Hi Meltingpot Readers,
Did anyone else read about the Black male flight attendant who works for Air France who is being forced to hide his dreadlocks under a wig? I was surprised but not shocked. I mean really, nothing in the world of Black hair can shock me anymore. But still, I have to say, forcing a man to wear a wig, made me do a double take.
Quite frankly, I think if I were a passenger on an Air France flight and I saw a man wearing a wig, that would be waaay more distracting than a man with a fine head of manicured dreadlocks, secured in a ponytail. What say you, dear readers? What would you rather see? Man in a wig or man with dreadlocks?
Let's take an unofficial poll. I'm so listening.
Peace!
5 comments:
Dreadlocks, without a doubt. The wig looks terrible.
Roo,
I know, right!
That picture (with the wig) literally hurts my heart. The man's locs are gorgeous, and for them to find it unprofessional...well...I've been on an AirFrance flight before and some of those attendants are incredibly professional, while some have been rude to the point of making me want to scream, and in either case, appearance never played a role in how I approached them (or vice versa).
Racism in Western Europe is one of the main reasons I've stopped visiting - there are more accepting places I can spend my hard-earned cash where I'm not being judged/stared at/a potential crime victim. Non merci!
The trend here in Western Europe is not very progressive at all, I am afraid to admit. Recently, the Danish Film Institute declined to financially support a film whose main character was not "ethnically Danish". France banned a recent Beauty Pageant that targeted women of African descent. France has also refused to show All-Black movies in its cinemas. But the backlash is not only happening here. It is a trend--people of color are now a majority the world over. You don't want to give them positive images of themselves, now do you? Interesting, yet obvious.
The wig is just another example of how strong and demeaning institutional racism is. What other people are made to feel that their natural appearance is unprofessional and unacceptable? To whom is his head full of beauty clean locks unprofessional and unacceptable?
Shame on Air France!
MaMa Akosua
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