Tools of Attraction: Dreadlocks

"People will say, 'Oh, you're so beautiful, but I can't bring you home to my parents...'"

By Colette McIntyre and Kristin Hunt

Kara, 29

So how long have you been rocking this 'do?
Since 2001. When I was seventeen, I cut off all my hair. Not because I wanted to, but because it was so damaged from chemical relaxing. I'm a low-maintenance type of person — I don't like having to go the salon and having a big fuss. I decided I wanted something that I could maintain myself. I was about to move to Paris for a year and I was like, "Why is my number-one concern about whether or not I can find a salon to do my hair?!" After going back and forth for several months, I just decided to go for it. It was kind of scary, because I didn't know anyone with locks and my parents' big thing was to keep it neat. To this day, my mom still wants me to cut my hair and start them over. She wants them to be more salon, Wall Street-looking locks. 

There are Wall Street locks?
Yeah, we call them buppie locks. 

What did the Parisians think of your locks?
It was interesting because if I had them freshly twisted, people would give me compliments, but at the same time there was a stigma surrounding Rastafarians there. So, the Rastas thought I was one of them — I was not. A lot of them tried to talk to me and include me in the community. Everyone thought I smoked marijuana, which I didn't. You know, a lot of stereotypes. 

Do people think you are making a political statement with your hair?
Yeah, I think when people see me, they think, "Oh, there goes that very political, pro-black woman!" I'm so not, "power to the people." I could shave my head tomorrow and I'd still be the same person. 

Do people use your dreads as a come-on? 
Oh yeah, all the time. Everybody. Yes. They've been fetishized quite often in ten years. Like, "Oh, I'd just love to have sex with you and pull your dreads."

People really say that to you?
People say that to me! On the opposite end, people will say, "Oh, you're so beautiful, but I can't bring you home to my parents." That's a more Caribbean thing. I lived in the Caribbean, and the island I lived on, they did not like Rastas. But I've had more of the fetishizing.

Have you ever dated a person with locks?
I have. But I decided that I didn't need to date people based on them having locks after I ran into some really interesting, not-so-cool characters because I was like, "Oh, they have locks! They're peaceful, they're cool!" and that really wasn't the case. Actually, I'm married now and my husband, when I met him, didn't have locks at the time. He'd had locks before. His claim is that he had a vision of who his next partner was going to be and he didn't see my face but he knew I'd have locks. And so, when he saw me at a [whispers] poetry open mic... I know that's corny.

That's not corny! That's exactly what I dreamed for you!
He was just like, "Yes! I'm going to go talk to her!" He just started growing his locks again.

What do you think about white dudes rocking locks?
You know what? I don't have a problem with anybody rocking locks. One of my big inspirations was this book called Dreads which has beautiful photos of people all over the world wearing locks. As long as you're washing your hair and it's clean and you're not sticking honey in it... some people have some really weird ideas about how to start locks. People use honey and toothpaste. I studied abroad — not to keep name-dropping places — in Ghana for six weeks several years ago. There was a girl there who got involved with a Ghanaian Rasta guy, and he told her that Jah put a calling on his heart to put glue in her hair and start locks. 

Did she do it?
Yes! It looked green. She ended up cutting her hair off. She needed to. I was just like, "You let that man put glue in your hair?" I don't know... she's weird. She also slept with our van driver. She had lots of love.