Are braids just an African thing now?

[Mia-Wallace]

Do white people look weird in braids?

I felt my IQ drop a few points the moment I opened the question I linked. 🤔

All European cultures had variations of braids as hairstyles.

I'm not offended by that question. I just don't get what these people talk about. 🤷‍♀️ It's like they live in some alternate reality where they own the right for crap that's never been own by any person or group, ever. This time, they are getting worked up over something as universal as braids.

Even dreadlocks (all variations), which are arguably the ugliest of all braids, were used by Greeks and some other Europeans. It's wasn't an exclusivsly African thing, though, I am content that it's mostly used by Africans today and not a tradition, say, in Bavaria.

I just can't get how a group of people that are themselves so diverse somehow believe they culturally *own* braids. 🤷‍♀️

I kind of feel it's an American thing. The stupidity feels rather unique.

Updates

+1 y

That has never been owned*

[Smoothing]

I tend to stay away from such arguments, and i totally believe that if a white person wants to wear braids or even locks, that should never be an issue. The whole cultural appropriation thing sometimes gets on my nerves.

However, if you look through history with keen interest in cultural exchanges and considering the time lines, braids and locks originated from Africa. Yes, the Greeks wore it and many Europeans did historically. But trying to use that record as evidence to say braids did not originate from Africa is ignoring the fact that exchanges among Africans and Europeans and also Middle East people and Asians was taking place thousands and thousands of years ago.

African culture did not start creeping in to the west recently. It started long before Africans begun to exist in the west in large numbers.

[Mia-Wallace]

Humans originated from Africa. Do Africans own humanity? The exchanges are in fact so complex it's untracable. It's just better to say it's owned by no one and "oroginated from" nowhere.

It's like Swastika. Ancient Nordics had it, Celts had it, Indians had/have it, Chinese, Africans, etc. No one knows how that sign is so universal across cultures and racial groups. But Nazis still claim somehow Aryans spread it.

[Mia-Wallace]

They're untracable. Originated from*

[Smoothing]

They are indeed traceable

[Mia-Wallace]

Can you exactly and with precision say what "tribe" used braids first? Tell me if we know that. Even if when we trace it it's a guess, unless it's something very fundamental like the creation of the coin. Even for that, we say Lydians, but the transition to money itself and who exactly created it first is untracable. We usually know who made it significant/big.

[Smoothing]

In order to do that, we first of all have to state clearly when tribal lines were first introduced in Africa

[Smoothing]

Introduced and drawn

[Smoothing]

Something that the European colonialists so conveniently draw.

[Mia-Wallace]

If/when*

[Smoothing]

Drew rather

[Smoothing]

If you would like to liase on such a deep topic, we can do so. Inbox me.

[Wraith_Cemetery]

Black chicks love saying how they have ownership on braids and white people aren't allowed to braid theirs. As if the Celts (my culture), Picts, and the Norse haven't been braiding their hair for over hundreds of years.

Bloody ridiculous.

[Anonymous]

Basically everything is racist this days, everything's about the blacks, all this crazy race topic focused on the blacks is dog shit and false victimization of a race that isn't oppressed, they're not a special race who deserve more than others, they're just black, Asians are just Asians, white are just white, and so on. This has only come this far because is a politic and economic movement.

[Emilyis]

Mom said some white girl (actress ( back in the 1970's made a movie about coming out of the water that had braids but she couldn't remember her name but I guess she was famous for it.

[Chazmatazz269]

Bo Derek in “10”

[Abchahaha]

I don't give a crap about what hairstyles belong to which group, if you fit it's good. I do find White girls with braids sometimes very attractive, it's a matter of perspective. When you are asking for diversity and equality but also asking for exclusivity it's strange.

[slatyb]

Yes, I think this "cultural appropriation" thing is peculiar to virtue-signalling Americans. People have been admiring and copying other cultures since there was culture. Artisans are like "You like that? I can make more!"

Also I love braided hair.

[GreatnessBack]

You are correct. People who argue this aren't worth the energy, usually college students who took one class in societal studies and think they're a genius at life.

How are dreads ugly? Well kept Dreadlocks look great.
Don't get it confused with people who keep ugly, bummy dreadlocks. lol

[Flower7]

Those type of braids look fine. It’s only the head full of tiny braids that look a bit out of place.

[Guardian45]

external-content.duckduckgo.com/.../

[Flower7]

@Guardian45 Yes, exactly!

[annabananna]

I believe people should be able to do what they want with their own hair. It feels wrong to tell someone else what they can or can’t do with their hair. I think it’s an American thing. Are other countries like that?

[Guardian45]

Agreed. This seems silly!

[NathanDavis]

American stupidity has no limits...

a favorite past time of ours, lol

and now the staple of our politics as well

[Th3ft]

I totally agree! And to be fair she was talking about the black styles specifically but still it just came out crappy!

[Anpu23]

Yes, it's a form of social control not based in history or reality.

[Jamie05rhs]

I'm white and I've always seen girls (other white people) with braids for my entire life.

Yes, black people have braids as well.

So do Latinas.

[Chazmatazz269]

I don’t believe in “cultural appropriation” as explained by the ignorant left.

[boggboss]

Yeah im not sure how any race could claim to own a hair style

[kataang]

Depends on the kind of braids and you obviously know that. That’s why you didn’t show Box Braids, Cornrows and etc because you know they’re obviously African.

[LiamSawyer]

Hell no, I had a girlfriend that looked great with her long golden hair in a French braid.

[MangoBob]

Nobody owns the right to any hairstyle and anyone crying cultural appropriation is a weak minded, useless attention whore racist.

[dustybiker]

Ignorance and personal opinions are everywhere.

[TheFlak38]

When White women were using braids Africans had no idea what braids are.

[Nadim171]

No, they actually look better on white people. But the African style of braids and the European style are very different.

[grega239]

Yeah, its just americans being stupid. As always

[TitsMcGee16]

No. When i think of braids i think of the white young woman Rapunzel.

[duttyjamagyal]

Well obviously you wouldn't be offended by the question when we agree... right?

[Twalli]

Wearing baseball caps backwards was started by a black person. Ken Griffey Jr. was the first person to do it with any regularity

[shortster]

Um, catchers have been doing it for about as long as they have had catcher's masks.

[Twalli]

@shortster actually they usually didn't wear a cap backwards. The mask didn't have anything armored in the back, so they wore something that was the same material as a batting helmet without the brim or ear guards. Now they do, but the masks now resemble goalie masks more that traditional catcher masks.

[shortster]

The helmet thing was a recent development that was mostly in professional baseball. We never had one in little league; so everyone just wore their cap backwards.

[Twalli]

@shortster Griffey Jr. was a pro baseball player when we were that age.

[maximumpower]

Do you really believe that crap?
Oh, you poor thing.

[FunkyMonkee]

When was it ever?

[KatherineJ]

Like you, I find the “logic” absurd.

[Guardian45]

Cornrows maybe, but NOT braids!

[TallAnon]

No, extremely common in the netherlands.

[shortster]

Surely not. People just like to control others.