For a while i had a distinguished career in the confines of recording studios. Then i felt not challenged anymore, so i opted to go back to school, back up my dusty certificate and hopefully start off a new career afterwards. As encouragement, i was offered employment in the same institution of study. Problem is, my dreads are long and seems to be a source of constant harrassment from all manners of staff. My senior collegues as well as my junior collegues.
My case is this, ; is it not on record that some of the most popular negative role models in Nigeria today [x-presidents, x-governors, x-government office and title holders, ] spot clean shaven hair styles? how many people arrested for crimes wear dreadlocks? They say i look like a tout but i so go to motor parks regularly and up till now, haven't seen a single tout spotting dread looks.
Is this not some form of discremination? What make a professors bushy beard more academic than my dreadlocks? My hair dosen't smell because i wash it everytime i take a bath but i do know i cant say same for many a women folk! The hair is a 100 per cent natural, i just chose at some point in my life not to comb it,  so, wah ya say?

dada is to irresponsible as going bald/skin cut e.t.c is to agbako(that hard man in yoruba movies )or hard look/stone face look

its a cultural thing, maybe. Then again, dreads are seen as a symbol of the rastafarian lifestyle- including ganja and the like.

I noticed a lot of dreadlocked guys date and marry non-blacks, for some reason.

And many of such guys are actually quite easy going, religion aside.

its def a stereotype. When people see dreds they think "smokes weed, irresponsible, lazy" etc.

I had dreds a few yrs ago and took a whole lotta criticism for it during the 5yrs I had it. Once I was conversing with a lady from ghana about my work (I'm a scientist) she looked at me funny and said "what about your hair? they let you come to work like that?"
I almost got angry but instead laughed and said "so what?" how does that reflect on my capabilities or qualifications? Some people are just stuck in their ways, but unfortunately there are many many corporations that won't hire dredlocks so you hafta pick which is more important to you.

I sometimes see most of them as unserious. Mostly MEN.

big father:

I sometimes see most of them as unserious. Mostly MEN.

that's funny cos most of the guys I know with dreds are smart and socially conscious brothas. It's a bad stereotype that we shouldn't be found guilty of.

JeSoul:

that's funny because most of the guys I know with dreds are smart and socially conscious brothas. It's a bad stereotype that we shouldn't be found guilty of.

I have no probs with babes putting on dreads,it is even allowd but i can never transact any serious business with a guy that puts on a dread.

big father:

I have no probs with babes putting on dreads,it is even allowd but[b] i can never transact any serious business with a guy that puts on a dread[/b].

why now?

@ post

If the dreads are nicely kept and neat there shouldn't be a problem, it's when they look scruffy and neglected it doesn't say much good of a person. It's all about how they perceive you and the impression you make.

_{Nice topic}

JeSoul:

why now?

Cus they are tagged as unserious . You hardly find them in govt offices. Most people see them as unserious maybe because of where it generated from .

big father:

I have no probs with babes putting on dreads,it is even allowd but i can never transact any serious business with a guy that puts on a dread.

Chai Big Father, I'm sure u'd feel more comfortable transactin "serious" business with someone who has a "James Ibori" hair cut or even an "olusegun" hair style or maybe even someone spotting and "alams" hair do.
truth be told, if hair styles be a serious yard stick for measuring credibility, it is pretty obvious that the biggest "money thiefs" spot low cuts,
i'm sure u have a low cut? abi?

The only thing I'll add is for you to choose a career that matches to your style of life.
Dreadlocks people are well represent in the field of SPORTS,MUSIC,ACTIVISTS, SPIRITUALIST, ARTS and ENTERTAINMENT even good in Native doctor. Contradicting the issue by Looking for a post in BANKS, EXECUTIVE POST,POLITICS,CORPORATE JOBS, My brother you're adding salt to lemon juice which taste rubbish.

Sometimes the way we presents ourselves before others determines how people take us. Why not look for something in the field that matches your style of life and make good out of it instead of contradicting things.


That's my point.

oziomatv:

The only thing I'll add is for you to choose a career that matches to your style of life.
Dreadlocks people are well represent in the field of SPORTS,MUSIC,ACTIVISTS, SPIRITUALIST, ARTS and ENTERTAINMENT even good in Native doctor. Contradicting the issue by Looking for a post in BANKS, EXECUTIVE POST,POLITICS,CORPORATE JOBS, My brother you're adding salt to lemon juice which taste rubbish.

Sometimes the way we presents ourselves before others determines how people take us. Why not look for something in the field that matches your style of life and make good out of it instead of contradicting things.


That's my point.

ok, black people r well represented in boxing, acting, commedy bla, bla, bla, with this analogy of yours, it should be like adding salt to lemon juice if i see a black man as a rocket scientist or if i see a black man on horseback riding in a pro race, or if i see a black man skiing in the alps, wake up dude, we r what we think, becareful u bottleneck ur thought processess by adopting schools of thought that aint never been tested,
are bankers more intellectual than musicians? are civil servants more serious minded than studio engineers? wats ur argument? define decent? lets not decieve ourselves, man invented class to take good care of his egotistic tendencies,

Oga Sarge:

ok, black people r well represented in boxing, acting, commedy bla, bla, bla, with this analogy of yours, it should be like adding salt to lemon juice if i see a black man as a rocket scientist or if i see a black man on horseback riding in a pro race, or if i see a black man skiing in the alps, wake up dude, we r what we think, becareful u bottleneck your thought processess by adopting schools of thought that aint never been tested,
are bankers more intellectual than musicians? are civil servants more serious minded than studio engineers? wats your argument? define decent? lets not decieve ourselves, man invented class to take good care of his egotistic tendencies,

I think you left your reading glasses somewhere when reading my post.

Oga Sarge:

we r what we think, becareful u bottleneck your thought processess by adopting schools of thought that aint never been tested,
are bankers more intellectual than musicians? are civil servants more serious minded than studio engineers? wats your argument? define decent? lets not decieve ourselves, man invented class to take good care of his egotistic tendencies,

If you need to jump on someone that person must be those people having problem with you over your dreadlocks.
You're mad when they discriminate against you over your Dada but you're calling me BOTTLENECK, hope you're not the cause of your wahala.

oziomatv:

The only thing I'll add is for you to choose a career that matches to your style of life. Dreadlocks people are well represent in the field of SPORTS,MUSIC,ACTIVISTS, SPIRITUALIST, ARTS and ENTERTAINMENT even good in Native doctor. Contradicting the issue by Looking for a post in BANKS, EXECUTIVE POST,POLITICS,CORPORATE JOBS, My brother you're adding salt to lemon juice which taste rubbish.

Sometimes the way we presents ourselves before others determines how people take us. Why not look for something in the field that matches your style of life and make good out of it instead of contradicting things.


That's my point.

My brotha you do have a good point in saying that appearances do matter, that is a no-brainer. However people should also learn not to stereotype others and as you say "choose a look that matches your career" what will you say about me? I am a scientist and I had dredlocks for a few yrs in my field. The good thing was that I worked at a great company that did not care about looks but instead my qualifications.

make una time time hia
i love my dreads,i take gud kia of it and it fits

Shave those snakes jo

What statement are you trying to make by looking like Medusa. Abeg

[/

Dreadlocks people are well represent in the field of SPORTS,MUSIC,ACTIVISTS, SPIRITUALIST, ARTS and ENTERTAINMENT even good in Native doctor.

Lmfao. ozii you are crazy

Seriously I don't care for dreads. They're nice on some people like Dakore the actress biut other than that No. Alot of them are pretentious in my oh so humble opinion. Most of the girls are too busy thinking they are better than others because they're hair is "natural" and claim everyone else is "white washed/trying to look like a Barbie doll" and the men, well usually TOO easy going, claiming all women need love hence having girls all over the place

generalizations perhaps but it's what I've noticed esp here.

Stop stereotyping and prejudicing, we are responsible, gone are the days of Dreadlocks being associated with only ganja people

Dreds can be beautiful. The generalization i have of dreded people is that they are free spirits.

No body is generalizing anything, what am basically saying is that guys with dreads are not well respected. Even if the guy is the most humble human on earth . Just look at the situation in naija whereby almost all mad men carry dreads on their heads. And you can imagine a mad man running after you, thinking that you are from the same planet . I just wonder who will rescue your ass !

JeSoul:

My brotha you do have a good point in saying that appearances do matter, that is a no-brainer. However people should also learn not to stereotype others and as you say "choose a look that matches your career" what will you say about me? I am a scientist and I had dredlocks for a few years in my field. The good thing was that I worked at a great company that did not care about looks but instead my qualifications.

You are just too lucky !

@poster

I agree with you. I never had locks but if you look at my picture. I was in the process of letting my hair just bush out and for a while it was just out, big, and natural. I also had a goatee that was growing long as well. (I actually still have that) LOL! I am in Software Development and I am in meetings and functions with all types of business individuals.

I think people really have to get out of that mind state. Keep your locks!! I love the way natural hair, locks, twist, etc look.

lazy:

@poster

I agree with you. I never had locks but if you look at my picture. I was in the process of letting my hair just bush out and for a while it was just out, big, and natural. I also had a goatee that was growing long as well. (I actually still have that) LOL! I am in Software Development and I am in meetings and functions with all types of business individuals.

I think people really have to get out of that mind state. Keep your locks!! I love the way natural hair, locks, twist, etc look.

Pally , just picture that goatee u r having with dreadlocks and see if you'll be allowed entry into the board room.

big father:

Pally , just picture that goatee you're having with dreadlocks and see if you'll be allowed entry into the board room.

LOL!!

I think I would still be allowed. Honestly what I have seen here in the States is that the people that have in an issue with natural hair or natural hairstyles are Black people (I work with Black people from Latin America, Continent, and the States). I remember at first Black people said something but after a while people started to like it. Black Men let their hair grow out and Black Women (that gave me issues) stopped perming their hair!

The White, Asian, and Latin Americans (other than the Afro-Latinos) don't have a problem with it or to scared to say something about it. LOL!!

It is all about is your hair taken care of and clean/shaped up. I just love the way tightly curled hair looks and feels.

ifyalways:


make una time time hia
i love my dreads,i take good kia of it and it fits

What? an igbo woman with dread locks? Unbelievable. this is the first i have heard of such and i have never seen one in my 19yrs in naija. I bet your in a foreign land.

This is great! news to me and i hope your not joking.

Remain blessed my sista.

@ poster

Due to pervasive self-hate in our society; your godhood status makes the self-haters very fearful of the power of the divine in you so they seek to tanish your image by demonizing you through the media and the dominant ideology.

Keep your crown; it's your royal birth right.

See link for more indept analysis underlying the ostracizing of dread lock:

https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria/topic-199041.0.html

remain blessed.

@ topic

Dada (not too long) is sexy! And not all of them stink!