Edgy Or Ghetto? Is Race A Factor In People's Perception?

Are most Black girls with colored hair considered "ghetto" (in a negative way) while their white counterparts are considered edgy and cute? While it is true a lot of "ghetto" black females do like to color their hair is it such a pronounced thing that any other black woman who dyes their hair is grouped in with them.
Even if they are ghetto why should they be brought down for having dyed hair when so many people of other races are deemed so many positive things when they dye their hair the same way. Why do we have to crush the creativity of someone just because of their race?

Words by Jasmine

I have been meaning to write about this for a while now. I came across this post:

The girls in the post look more indie to me. Though I would really need to meet them to confirm this guess. There is more to ghetto than just looks most of it comes from an accent and behavior. So thinking someone is ghetto, trashy or some other word that you mean to sound negative with only their looks to go by is ridiculous. I dye my dreads different unnatural colors all the time. But I do not think i have run into anyone who thought I was ghetto because of it. And if they did my clothing, accent, and mannerism probably changed their minds.

I've seen white girls with this hair style and they did not end up being called "ghetto"
I think there are obvious differences in aesthetics between an alternative black woman and a "ghetto" black woman. With Goths, punks, and Lolita the difference tends to be really obvious. Though a ghetto aesthetic would have bright colors in their makeup, clothes and big or unique hair Which is in common with those sub cultures, they would have different ways of wearing that. The jewelry would be different, The shoes would be different (though there are some similarities between ghetto boots and Gothic boots). Goths can be separated by their black lace or fishnet shirts. Punks can be separated by their extreme Mohawks and and DIY band t-shirts. And well Lolita is never going to get confused with ghetto for obvious reasons.

Jasmine's blog: http://www.colormegoth.com

Tags: Color, Edgy, Ghetto, Goth, Hair, Look, Or, Race

4 members like this

Comment

You need to be a member of AFROPUNK to add comments!

Join AFROPUNK

Comment by Milo Mojo on March 5, 2012 at 6:22pm: All different types live in the ghetto. What do you think the LES/East Village of NYC was (and in some cases still is) before the posh stores and restaurants started popping up. Anarchists are "ghetto". Jazz musicians are "ghetto". Punk rockers are "ghetto". Artists or"ghetto". I don't have issues with the word as much as the people who throw it out like an insult. People often times will say it and mean "trashy". Then we are in a totally different ball game.

With that rant being over... yes, people judge people by how they look. The white girl with this sort of look is expected to be intelligent and educated. The woman of color with this look is thought to be ignorant, uneducated and that is the baby she had when she was 15. Sad but true. But the trick here is, will she surprise the people who underestimated her when she opens her mouth?

Comment by Mr. Kurtz on March 5, 2012 at 5:00pm: Where I am from there are not that many Black people, most tattoos and or weird colour hair you see are on White people and it carries a similar negative connotation. Guys with tatts look like gangsters (or wannabes) and girls with tatts look like sluts. With regards to unnaturally coloured hair, guys with that are characterized as either fags or punk rockers (or wannabes) and girls with unnaturally coloured hair are sluts (or punk rockers.) However, both wierd hair and tattoos are pretty mainstream nowadays if you ask me, but I still like to see wierd hair and tatts on guys and girls of all skin tones, because it looks cool and freaky.

I want to know who is doing the "considering" in this case, is it the mainstream media....controlled by corporate america...or is it the people in your community? Who gives a fuck what the media think, or the squares, they are going to think you are ghetto and I'm white trash anyway. Punk is about saying fuck you to all that stuff. "ghetto" and "white trash" are words that devalue ones culture and make people ashamed of where they are from, and people should be proud of where they are from. (well not SO proud that ultranationalism, civil war and genocide happen, but you know what I mean)

I also wanted to say that I don't understand Bruno's commment about "Green Day made it OK for white trash to wholly embrace punk" That is giving Green Day far more credit than they deserve, being such a mediocre band.

I think Punk has been the music of/for white trash (and any other pissed off kids) since a long long time before Green Day. In terms of the history of hardcore, underground punk rock music and culture, Green Day should hardly be mentioned, they are just a pop/rock band with a punky feel, like Rancid. Green Day just brought that sound to the suburban kids of the 90's.

In short, the point that I wanted to make is that a certain type is going to make negative judgements about your punk styles, no matter what colour person those styles are hung on. Rich successful White and Black people alike probably think i look like white trash too, when i'm in my Punk regalia walking down the street or driving my rusty old shitbox pulling up next to their shiny new SUV at a stop light on my way to a job interview in the nicest set of shitty clothes I have. Fuck those people, flip em the bird for me and I'll flip them off for you!!!! Punk is not about giving a fuck what squares think of us!!!!!

Well maybe i missed the point of this whole discussion, and if so i apologize.

Stay punk my friends....

Comment by Bruno Zaire on March 5, 2012 at 3:39pm: hate how 'ghetto' been used make assumptions Bout 'low class' because that often is confused with and equTed with Black. Black English is considered very ghetto, but I would argue it's a genuine dialect no different than Jamaican patois. Personally, i find animal
prints distasteful, overused, but I think thats a difference of opinion. If you substitued n*gger for everytime the word ghetto was used, I think that would reveal peoples true meaning. BTW Sonny Rollins was aruably the first underground musician to make a statement with a Mohawk. That said said class is a big deal: Green Day made it OK for white trash to wholly embrace punk... And we all know black people have always been the most punked by mainstream, everything we do has been labeled ghetto.

Comment by Fashionfreak on March 5, 2012 at 2:02pm: Yea, but that comes back to stupid perceptions.

Bc if a white person wears hoop earrings its chic, if a black or hispanic person wears it she's called ghetto.

If a white person has tattoos they are edgy, if a black person has tattoos they are considered ghetto.

-_______________- very DUMB indeed.