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It is a sad testament to the power of racism when it can even influence the hairstyles we feel we can or cannot choose. Were it not for stubborn, persistent ethnic divisions, the question of whether someone whose skin is a certain color should wear a certain hairstyle is a question that would never arise. It would be recognized for all its ridiculousness and treated as such, dismissed as though it had been "should green-eyed people wear jeans?"Apparently we still have a ways to go until, in the words of Bob Marley, "the color of a man's skin is of no more significance than the color of his eyes."

My answer to the question is "yes", white people should wear dreadlocks if they choose to. A hairstyle is one of many aspects of individual expression, and hair be it purple, green, black, blond, spiked, long, short, braided, dreaded, or even non-existent hurts no-one. I personally find dreads to be an interesting, cool and creative hairstyle, regardless of how much pigment is in the skin of the wearer. But even if I hated the way they look, I would not have the right to tell someone they should not wear them. That is an individual freedom and it is a choice that is not mine to make.

The argument against white people wearing dreads comes from the fact that in recent decades the style has been a symbol for the Rastafarian religion and for black nationalism. The argument involves the idea that for others outside that group to adopt its defining symbol lessens the power of that symbol to represent and advertise that group. Theories surrounding this, in sociology, have looked at patterns where an oppressed subculture develops its own symbol, and over time this symbol becomes adopted by the mainstream and loses its subversive power. An example of this is rap music. Rap originally emerged in inner cities among black youth and was often political, but has now been adopted by the mainstream to be enjoyed today by people of every ethnic group and skin color.

I agree in part with this theory, however I believe the borrowing of symbols among cultures and groups is natural and inevitable it has been going on since civilization began. This borrowing is a form of compliment, as others see a unique idea and choose to adopt it for their own self-expression. If anything this shows how alike we humans really are even between our self-created "groups" in the things that we find appealing. Even a look at the history of dreadlocks showcases this borrowing process. The wearing of dreads is

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