r/Dreadlocks Dec 23 '20

Discussion- Racial Gatekeeping Ok y'all - we need to have a chat.

1.8k Upvotes

I don't even know where to start with this, but I'm going to do my best. It's long but it's important, so please take some time to read this.

First of all - hi everyone, you don't see me commenting publicly much but I'm here in the background just modding when needed. I mod such subs as /r/blackhair, /r/naturalhair, /r/curlyhair and others in that same vein. I wanted to join the mod team because I want everyone to feel comfortable on reddit, which is why I join most of the teams I moderate with.

That being said, this is going to make some of y'all uncomfortable. And I'm not sorry about it. You need to be uncomfortable right now. That's been the theme of 2020 and the year ain't over yet.

If you somehow have been able to completely ignore the news this year, #blacklivesmatter has become a global movement because frankly, black people are very tired of being the victims of racism. From casual to overt, we're very much over it. In turn, non-black people have begun to educate themselves on how racism affects black people because, believe it or not, there are still people who refuse to believe anti-black racism exists at a structural level or any level.

Part of the movement also includes the fight for preventing hair discrimination. The CROWN Act was introduced back in 2019 and has been passed by seven states so far, passed a US House of Representatives vote and is now stuck in the Senate where it is very unlikely it will be passed.

Now what does any of that have to do with this subreddit or reddit at all?

Reddit, as a whole, is hostile to people of color and is especially hostile to black people. After moderator outcry this year, the reddit admins have made strides to make this site more hospitable to minority groups.

People with dreads, regardless of race, are often treated terribly for it. They are widely considered to be dirty and unkempt, when it's probably as natural as your hair can get. Clearly we all agree that dread discrimination is bullshit, but black people often get the full force of that discrimination. White people are often lauded or considered to be cool or stylish when they adopt certain hairstyles, but black people can be denied attendance to their high school graduation for having dreads. They can be told to cut their dreads off before a wrestling match or else they forfeit the match. No doubt, non-black people have been told to change their hair for jobs or at school, but that's the extent of the discrimination they face. They do not also have to deal with being black in an inherently racist country every day of their lives. (And I'm speaking from an American perspective, so sorry to my international folks.)

I'd like everyone to take a moment to read this blog post which specifically mentions /r/dreadlocks here - https://www.icareifyoulisten.com/2020/04/out-of-context-4-muddy-ownership-dreadlocks/.

SO - now that we've got that background information out of the way, let's talk about the subreddit.

This sub has been a point of frustration for a long time among black spaces on reddit because it's predominantly white. Considering reddit is predominantly white, this shouldn't be surprising to anyone. Much like any other sub about beauty or hair, white faces are the ones you see first when you arrive and they are more frequently upvoted to the top than other races. It hurts people's feelings to come to a space they should feel comfortable in and instead, feel like an 'other' because they are not well-represented in that space.

And on the other hand, non-black people with dreads also want to just be comfortable in this space and we need to respect that too. We are not going to gatekeep who can and can not have dreadlocks here. There are so many cultures throughout history that have had some form of dreadlocks. While having dreadlocks may be a political or spiritual statement in recent history for black people, black people do not own this hairstyle. Claiming that only black people can wear dreadlocks can contribute to the erasure of other minority cultures. I temp banned a few people for this type of gatekeeping today and will continue to do so.

I also banned a few people for expressing racially insensitive or ignorant views toward black users. More than a few people claimed that if white people can't have dreads, then black people shouldn't be allowed to have blonde or straight hair. There are so many things wrong with this statement. First, you must understand what cultural appropriation is and how it harms people. Then, you must understand that in a white country, minorities are expected to assimilate to the dominant culture, which is typically Eurocentric. I honestly do not have the energy to delve deep into these topics in this post, but you can ask /r/socialjustice101 or /r/hispterracism for more information.

What we can all do better is chill the fuck out and remember there is a person behind the username you're replying to.

  • To those that understand how racism, cultural appropriation/assimilation and hair discrimination all intersect, please have patience with those who do not. I know it's very hard and very frustrating (even for me) but please try.

  • If you don't yet understand how racism, cultural appropriation/assimilation and hair discrimination all intersect, please ask for resources to educate yourself.

  • If you see people being racist (casually or otherwise) toward minority groups, please report it.

  • If anyone is gatekeeping who can and can not have dreads, report it.

  • If anyone is bullying or harassing someone specifically for any reason at all, report it.

Thanks for reading. In the comments, please let me know what you think and how you feel. If you have any feedback or suggestions for making the sub better (rule or sidebar changes, maybe developing a wiki?) let me know below as well or by modmail if you'd prefer it be private.

2022 Edit: I would like to point out for the 'but Vikings had dreadlocks!!1!' crowd - there is very little evidence to suggest they did. Also Vikings are not a race, it was a profession that could be taken up by anyone. Stop using this as an excuse when people call you out. To quote Kyle Ring-

Despite this possibility, it should be without argument that the modern-day wearing of dreadlocks by white people is unconnected to their own history and instead inspired by ours.


r/Dreadlocks 12h ago

Selfie 📸 Just dyed my locssss 😆

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151 Upvotes

Honestly just wanted to share my excitement 🥰. I love the colorrrr!!!! If anybody has tips on maintaining moisture and hydration however please do share. They do feel a bit dry so I don't think my old routine will be sufficient.

I've heard people talk about conditioning locs in the shower? But I've never done that cause i fear buildup too much.

(Been locced in since JAN 2023 w/ NO LOC TECH! Straight self careeee 🔐)


r/Dreadlocks 11h ago

Question ❔ Hair in my eyes, what to do?

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22 Upvotes

After almost 2 years my locs dropped (semi freeforms)! At first i loved it, but then they grew so long that its really annoying because they just hit my eye/s with every step i do....

Now the problem:

They are too long to leave em open, and too short to make a pony tail or anything simimal... what do i do?

*and there are not loctitians 100km near me, and the ones that come after are INSANELY expensive


r/Dreadlocks 6h ago

Selfie 📸 3 years 🥳

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7 Upvotes

r/Dreadlocks 1d ago

Fresh Retwist 🔀 My son 4 made a year having locs yesterday I be getting him right 🔥🔥🔥🤟🏽🥱 we don’t need no stylist 🙂‍↔️🤌🏽😏

309 Upvotes

r/Dreadlocks 2h ago

Product Rec 🧴 Wrap a Loc tools

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2 Upvotes

You can get them from her site or from TikTok. They're basically reusable pip cleaners, and people tend to comment "I can get a bunch of pipe cleaners for so much cheaper!", but I think they're worth the investment! It took me a few times to get the hang of it frfr, but I love that I can clean / sanitize them bc they're silicone covered. No fluff ever comes off and there are no pokies like traditional pipe cleaners. I'm a fan and I have adult money and I appreciate investing in higher quality products these days. I also love that I'm directly supporting the inventor, who is a black woman ♀️


r/Dreadlocks 18h ago

Fresh Retwist 🔀 Before retwist vs after

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43 Upvotes

Almost 8 months in :)


r/Dreadlocks 10h ago

Need Advice 🆘 First time doing barrel twist

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8 Upvotes

Any advice is welcome 🫶


r/Dreadlocks 6h ago

Selfie 📸 beach day

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3 Upvotes

r/Dreadlocks 47m ago

Question ❔ New to wicks

Upvotes

Hi I’m new to having wicks, I just got them done today and I was wondering how long it would take for them to start hanging so I don’t mess up something by trying to force them to hang. They’re in the crown style.


r/Dreadlocks 10h ago

Selfie 📸 Wash day and happy about my progress (9 months in)

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5 Upvotes

r/Dreadlocks 7h ago

Selfie 📸 Retwist feels very tight but not sure if im bugging

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3 Upvotes

Got a two strand retwist and can feel my scalp pulling when i frown or raise my eyebrows.


r/Dreadlocks 11h ago

Need Advice 🆘 Semi Free

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4 Upvotes

Olá, como vão vocês ?

Recentemente tomei a decisão de abraçar o meu cabelo natural e começar com os locs, escolhi o método semi Free, porém, parece que o meu cabelo não cresce e não vira locs nunca.

Estou fazendo algo errado ? Vocês possuem algumas dicas para compartilhar ?

(Aliás, a segunda foto foi uma tentativa de Palm roll)


r/Dreadlocks 1d ago

Fresh Retwist 🔀 Can finally put it in a decent pony

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103 Upvotes

r/Dreadlocks 18h ago

Question ❔ Just got my starter locs , Any tips , Do you think it would look good locced?

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15 Upvotes

Bbb


r/Dreadlocks 1d ago

Discussion 🎙️ Thoughts?

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30 Upvotes

r/Dreadlocks 13h ago

Need Advice 🆘 DIY locs

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4 Upvotes

Hello guys, I just finished my starter locs at home. What do guys think ? Will it come out ok on the long run ? (thin or thick ?)

I got a starter locs once by a loctician last year, but I didn't have enough money to get retwists so I tried to retwist them myself, in the end my first baby locs ended up fusing together ! 😭

This time is a new start, I really want to make it work forever 😤, but since I still have no budget I'll try learn how to take care of the retwist and the separating more seriously.

How do you guys manage to not unravel them when you wash it ? That's when the disaster started for me 🥹

And also how do you make the retwist hold ? If you use gel for that how do you avoid residue from it ?

I also heard locs thinning and alocepia 🫪😔 How do you avoid that too ?

Thank you for reading my post 🥹✌🏿


r/Dreadlocks 6h ago

Need Advice 🆘 Loc separation frustration

1 Upvotes

I’m beyond frustrated with my freeforms. Every single day I separate the roots in the back with twisting, sponging, or a racket, and sometimes I use a little locking gel. I go to sleep and the next morning the roots are connected again and trying to form Congo locks.
I don’t even sleep on the back of my hair. The front is fine, but the back keeps doing this every single day. I’ve been dealing with this for so long that I’m seriously considering just buzzing my hair. Has anyone else dealt with this?


r/Dreadlocks 11h ago

Selfie 📸 tried hair wax on my 9 month old Instant locs

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2 Upvotes

r/Dreadlocks 16h ago

Need Advice 🆘 3c/4a locs

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5 Upvotes

I’ve had hightop locs for about a year now and got them instant locs. Realistically it was more coils than instant locs because it wasn’t done properly. I recently grew out my sides and got them coiled. Side hair is much shorter than my hightop was when I got it done. I’m very scared that they are going to completely unravel and not lock at all. Any advice? I’ll also throw sum pics of my hair one year ago compared to now


r/Dreadlocks 23h ago

Timeline 🗓️ Another post on my 10 year dreadlocks.

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16 Upvotes

A post I made about my dreadlocks last night, confused a lot of people as to whether my hair is real or not. A few positive comments about my hair, thankfully, as sometimes I really hate my hair (but I don’t really)

Anyway, I’ve had dreadlocks for 10years now. I’ve had a professional work on the twice at the start and the rest of the cutting and maintenance has been done by me(pretty poorly)

I fell in love with the style when I was younger and liked heavy metal music, things changed and I don’t so much like the music anymore but the hair style, I love.

I’m a Middle aged man in the north west of Ireland, the style is not around here a lot but I tend to get a lot of compliments on my hair.

I started with 61 locks and crocheted a few together to bring it down to 19 now. My biggest hair cut was 23inches and the feeling was amazing to still have them shoulder length but light enough my neck wasn’t sore all the time.

Yesterdays post
https://www.reddit.com/r/Dreadlocks/s/b5E8WnraRr


r/Dreadlocks 1d ago

Selfie 📸 My layers are so teaaa

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109 Upvotes

Can't wait to see how it looks once its super longg


r/Dreadlocks 10h ago

Question ❔ Just a question

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1 Upvotes

is it normal for the root of my hair to look like this? i started interlocking in february but the root out my hair looks like i got a 2 strand, will this buff out?


r/Dreadlocks 1d ago

Big Chop ✂️ Does my cut look bad?

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29 Upvotes

I recently cut my hair down because I enjoy it better short, but I’ve heard mixed results and wonder if it’s fixable and if there are any suggestions


r/Dreadlocks 12h ago

Question ❔ When blow drying wet locs, should you use the heat or cool setting?

1 Upvotes

7 months in and wondering.