Dreadlock Discrimination.

I'm not sure if anyone has posted something to this sort of title but I thought I would ask the public on the subject.

Ever since I have started my amazing dread process. Ive noticed that I'm facing discrimination almost more so than usual. Maybe its because I have baby dreads, and they aren't fully mature and awesome looking to the public eye. I do live in a "red state" and I face it day to day being a woman, lesbian, and just going to the own beat of my drum

I guess I just wonder, how do you guys face it when people (cashiers, waitresses, bank tellers, class-mates, family members) treat you differently because of how your hair is? I'm not sure if its some pre-judgemented conceptionalized notion where its acceptable to treat me with less respect or even be rude.

I do try to live my life as peaceful as I can as we all do I"m sure

I think some feedback would really help my situation and maybe looking at it from a different view.

PS: When my mother found out about my hair her exact words were

"Are you trying to be black? Do you want people to think POT HEAD when they look at you because now they do!" (I giggled inside :p )

updated by @tess2: 01/13/15 09:12:48PM

inviting desc rimination is 1 part of the spiritual growth aspect of the journey

american culture especialy "red state" stupidity is so screwed up the red states shun those who are revered as holy men by other cultures

but i will tell ya that u do get it worse it seems with baby dreads with mature dreads u seem to get alot more respec5t then anything else tho u still get the ocasional remark

sometimes tho its all a matter of perception what i mean by that is

as an example i remember on 1 forum a kid posts a picture of himself askinmg "am i ugly" he got 200 responses no you look fine and 1 response yea your the ugliest person i ever saw

he only responded to that 1 person ..in fact he only listened to that 1 person

perception is a;ll a matter of who you chooe to pay attention to

do you listen to those who treat u rudely or do u laugh it off and only listen to those who are supporrive and possitive

--
My new book Ban The Taboo Vol 1

I get it all the time, I get called a hippie, and dirty, and now that I'm letting my daughter dreadlock her hair I get the "you're just lazy" approach alot. What they don't seem to know is that my hair is healthier and cleaner now than it ever has been! I take so much better care of it because I don't hate it like I did for 22 years of my life, and my daughter loves her "baby breadlocks" as she calls them and we are instilling on our children that they can like what they want, and be who they want regardless of what others say or feel. I also aim to teach my children to re-educate those who are making judgements based on myths and ignorance of not knowing. I just smile and go about my business because most of the ones who are judging me are hypocritical, or immensly caked in makeup and fake. Good luck in your journey and don't let ignorance get ya down, yes people may judge you from afar and consider you a "pot head" or a "hippie" or whatever the case may be...but if they are really that shallow and judgemental do you really want them in your lives or care what they think? <3

i thought it was just kind of fun because when i had seen and known anything about dreadlocks before dreadding my own hair. my first thought or even any thought had anything to do with black people.i was like, what? i thought it was funny and then realized, oh yeah i guess i sort of understand?

but at the same time i didn't because i was thinking, where did you really get that skewed perseption of hair?

@SEYes! Yes! Yes! Ever since I was very young Ive always been different. So being in such a red state I should be used to it by now But bleh!

@des/shanlove my hair, and I believe Iam taking better care of it now than I ever was as well. i'm just gonna keep my head up high and just be me

just be excited about them no matter what kind of remark you get. that always seems to discourage any negative words about my babies ;D

alot of ppl are ignorant about dreads...i should say MOST are.

people "fear" what they don't understand.

any negative vibe or remark from these ppl is usually just their "reaction" to fear.

ive had dreads 3 seperate times in my life (this is my final time, as i'm not getting rid of my dreads this time), and my x-gf had dreads for 12 of the 13 years we were together...so i have seen it all in regard to how ppl react to dreads.

if you carry yourself w/ confidence and positive attitude then that is usually what you'll get from ppl

me tho....well im kind of an asshole to ppl....i should prolly re-phrase that...im not really nice...but ppl perceive me to be an asshole.

i really just want ppl to leave me alone, and not talk to me unless it's necessary. (im not a ppl person)

...and i must wear it on my face because most of the time the start of any conversation w/ me starts w/ "sorry to bother you, but....."

i can tell when ppl want to say something to me regarding my hair...wether it be a question or comment, but 99% of the time i can also see them bite their tongue..lol

i also love how dreads seem to make other ppl show their true colors...it's always easy to tell who i care to talk to and not talk to based on how they act regarding appearances.

thats just my perspective, and i'm sure others would agree

Something I realized long ago... when someone throws something negative at me (whether it be a comment or a look) I like to respond with something positive! It usually always catches em off guard! Kill em with kindness! It seems to make em think bout what they said or did and they wonder why it just rolled right off my back and didn't have the intended effect! LOL!... I love it! I can almost see this thought process in their eyes! Be the bigger man/ woman! I am by no means perfect and still, sometimes my first reaction is to want to respond back with something negative but all that does is bring you down to their level! That's my take on this!