"I don't want to look ethnic"
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Sweet Tee
Umph
wyldhoney
molove87
Ambitious_Tiff
AdriEm
JessiWantsCurls
Neems
Duchess52
Niqui36
creolebeauty1
LadyMika
fanmnatirel
Nali1987
ChardaeD
19 posters
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"I don't want to look ethnic"
My mom called me a few minutes ago and shared this story with me:
A woman made an appointment with the natural stylist at the salon my mother goes to (and me too when in S. Florida), and when she sat down in the chair she told the stylist, "I want to be natural, but I don't want to look ethnic." Then, the woman asked the stylist to put a texturizer in her hair. Que?
I love that word..."ethnic". Just like I love the word "urban".
I hope she comes to accept her texture and work with what she's got.
I'm sure many of you have heard stories like this before...
A woman made an appointment with the natural stylist at the salon my mother goes to (and me too when in S. Florida), and when she sat down in the chair she told the stylist, "I want to be natural, but I don't want to look ethnic." Then, the woman asked the stylist to put a texturizer in her hair. Que?
I love that word..."ethnic". Just like I love the word "urban".
I hope she comes to accept her texture and work with what she's got.
I'm sure many of you have heard stories like this before...
Re: "I don't want to look ethnic"
The hell is looking ethnic? God. What did the stylist say?
Nali1987- Posts : 210
Join date : 2010-10-07
Location : Amsterdam
Re: "I don't want to look ethnic"
lmao...yeah..i always laugh when i hear the word "urban"...my friend says it's a nice word for black....
fanmnatirel- Posts : 359
Join date : 2010-01-09
Location : Dallas, TX
Re: "I don't want to look ethnic"
@ fanmnatirel It definitely is a euphemism. I was told black DJs back in the 70s called their music "urban" to appeal to white listeners...and now the word won't go away!
Re: "I don't want to look ethnic"
I tell you...
The other day one of my friend came to my house and i was wearing a twist out and a nice t-shirt that has a black woman with an afro...she told me that i looked like i was about to start shouting "Power to black people" ....
idk....
but oh well...
The other day one of my friend came to my house and i was wearing a twist out and a nice t-shirt that has a black woman with an afro...she told me that i looked like i was about to start shouting "Power to black people" ....
idk....
but oh well...
fanmnatirel- Posts : 359
Join date : 2010-01-09
Location : Dallas, TX
Re: "I don't want to look ethnic"
Mom says the stylist had to explain to the woman what the word "natural" means...then had to explain to her all the possibilities of what her texture could be. I really like the stylist and she's pro-natural (she has some awesome dreads), so I know she gave her client great encouragement.
re: that t-shirt...people love to talk.
re: that t-shirt...people love to talk.
Re: "I don't want to look ethnic"
I all but punched out someone who said I looked "too ethnic". I said "Hello: I'M BLACK. OF COURSE I LOOK ETHNIC!!" I tell you...relaxers will mindf*ck a person in the worst way. Seriously.
Re: "I don't want to look ethnic"
LOL do you know for years i wouldn't shop at urban outfitters because i wasn't sure what exactly thy sold there i thought they sold DEREON , Rockawear and all that stuff lol smh @ myslef but i agree the word "ethnic" and "urban" sounds pretty weird why can't being black without a perm just be the way we are why does it have to be something mean something ? people kill me with their ignorance now that i have been enlighten
creolebeauty1- Posts : 938
Join date : 2010-11-02
Re: "I don't want to look ethnic"
My mom wouldn't shop at Old Navy bc she thought it was a thrift store! I do love Urban Outfitters though.
Re: "I don't want to look ethnic"
ChardaeD wrote:My mom wouldn't shop at Old Navy bc she thought it was a thrift store! I do love Urban Outfitters though.
Ha! I used to think it was a thrift store too when they first came to my area.
Niqui36- Posts : 387
Join date : 2009-11-24
Age : 51
Location : Michigan
Re: "I don't want to look ethnic"
I prefer to look ETNIC.....I must say....
Duchess52- Posts : 144
Join date : 2011-01-03
Age : 71
Location : Curacao
Re: "I don't want to look ethnic"
Hmmmm. *side eye*
I find it hard to understand why someone would think that. By saying "ethnic" she's implying that's a bad thing. But then again, fashion designers love to describe certain fabric as "ethnic" or "tribal" so I'm not that surprised.
I find it hard to understand why someone would think that. By saying "ethnic" she's implying that's a bad thing. But then again, fashion designers love to describe certain fabric as "ethnic" or "tribal" so I'm not that surprised.
Re: "I don't want to look ethnic"
My mom just loooooves to tell people I'm going ethnic. She's not really one that supports a natural transition unless you have the soft, shiny curls. Of course ... my hair is uber course and quite possibly lacking a curl pattern (I'm still transitioning, so time will tell.)
Anyways, we were in her driveway the other talking to one of our neighbors and I guess she felt the need to explain why my head looked the way it did. So, out of nowhere, she's like "Jessica's going ethnic." ... Really mama? I mean really ...
I'm black in America ... believe it or not, I was born "ethnic".
Anyways, we were in her driveway the other talking to one of our neighbors and I guess she felt the need to explain why my head looked the way it did. So, out of nowhere, she's like "Jessica's going ethnic." ... Really mama? I mean really ...
I'm black in America ... believe it or not, I was born "ethnic".
JessiWantsCurls- Posts : 130
Join date : 2010-11-22
Age : 39
Location : Houston, TX
Re: "I don't want to look ethnic"
I was just thinking what does ethnic mean? So I turned to trusty Webster's dictionary and found a couple of definitions.
1. : heathen [(a)of or relating to heathens, their religions, or their customs or (b) strange, uncivilized]
2. a : of or relating to large groups of people classed according to common racial, national, tribal, religious, linguistic, or cultural origin or background
b : being a member of a specified ethnic group
c : of, relating to, or characteristic of ethnics
What do you all think about this definition?
1. : heathen [(a)of or relating to heathens, their religions, or their customs or (b) strange, uncivilized]
2. a : of or relating to large groups of people classed according to common racial, national, tribal, religious, linguistic, or cultural origin or background
b : being a member of a specified ethnic group
c : of, relating to, or characteristic of ethnics
What do you all think about this definition?
Last edited by Neems on 31st January 2011, 5:55 pm; edited 1 time in total (Reason for editing : a few typos)
Re: "I don't want to look ethnic"
O HELL no @ the Heathens smh lol wow
creolebeauty1- Posts : 938
Join date : 2010-11-02
Re: "I don't want to look ethnic"
ChardaeD wrote:My mom called me a few minutes ago and shared this story with me:
A woman made an appointment with the natural stylist at the salon my mother goes to (and me too when in S. Florida), and when she sat down in the chair she told the stylist, "I want to be natural, but I don't want to look ethnic." Then, the woman asked the stylist to put a texturizer in her hair. Que?
I love that word..."ethnic". Just like I love the word "urban".
I hope she comes to accept her texture and work with what she's got.
I'm sure many of you have heard stories like this before...
Hi, do you mind please telling me the name of the salon and the stylist? I live in South Florida between college semesters and need to get a trim eventually...
AdriEm- Posts : 95
Join date : 2009-11-11
Age : 31
Location : Jamaica,WI
Re: "I don't want to look ethnic"
creolebeauty1 wrote:O HELL no @ the Heathens smh lol wow
"Heathens"are described as Norse and Germanic peoples who were/are Pagans. Dates back to the Vikings of Norway, Denmark and other northernmost places in Europe. "Heath" comes from "hearth", which is where they had their cooking and ritual fires. The title "heathen" in a negative tone comes from the inquisition when the early church spread from the Mediterranean and into Northern Europe. In Pagan circles, a "heathen" is someone who prays to gods and goddesses of the indiginous culture there (Odin, Freya, Loki, etc.). Therefore, not inherently bad or evil. Just some info, that's all.
Re: "I don't want to look ethnic"
I think the deifinition fits with a certain timeframe. You can't discard the original meaning of a word even if its influence or connotion has changed. That's too much like trying to rewrite history. The meaning of a lot of words has changed over time. Like "bad" meaning good or gay being homosexual as opposed to happy. Words evolve and change just was people do. In more recent or politically correct dictionaries, the 1st meaning is listed but marked as obsolete. Honestly, when people say I look ethnic, how I take it depends on how they SAY it. Most of the time its no biggie. I take it to mean I appear to have gotten back to my roots in some way...
Ambitious_Tiff- Posts : 974
Join date : 2010-12-02
Age : 37
Location : Montgomery, AL
Re: "I don't want to look ethnic"
Ambitious_Tiff wrote:I think the deifinition fits with a certain timeframe. You can't discard the original meaning of a word even if its influence or connotion has changed. That's too much like trying to rewrite history. The meaning of a lot of words has changed over time. Like "bad" meaning good or gay being homosexual as opposed to happy. Words evolve and change just was people do. In more recent or politically correct dictionaries, the 1st meaning is listed but marked as obsolete. Honestly, when people say I look ethnic, how I take it depends on how they SAY it. Most of the time its no biggie. I take it to mean I appear to have gotten back to my roots in some way...
I'm glad you pointed that out. People don't realize that their dictionaries are constantly being edited to fit the current temperament of society. You basically reminded me of George Orwell's 1984, where they're ACTUALLY re-writing history, and re-writing the DICTIONARY to exclude certain words and meanings to replace them with something else. (It's a good read, if you haven't read it already.)
And I do agree with you in taking ethnic to mean I've embraced my heritage: I take it as a compliment, and get PISSED if someone tries to use it as an insult. It's like "How DARE you try to make me feel LESS THAN for being what I am?"
Re: "I don't want to look ethnic"
I've never actually read 1984 but I will check it out. I was never interested b/c I never knew what it was about, lol.
Lol, its so stupid sounding when people try to insult someone with that word? I mean seriously? I'm not at least just as good as you because I choose to love my heritage or just how God made me? Take a Thriller nap.
Lol, its so stupid sounding when people try to insult someone with that word? I mean seriously? I'm not at least just as good as you because I choose to love my heritage or just how God made me? Take a Thriller nap.
Ambitious_Tiff- Posts : 974
Join date : 2010-12-02
Age : 37
Location : Montgomery, AL
Re: "I don't want to look ethnic"
LadyMika wrote:I all but punched out someone who said I looked "too ethnic". I said "Hello: I'M BLACK. OF COURSE I LOOK ETHNIC!!" I tell you...relaxers will mindf*ck a person in the worst way. Seriously.
lmbo right now!! I've looked "neo-soulish" because of my hair... ummm "EARTHY" is another one I've been called, but surprisingly I hadn't crossed ethnic. I will now since I've noticed it.
molove87- Posts : 161
Join date : 2010-08-06
Age : 36
Location : North Carolina
Re: "I don't want to look ethnic"
Totally off-topic, but anyone who has not yet read 1984 needs to do so immediately. The parallels between the book and what is happening in the world today are quite frightening.
I too, don't want my natural hair look to be associated with something 'ethnic' because to me, that word as it is used today is too often synonymous with 'different', 'unusual', even sometimes 'scary'. But then I snap out of my dream world and think about all the fashion photo shoots of naked black women daubed in body paint and I realise that as a chocolate-skinned women my entire self is different, unusual and scary to some. Why should my hair be different?
Then I get depressed and drink heavily because it's 20-freaking-11 and we are still being objectified because of our skin colour and hair texture.
I too, don't want my natural hair look to be associated with something 'ethnic' because to me, that word as it is used today is too often synonymous with 'different', 'unusual', even sometimes 'scary'. But then I snap out of my dream world and think about all the fashion photo shoots of naked black women daubed in body paint and I realise that as a chocolate-skinned women my entire self is different, unusual and scary to some. Why should my hair be different?
Then I get depressed and drink heavily because it's 20-freaking-11 and we are still being objectified because of our skin colour and hair texture.
wyldhoney- Posts : 214
Join date : 2009-10-26
Age : 42
Location : St. Lucia
Re: "I don't want to look ethnic"
Well at first I was like uh uh....Neems wrote:I was just thinking what does ethnic mean? So I turned to trusty Webster's dictionary and found a couple of definitions.
1. : heathen [(a)of or relating to heathens, their religions, or their customs or (b) strange, uncivilized]
2. a : of or relating to large groups of people classed according to common racial, national, tribal, religious, linguistic, or cultural origin or background
b : being a member of a specified ethnic group
c : of, relating to, or characteristic of ethnics
What do you all think about this definition?
but after reading this I'm no longer thinking the 'negativety' towards the word heathenLadyMika wrote:creolebeauty1 wrote:O HELL no @ the Heathens smh lol wow
"Heathens"are described as Norse and Germanic peoples who were/are Pagans. Dates back to the Vikings of Norway, Denmark and other northernmost places in Europe. "Heath" comes from "hearth", which is where they had their cooking and ritual fires. The title "heathen" in a negative tone comes from the inquisition when the early church spread from the Mediterranean and into Northern Europe. In Pagan circles, a "heathen" is someone who prays to gods and goddesses of the indiginous culture there (Odin, Freya, Loki, etc.). Therefore, not inherently bad or evil. Just some info, that's all.
I agree. They better watch their tone!Ambitious_Tiff wrote:I think the deifinition fits with a certain timeframe. You can't discard the original meaning of a word even if its influence or connotion has changed. That's too much like trying to rewrite history. The meaning of a lot of words has changed over time. Like "bad" meaning good or gay being homosexual as opposed to happy. Words evolve and change just was people do. In more recent or politically correct dictionaries, the 1st meaning is listed but marked as obsolete. Honestly, when people say I look ethnic, how I take it depends on how they SAY it. Most of the time its no biggie. I take it to mean I appear to have gotten back to my roots in some way...
I will check out the book; going to Amazon.com now.wyldhoney wrote:I too, don't want my natural hair look to be associated with something 'ethnic' because to me, that word as it is used today is too often synonymous with 'different', 'unusual', even sometimes 'scary'. But then I snap out of my dream world and think about all the fashion photo shoots of naked black women daubed in body paint and I realise that as a chocolate-skinned women my entire self is different, unusual and scary to some. Why should my hair be different?Totally off-topic, but anyone who has not yet read 1984 needs to do so immediately. The parallels between the book and what is happening in the world today are quite frightening.
Then I get depressed and drink heavily because it's 20-freaking-11 and we are still being objectified because of our skin colour and hair texture.
This summer one of my curly friends decided to not do the WNG for awhile and get mini twist- it took all of 3+ hours. Girlfriend cried after the big reveal.... the stylist did a magnificent job but my curly friend said 'it just looks too ethnic for me'. The twist came out after three days smh
She isn't going for the ethnic look.
Umph- Posts : 329
Join date : 2010-08-10
Location : Maryland
Re: "I don't want to look ethnic"
wyldhoney wrote:Totally off-topic, but anyone who has not yet read 1984 needs to do so immediately. The parallels between the book and what is happening in the world today are quite frightening.
I too, don't want my natural hair look to be associated with something 'ethnic' because to me, that word as it is used today is too often synonymous with 'different', 'unusual', even sometimes 'scary'. But then I snap out of my dream world and think about all the fashion photo shoots of naked black women daubed in body paint and I realise that as a chocolate-skinned women my entire self is different, unusual and scary to some. Why should my hair be different?
Then I get depressed and drink heavily because it's 20-freaking-11 and we are still being objectified because of our skin colour and hair texture.
YES! I reference Orwell all the time, because the world he described in the 40s is basically the world we're living in NOW.
Sister, do not wallow in drink or sadness because of society's insistence on painting us as "them" or "those". Once you embrace all that makes you YOU, what the rest of society thinks/says/feels becomes IRRELEVANT and anything they try to do to make you appear or feel "unacceptable" WILL FAIL. Love every inch of yourself, every kink in your hair, and every year/decade/century/EON that our ancestors ruled. They considered themselves descended from their gods, and therefore PERFECT AS THEY WERE CREATED. WE are descended from these same rulers no matter WHAT society says, and therefore WE are perfect as WE were created as well.
Re: "I don't want to look ethnic"
LOL thank you @ ladymika i thought headens was a curse word lol smh @myself very interesting though
creolebeauty1- Posts : 938
Join date : 2010-11-02
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