Thot Hair: Racial Pride or an Emblem of Shame?

If you’ve paid any attention this last year you’ve seen this hairstyle donned by celebrity and civilian alike with artists like the Migos, August Alsina, and David Banner displaying the hairstyle as well as almost every young black male in America picking up the trend. As a middle school teacher, I’ve seen the hairstyle grow in popularity this year in my school and within my district as young black males in  the formative years of their life seek to express themselves as individuals. Before offering my take on its appropriateness, I’d first like to provide background.

T.H.O. T., a slang word used to refer to a loose person, has been attached to the hairstyle, suggesting that individuals with this hair style exhibit the qualities of a whore. Thot hair is a hairstyle where the individual allows their natural hair which tends to be kinky or nappy to grow tall, usually lined up by a barber as a fade. Critics of the hairstyle object to the hairstyle on the grounds that the look promotes an unkept appearance, as well as arguing that the look will increase stereotypes from people unfamiliar  with black culture.

As an educator, I can see the merits in arguments such as these. The dominant culture in our society for all of its advancements still harbors an attitude of ignorance and fear towards people of color and their cultural statements. Hair styles can be cultural statements and in the career world statements like these which affirm one’s cultural views unfortunately must always be done so carefully. Black male teachers make up around 4% of the teaching profession and how I dress and express myself must be thought out carefully to ensure that I gain access into the career world. Dreadlocks and even afros at one point in time were cultural statements that posed problems in our culture due to perception and the thot hair style in particular offends older black people who see it as a barrier for acceptance in the work world.

But as a black man in America I see it from another perspective as well. The ignorance from people who do not take the time to understand the youth and their decisions always brings me back to being a teenager where my choice in music was frowned upon and judged. I listened to gangster rap, went to school in urban environments where poverty was rampant, and attended a historically black university that was criticized for relaxed academic standards, and through it all have managed to become moderately successful. The implication that one’s hairstyle is a omen of failure is antiquated and ignorant and does not allow for people to be more than what society deems acceptable.

                           Kinky hair is not something to be ashamed of rather a symbol of pride. David Banner, a popular rapper and lecturer, is one of the most recent people to don the hairstyle, arguing that allowing his hair to grow tall with its kinks is a way of paying homage to his culture. To him his hair is a symbol of pride not an emblem of shame. My argument is that your hair, like anything else that is a part of you, can be both, a symbol of pride or an emblem of shame, an advantage or detriment depending on how it is used and or presented.

To view the link of David Banner speaking about his hair see the attached link.