Afros - in or out?

I suppose wearing someone's natural hair texture as a 'silly' costume is quite rude.

Agree with every word of this.

Yeah it's inappropriate
My experiences are not the same but I've been told my natural hair is messy/frizzy/needs sorting, people ask to touch it, my uncle wears his cropped after comments when he was younger about it (he has very tight coils) and so did my cousin
I have to pay extra for a specialist hairdresser and bizarrely it's not a requirement for hairdressers to study/train in curly or coily hair so most of them can't cut it

Got it and yes agreed! Thank you

I completely agree that Afro hair should not be mocked or appropriated.

I'm a bit confused about the extent of the ban though. Will it be all curly wigs of all colours?! It seems a bit insulting to those of Afro-Caribbean heritage to suggest those coloured nylon things have anything to do with their hair.

Also if you Google 'Anni-Frid curly hair' are any of those hairstyles not appropriate? What if you honestly want to look like a member of Abba? It is just mimicking actual Afro hair that is a problem?

(Not being goady, genuinely want to understand the rules and hear the thoughts of those with Afro hair.)

Sorry missed out a word in my previous post...meant to say...some styles or appropriation are done as 'ridicule', and others it's been for 'acceptance'

I don't know that in any part of history 'non black people' have had to blacken their appearance or make their hair 'more afro' in order to gain acceptance. But many black people have had to change their appearance to gain acceptance.
Some of these styles have been done as, some for gaining acceptance and a whole bunch of other reasons probably. So it's not all black and white as your trying to make it

I have an afro and they don't offend me.

No, the venue is purpose built for the ABBA Voyage show.

I have a ticket too and received the same email - I was amazed anybody would need to be told, tbh.

They are still financially abused today

What do you mean?

Welsh & Irish, then Scots were the first to be enslaved by wealthy English and discriminated against then starved and shipped off their land to the 'New World' against their will. They are still financially abused today, so if redheads have a variation in texture of hair does that render black, Asian, Indian people wearing red straight or frizzy wigs racist?
How would you describe men who wear false breasts, heavy exaggerated make up and present a highly sexualised persona that is supposed to ridicule women? Is that okay or is it like your afro hair analogy, is it misogynistic? Which one is OK, or is it only a small, non diverse group of people who decide what is appropriate?

OP tried to be goady. Awww.

Another poster who thinks this is a gotcha point. Do you wonder why there's no white history month too?

Is it culturally insensitive for black people to wear straight hair wigs in blonde, red or any colour other than black? I see your point about bubble perms on white people's heads but why is it seen as acceptable for ethnic minorities or any other group to dictate what another ethnic group or community can/can't wear. I don't care if black people wear their hair in an afro or have a straight wig on but please feck off telling others what is 'appropriate' to wear.

Yep, mixed race loose curls is what's generally sought after in the Black community. That's usually when your hair texture and curl pattern is seen as good. Thankfully, people are understanding more about the curlier hair texture (especially 4c) and now know that it isn't the equivalent of a dry, damaged mixed race curl pattern. It just is what it is - afro-textured hair.

How very dare you say no eh .

Are you genuinely as stupid as this post makes you look?

Exactly! And she seemed surprised and slightly sulky when I said no and she had to shuffle back to her desk with the whole office looking on haha 😂

I actually reported it to HR when I was leaving as part of a long list of incidents that I experienced in that office.

What is wrong with people you are not some exotic "creature " to stroke I mean I can't imagine some random lurching towards me to stroke me 😂

yep, I’ve noticed my mixed race friends who mainly have more loose curls (3A/3B) have a very different experience than me who has 4c hair.

I’m not sure 😂 but it’s something I and many other people with Afro textured hair experience! I’ve heard of many who haven’t been asked and all of a sudden they’ve just felt the hand of a random stranger /colleague /classmate in their hair.

I’m guessing it’s curiosity? But it’s not something I’d be comfortable with someone I barely know doing.

Erm.. my mother is white? Sorry. Wrong. My mother is also mixed.

My apologies. I assumed from your post as it wasn't clear. It's why I also stated it as an assumption. Fair enough, you have your opinion which differs a bit from mine.

Afro is more than just a hairstyle - it's a hair texture and this is the main thing that has been discriminated against.

It's why people can have their "afro" perms and black-inspired braids and still be admired for it. But once those styles come in that hair texture (4c mainly but all the 4s as well), then it seems you're not taking care of yourself well enough to manipulate your ('dry, damaged, ugly') hair texture.

It's been so ingrained that even black people say it to other black people.

Hence, the scramble for 'good hair' (texture, not necessarily style).

Erm.. my mother is white? Sorry. Wrong. My mother is also mixed.

My point is its hair. To the people saying to me that I won't have faced discrimination because of my hair, again, wrong. However, because someone told me to tie that mess back so the person behind me could see doesn't mean that I should be offended if I see someone wearing an afro wig. Whatever colour skin they have.