- 11 hours ago
Young Africans share how they navigate the stereotypes, biases, and expectations surrounding their hair — challenging perceptions and embracing their identity with confidence.
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00:00I want to start with you, Bibi. You look so beautiful. Oh, my God.
00:05Of course, you have your locks. It's growing. For how long have you had this?
00:10Now for one year.
00:12What's your journey with your hair been like?
00:14Quite easy because I have fussy hair, so it's easy to lock and it went well. Quite easy.
00:24Steph, what's your journey with your hair been like?
00:26Do you also look forward to having it locked?
00:30Not really. At the moment, not. I want to keep my natural hair as much as possible,
00:36but it is easier when I braid my hair and I corner it down because it's nicer.
00:45It's more presentable for the people. I can always put it. I look nice. Fertiche.
00:55It works. Exactly.
00:56He's from Seychelles, by the way. So pretty. Can I say that?
01:01Yeah, you can. You can. Definitely.
01:03I mean, Effia, you are of Ghanaian heritage as well and your locks is really growing.
01:09How long have you had this and what's your experience with your hair been like?
01:12I think I've been growing them for four years, but I had an afro before that.
01:17And the thing is, I always said to myself, oh, I will never get dreadlocks.
01:20I will never get dreadlocks because I just thought it was too permanent.
01:23But then one day, just something switched. I think it was like a dream.
01:26And I was like, I will have locks because I just see it for myself.
01:31And I thought it would be easier. It's not necessarily easier, but it's different.
01:35And I'm very happy I made a choice because it feels like I look like myself now.
01:40Wow. I think that is powerful. And for you, Grant, what does it mean to have your hair like this?
01:46I feel like...
01:47You're from Jamaica, you said?
01:48Yes, Jamaica.
01:49So we've got the right person on this panel as well. Talk to me about that.
01:54I've had my locks for about four years now. I remember when I first started, it was quite a struggle.
01:59My hair is quite a soft texture, so it did take time for it to form, but I'm glad that
02:04I've kept with it.
02:06And yeah, I just feel free with it. I think a lot of people are more accepting of locks now,
02:10which is a good thing.
02:11I mean, for you, Bibi, tell me a little bit more about your experience.
02:15How do you get treated with your hair? How do people approach you? How do they look at you?
02:20For example, I'm Congolese, but I'm also from a different church.
02:25Our women are not allowed to wear fake hair or plastic hair, so they wear locks, so they can still
02:32have hair done.
02:34So my mother was like, oh, that's so nice. Finally, you're not wearing braids.
02:40At work, it's a little bit different because they know me with braids, with colorful braids.
02:46They were like, oh, so you're going to keep it that? Because I'm working in a youth welfare center.
02:53So it's open, but when I talk to my client's parents or to my bosses, they were like, okay, if
03:04you get your hair constantly done, it looks professional.
03:08But if it grows out, it can look unprofessional.
03:12No way. Talk to me about that a little bit.
03:15How does that make you feel when someone says when your hair grows out a little bit longer, you look
03:20a bit unprofessional?
03:21I feel like, for me, I grew up in Germany.
03:25I know, like, they think, like, locks are, like, a little bit unprofessional.
03:29I'm trying to, like, teach them, like, no, it's not unprofessional.
03:33My hair is just growing, like, if white people just color their hair and the color goes out,
03:39you will not say, like, it's unprofessional.
03:41So, like, with mine, it's not unprofessional.
03:44Yeah. Oh, wow. That's interesting.
03:47Steph, you are clocking to that. Tell me why.
03:49No, because, I mean, what Bibi said exactly.
03:52It's like, you know, whenever we come to a workplace and, like, we're here,
03:57our hair is just being, we're just being ourselves.
04:00And, like, the people are just saying, like, oh, no, this is not professional enough, you know?
04:04And, no, we need to be able to, like, be ourselves at our workplace
04:11and just be able to express ourselves through our hair. That's all.
04:14That no one should be able to tell you whether your hair is unprofessional or not.
04:18Exactly. Exactly.
04:20Let me come to you, Ifia.
04:21Tell me, how do you think people with dreads or locks have been treated?
04:26In your perspective as well, they've talked about the kind of, you know,
04:29things they've experienced professionally. What is it like for you?
04:32I think there's so many different experiences, right?
04:36I know discrimination happens because of dreadlocks.
04:38This is something I was concerned about when I started it,
04:42but I pushed through and did it anyway.
04:44And interestingly enough, I feel like I get less, not harassment,
04:49but a lot less people annoy me now compared to when I had an afro.
04:52When I had an afro all the time, people tried to come up, touch my head and touch my hair.
04:56And now it's, like, it's calmed down a lot.
04:58But, like, I feel like people maybe are confused by locks at this point.
05:02But also what's been nice is, like, young people, like, maybe like 14, 15,
05:06are like, oh, your hair is so cool.
05:08And that's, like, oh, ethnicities.
05:09So it's, like, it's this weird thing of, like, on the one hand,
05:13I don't see my hair on, like, fashion magazines, that kind of thing.
05:16But at the same time, I do feel like a lot of kindness,
05:19especially also from black people, of course.
05:21Maybe it speaks to what Bibi was saying when someone said,
05:24oh, okay, we're trying to understand it now.
05:27I don't know, but what is it like?
05:29Of course, I know this is a different feeling.
05:30In Jamaica, how are people perceived with their locks?
05:33What does the locks mean for people in Jamaica?
05:36It's just a, I think it's a culture of just a freeness.
05:39It gives strength as well.
05:41Yeah, you just feel like you're able to embrace your culture a lot more.
05:44And is it about style as well, or is there more to it?
05:49When people have their locks on, it's often associated with Rastafarian culture.
05:54Can it go outside of that?
05:55Could there be more reason why someone would want to have their hair like that?
05:59For myself, say, for instance, when I wanted to start growing locks,
06:02I just wanted a new style.
06:05And as I continued growing, you kind of learn different things about locks,
06:09how to maintain it.
06:11You learn so much new things about your hair.
06:13And I think that boils down with the Rastafarians as well.
06:16They obviously grow it for a particular reason.
06:19But yeah, like a lot now, a lot of people are growing locks.
06:22Black people, white people are growing locks.
06:24It's a popular thing, to be fair.
06:27He said white people are also having their locks on.
06:29Do you think, what do you think that is?
06:32A lot of people would say this is cultural appropriation.
06:35It is.
06:35Oh!
06:37That's because it is.
06:38I'm trying to trick you in.
06:39Okay, the thing is, for me, like, if you're a white person and you're dating a black person
06:45or someone, you know, in the Rastafarian community, maybe you are allowed to.
06:51I think you have the past.
06:53Because you're in the culture, someone did it for you, you are supporting someone black.
06:58But if you're not, no, cut your hair.
07:03What does it take for you?
07:04For me, like, I'm not a friend of white people, white people wearing locks.
07:09Because I think, like, if you are in love with the culture, if you understand the culture,
07:13and if you understand the suffering that black people and, like, everybody that had locks
07:19went through, you would understand, like, it's not your place to wear it.
07:24Because, like, you would never feel the same suffering as the same person.
07:29Because, like, I know a lot of, like, I have co-workers who wear locks that didn't get
07:34the same comments that I get.
07:36Like, for them, it's, like, hippie and all.
07:40What kind of people are they?
07:41Where are they from?
07:42Like, they're German.
07:44They're, like, for them, it's, like, it's a lifestyle.
07:47It's cool.
07:48It's, like, hippie.
07:50And it's freedom.
07:52But for us, it's, like, for me, yeah.
07:55So.
07:56I mean, you said when you had your dreads, I mean, your locks on, you felt more you.
08:01What does it mean for you?
08:02We talked about lifestyle.
08:04We talked about heritage.
08:05For you, what does it signify?
08:06I don't know.
08:07Like, I just, one day I looked in the mirror and I was, like, I finally look like myself.
08:10And it's hard to put it into words.
08:11Like, I just feel more relaxed, if that makes sense.
08:14Like, I feel like I go through the world.
08:15I can just be, like, oh, okay.
08:17Even if life is difficult, I can just put my hair up and it's fine.
08:21Like, I feel like it took some time to get to this place.
08:23And maybe I'll change my hair again in the future.
08:25But it just feels like it fits the lifestyle that I'm living.
08:29Yeah.
08:30And what does it take to grow these long locks?
08:33Is it possible to grow them longer?
09:03Yeah.
09:05Period.
09:06We talked about, of course, Rastafarian culture, African heritage.
09:10But again, going forward, how can people change their thinking?
09:14What's the one thing you want them to change about the way they see hair but also locks?
09:19A lot of people need to know, like, hair is more than just the look.
09:25Especially for black people.
09:27And they need to educate themselves.
09:29Because, like, for other races, it's just like hair.
09:34But for us, it's not.
09:35And that is something that other races need to understand about us.
09:40Tell me a little bit more about that.
09:41Just demystify it a little.
09:43When you say, for us, the locks is not just hair.
09:45It tells a story.
09:46A little bit on that.
09:47Yeah, because, like, there's so many people with locks.
09:52It's, like, it's something spiritual.
09:55It's something religious.
09:57Something has, the hair size, like cornrows.
10:00It tells a story.
10:02Like, for example, for us, like, we put rice in our cornrows.
10:05Like, it's, like, something spiritual.
10:08So, it's just, it's not just the look.
10:10Like, people just want to say, like, it's just the look.
10:13No, for you, it's just the look.
10:15For us, it's more.
10:17Because we have history that goes in deep, like, with everything.
10:22Yeah, that's why.
10:23And what about you, Steph?
10:25Just to put up what Bibi said, like, cornrows, like, you know,
10:31it was made, like, people to escape, to escape the field.
10:35To escape their colonizers.
10:36So, it was made in a map so that people are able to tell their ways to go out of
10:42the situation.
10:43And I think, like, people just need to understand,
10:46white people need to understand what it is before they start wearing it.
10:51That's all.
10:52Do you think it can also be a form of solidarity when someone feels like they can do it as
10:57well?
10:57Or you don't see it that way?
10:59I mean, I'm all about supporting black businesses.
11:01But just people, people, white people need to, like, be able to have it mentally.
11:08That, you know what?
11:09This is our culture, and they need to respect that.
11:13This is a no-go territory.
11:16Okay, going forward, how do you think young people can change their perception towards hair, natural hair, but also locks
11:22as well?
11:24I think young people just should have, just, they're just able to, like, express themselves, like, you know, freely.
11:32Young people just need to express themselves freely.
11:35That's all.
11:36We talked about the discrimination.
11:38We talked about the importance of embracing one's heritage and story.
11:42Going forward, for you, how do you think this message can be cemented in our culture and in our society
11:47today?
11:48If the more of us do it, the better.
11:50Like, I've definitely had relatives saying, oh, why are you doing this with your hair?
11:54And the key point is, is, like, you have to keep going and be the person that is different.
11:58So, for example, in your family or in your circle of friends, you kind of shine as an example.
12:03And then other people are like, let me also try it up.
12:05So, I think it's just, like, living by example and then hoping that other people follow.
12:09What is it for you, Grant?
12:11How can we change that?
12:13Don't listen to social media.
12:15Don't listen to social media.
12:16Yeah, definitely.
12:18Yeah.
12:19Well, we have it.
12:20I think it's very strong, what we've been able to gather.
12:23It's about heritage.
12:24It's about culture.
12:25It's about pride.
12:35It's about culture.
12:36And, are we, are we we, like,
12:36You
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