows, there was considerable criticism and pushback. My guess is that the
goal of neat, maintained natural hairstyles struck the right nerves and the
right number of advocates managed to gather enough supportive momentum to reach
the resulting policy-changing media frenzy.
Recently, military
regulations (the Marine Corps remaining an exception) have been revised to
expand their definitions of acceptable hairstyles to include cornrows, braids,
and “other hairstyles.” Of importance, the phrase “matted and unkempt” is being
eliminated as recognized offensive language. The chairwoman of the Congressional
Black Caucus has publicly stated that the traditional hairstyles worn by women
of color are often necessary to meet unique needs, and do not reflect less
professionalism or commitment to high standards as expected within the armed
forces.
This is a win…for natural
hair wearers generally, but not necessarily us loc wearers. Allow me to read
between the lines. Cornrows and braids specifically are named as acceptable.
This means twists and locs are discretionary. Moreover, the elimination of
“matted and unkempt” makes the natural hair wearers feel more accepted, but
this acceptance separates the natural hair wearers from the loc wearers. Here
is a news flash. Some loc wearers prefer their hair matted and unkempt, and do
not find it offensive for others to believe it so. Again, who are these people
to judge?
My problem and frustration with this dialogue of banning locs are the many
misconceptions that surfaced as a result. Yes, certain celebrities have made
locs popular to the non-Bob Marley influenced crowd in recent years, but the
hairstyle itself has never been a fad. Locs did not start with Bob Marley or
Jamaica. Bob Marley made them popular, yes, but locs were worn all over the
country a very long time before Marley was born. What do you think people of
(more directly) African descent did before relaxers?
The fact of the matter is
that African Americans have different hair. I know we’re in a country where a
melting pot is the ideal, but I am not going to pretend I can just hang out at
a beach for a week at a time without hating my hair by day 2. It takes forever
to wash bits of sand out of hair locs. I cannot just shampoo and rinse after a
day at the beach. Trust me on this one. I also am not going to pretend like the
many years I spent relaxing my hair each month and changing my hairstyle each
week was a walk on the beach. It takes hours in a hair salon for an African
American woman to meet European hair standards. I know this from personal
experience.
I concur that natural
hairstyles are appropriate for the unique needs of African American women’s
hair. I spend almost no time in hair salons now. However, I do not judge
African American women who do not wear their hair in its natural form. The
stigma that locs are not professional or somehow substandard is a pervasive,
identity challenging experience that starts in infancy when complete strangers
as well as family members coo over “baby hair” and chastise “nappy roots.”
We cannot always be
babies. We must grow up.
We must start interacting
with the outside world where European beauty reigns in the media and everyday
social interactions. I am in the professional world. When I show up to work
with unkempt locs rather than neat freshly retwisted ones, there are whispered
discussions from my co-workers. These co-workers are of African descent and
even some are natural hair wearers. I dream of a world where I do not have to
constantly groom my locs in order to fulfill my everyday work tasks without
someone else’s opinion of my personally accepted appearance.
As far as military
regulations go, I say if the hairstyle does not impair work performance, let it
be. If it does, then follow the appropriate procedure in terms of performance
review and allow the person to make the decision. It would be silly to wear certain
hairstyles while in active combat, but the military is full of work positions
that do not involve specific performance demands that might be impaired by certain hairstyles.
As far as my hair being
extreme or a distraction…that is an opinion – not a fact. My hair is different,
but I don’t find it extreme nor do I find it to be a distraction. If someone
unfamiliar with locs is awestruck, that is a reflection of how stagnant we are
as a country regarding cultural differences. It does not make it an inarguable
fact.
Long loc wearers like
myself aren’t joining military ranks in large droves anyway so this really is a
minority of a minority perspective. Still, I must note that as a long loc
wearer in the process of obtaining a needed professional degree that does not
require the restrictive uniform of someone in combat, it is the United States
military’s loss not mine.
- Written by Sy Pryor
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