Way back in the early 1990s and early 2000s; individuals who grew dreadlocks had tagged perceptions surrounding their persona including ‘outcast’, ‘dirty’, ‘mad’, ‘nonentity’ and 'weed' takers, a few to mention. These individuals received several disheartening treatments and neglect from families, friends, organisations and the general public.
Gaining employment was another issue on its own as no employer was ready to employ a ‘mad’ person in his organisations no matter his qualification. Women in dreadlocks also had no coolness dealing with the ‘fingering’, neglect, ‘hopeless’ and ‘useless’ descriptions linked to their beings.
In today Ghana, one may conclude that then there were too many ‘illiterates’, underdeveloped and too many 'primitives' who less understood a thing about dreadlocks but now, they say “we are developing and there are so many eye-openers including understanding fashion.”
Indeed, there are so many eye-openers in the fashion realm as we see some women hip their breasts out of their brazier caps for public view, wearing dresses that expose a ‘good view’ of their upper buttocks and wearing more than one earring.
The men cannot be exempted with some youngsters extremely pulling down their jeans trousers ‘hipster’, a typical celebrity example is Guru, a Hiplife musician and also trimming their hair to fit in with the ‘gallas’, ‘fading’ and ‘back bush’ trending hairstyles although they existed in the olden all in the name of ‘Fashion.’
Let’s get down business; dreadlocks was among other lifestyles that received mediocrity and outcast where families could send family individuals who chose to grow and nurture dreadlocks as their hairstyle (although was so much linked to the Rastafari Community) into exile at various mental disorder homes because they smoked Indian hemps 'weed'.
Now, for the sake of fashion, dreadlocks has been approximately 70% accepted by society, what becomes of those individuals labeled as outcasts and expelled by family members as a result of this same dreadlocks cum fashion?
Are such families in today times, ready to accept, withdraw the ‘castaway’ individuals who were not ‘tickled’ by their ‘castaways’ threats and dreaded to keep their hairs locked and regard them as humans because it is a trending fashion?
With dreadlocks now regarded as a fashion trend, should individuals who were labeled as outcasts be accepted back into families?
In as much as every individual including celebrities as Blakk Rasta, Blakofe, DJ Perfek, Bice Osei-Kufuor alias Obour (MUSIGA President) Samini and Reggie Rockstone among others who have once grown locks has a story of neglect to tell, I will first share with our cherished readers my experience although I was not sent to a mental home but was indirectly and behind me labeled as an ‘outcast’ in my next piece.
In the interim, share with us, your personal experience when you once grew or still in dreadlocks and/or your notion on dreadlocks being accepted in the fashion realm in our contemporary years.
