Hair Discrimination should be Designated as a form of Racism in the UK

Afro-textured hair should be a protected characteristic and making comment about it or even asking to touch it should be classed as racism according to a group of campaigners and some British MPs , because in this new reality everything is racism.

L'Myah Sharae, who founded the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Equality in Education, said: "Can you imagine being a child and being told that your hair was not suitable for an educational environment, it's just not acceptable.

"People feel they have to conform to mirror eurocentric hairstyles in order to progress in the workplace or within education and that is completely and utterly problematic."

The organisers behind the letter hope that guidance from the Equality and Human Rights Commission would take education one step further, making afro-textured hair a protected characteristic, so that reports of racial discrimination cases are taken seriously.

The letter reads: "The repeated failure to understand the issues affecting afro hair is a typical occurrence when dealing with a variety of institutions.

"The guidance will encourage educational and workplace establishments to rethink their concepts of 'professionalism' and work towards adopting more inclusive policies, which encourage and celebrate racial diversity."
news.sky.com...

With all the nonsense going on recently I'm starting to wonder if I'm living in Britain or Narnia , but I guess living in Narnia would be less politically correct than living in this country these days.

And they wonder why cases of racism are rising in this country , tell people they're racist often enough and guess what ...

It'll be interesting to see if this is another thing the Johnson government will pander to.

a reply to: gortex

FFS. Kids especially are curious and, like it or not, there are significant textural differences between African hair and European hair. They want to satisfy that curiosity, but I can recall treating a white girl with very kinky naturally curly hair to the same treatment because her hair, while blonde and silky like most Europeans was also of a very different texture. We were curious. That was it.

i must admit, what i read from your source is rather racist. "making afro-textured hair a protected characteristic". afro-textured hair only? that is indeed racist. it either needs to be ALL hair/ hairstyles, or none. why should only one group have rights and freedoms, that others do not get? and yes this is exactly the sort of thing that causes racism. the very fact they put into place racist laws and policies like this.

a reply to: generik

That also begs the question: Don't black kids ever ask white kids about their hair? Are we getting just one side of the story here?

Black Hair Matters.

Barf another racist ATS thread...white people complaining on the internet about black people standing up against discrimination...over and over again.

The argument, what about white people hair? White people want to be oppressed too, it's sad. That's your answer.

On a sort of related topic, there was a small movement in Germany a few years back where police were pulling women and girls aside to question them about their blonde braids being white nationalistic, as blonde braids are as synonymous with racism as the swastika.

originally posted by: ketsuko
a reply to: gortex

FFS. Kids especially are curious and, like it or not, there are significant textural differences between African hair and European hair. They want to satisfy that curiosity, but I can recall treating a white girl with very kinky naturally curly hair to the same treatment because her hair, while blonde and silky like most Europeans was also of a very different texture. We were curious. That was it.

I have very long curly jet black hair. That is my natural hair but it is rare for Asians and many think it’s fake, it isn’t. I have had grown adults put their filthy hands all over my hair. I absolutely can’t stand it. I have had it done at school, in the workplace and just out shopping. It shocks me every time. The worst was at work. I was standing in line at our cafeteria and this lady runs her fingers all the way up my scalp. I jump. She wanted to know if my hair was real!!!! I didn’t know this woman!

I think this is a lack of respect for ones personal space type of thing. I think like Ketsuko said it is a being curious thing. We need to teach people to keep their hands to themselves.

As far as the racist element, I kinda agree. Some workplaces don’t want people to have braids or afros because they consider them not professional. For some an Afro is the most natural hair they could possibly have. I do think that is wrong. I think as long as grooming is happening and things are clean and don’t stink there should not an issue.

a reply to: game over man

Barf another racist ATS thread

Please point to the racist part in my thread , I'm sure the Mods will take the appropriate action.

I have seen hair discimination before. Its typically a female thing, along the same lines as the "brown paper bag" deal with skin tone and beauty, etc.

My view, which diverges from British views in general: the government has no place intermediating interpersonal interactions. The internet in particular, where people tend to say stupid stuff. Society does a fine job of working out social accountability. The government has no place involving itself there, neither in Britain or North Korea.

a reply to: gortex

When i was on one of these equality courses I made this very point (jokingly) as I am a ginger, red head, carrot top, durracell battery etc

I guess i was ahead of my time, we are pretty much the smallest minority on the planet after all

found in one to two percent of the human population

Red hair

Gingers of the world we will no longer be persecuted by those who are incapable of taking as much vitamin D from the sun as us, bow down to us mutants of the MC1R-gene

a reply to: game over man

Oh noes! Someone asked about your hair. The horror...

We generally fear and hate what we don't understand. We learn to understand by asking and listening, you know, assuming we aren't called racist for wanting to know things about you instead how you consider us terrible people.

a reply to: JAGStorm

There's a huge difference between asking about hair and flat out touching it unasked and uninvited though. I would never just touch anyone without permission like that. And that's not a race thing; it's a lack of personal space thing.

I am glad MP's have the time to complain about this and that the UK clearly is totally free of any actual problems.

Because you know, if a country was faced with actual problems, surely MPs would be unable to devote their time to nonsense like this. It would be an outrageous waste of time for someone holding parliamentary office to write such a letter, after all.

a reply to: gortex

I was a blonde 9/10 year old white kid in South Korea. My hair got petted/touched and ogled A LOT because of it's color.

That wasn't racist, it was pure curiosity over something different from you. Thought that's the kind of thing these idiot activists wanted, "diversity"? Gotta answer some questions about differences once in a while if you want that, yanno.

a reply to: bigfatfurrytexan

Never underestimate the female ability to be catty about matters of personal appearance when it let's us lord it over other gals.

originally posted by: Nyiah
a reply to: gortex

I was a blonde 9/10 year old white kid in South Korea. My hair got petted/touched and ogled A LOT because of it's color.

That wasn't racist, it was pure curiosity over something different from you. Thought that's the kind of thing these idiot activists wanted, "diversity"? Gotta answer some questions about differences once in a while if you want that, yanno.

I think there are two separate issues here. Touching of others hair (which can probably be any race)
And actual discrimination.

For the second part, just imagine you are blonde and get a job and they tell you that you can’t have blonde hair, it applies only to blondes. They tell you it looks unprofessional. You tell them it’s your natural hair, they don’t care.
I know this has actually happened.

www.theguardian.com...

In 2019, five-year-old Josiah Sharpe was banned from the playground at breaktimes and eventually sent home from school due to his “extreme” haircut (a basic fade). He was eventually allowed return when his hair grew back to what the school deemed an appropriate length. In 2018 Chikayzea Flanders – a pupil at Fulham Boys school – was told he had to cut off his dreadlocks or leave the school. The school only backed down after his mother launched a campaign supported by the Equality and Human Rights Commission. Most recently, Ruby Williams came out of a three-year legal battle with her school in Hackney, where she had been repeatedly sent home because her natural afro hair was deemed to be against uniform policy.

www.today.com...

One Chicago mom is fighting back after her 4-year-old son's school told her that his braids were a dress code violation. When Ida Nelson's preschooler, Gus Hawkins IV, affectionately known as Jett, asked her to put his hair in braids earlier this month, she happily obliged.

If you look at his photo, he looks neat clean and adorable.

a reply to: gortex

When I was in the hospital a few years ago, I was in the smoking area with a black lady 'B' and one from Croatia 'C'.
C: can I touch your hair? It reminds me of a sheep.
B: wtf?
And I just really didn't know what I could have said that wouldn't have been considered racist by both. So I laughed, a total stress reaction.
B took that too as racism. Because C joined in I guess.

Point is: it's a minefield. That's just how it is. B was already very sensitive about her looks in general. C obviously didn't have much contact with non-white people in her mind she was just making friends.

I've also been part of a conversation where one lady said all black people have a smell she doesn't like. I never noticed that, I don't think it's true because if anything the person in question smelled like a field of flowers from her perfume.
...not about hair, but I can see how it's frustrating to people who try to fit in and be accepted when they over and over get reminded of how they're different. For no reason and reasons that aren't a choice.
It's already difficult enough as youngling. Am I too fad? Are my boobs big enough? Are my clothes received well?
So I think the least we can do, is listen to complaints, explain our intentions and expose ourselves to everything that's rare in our every day environment on purpose, to not hurt eachothers feelings when it's not our choice to mingle.

a reply to: gortex

Can I get compensation for every time someone came and felt my hair because it's shaved down to a number one, I wonder?
I've lost track of the times that's happened.

When I was younger it was punk spikes and a mohican and everyone wants to feel and play about with that.

Strangely enough, no one is ever interested in my bald patch..... I'm sulking now.

originally posted by: RoScoLaz5
Black Hair Matters.

Seems to be a legal grey area in the UK unless this gets through parliament.