Countless accusations, praises and comments have always fallen to the lady folks’ corner for harbouring the craziest ideas concerning their beauty.
Such ideas range from the appearance of
their hair, its texture, to various colours on their nails as dictated
by the trends. However, despite the criticism, everything pertaining to
physical appearance can be resized, renamed, redesigned and re-done—to
one’s comfort—without minding the creator’s initial purpose, approach
and definition of the subject in recreation.
I am, nonetheless, fascinated with the
concern men have taken on to rebrand the appearance of their bodily
features, ranging from pedicure to bleaching; something my innocent mind
attributes to the gender that does not fully appreciate the beauty
embedded in the true identity of an African.
Obviously, everyone has a choice of
hairstyle, although a lot of dust can be raised particularly about a man
with dreadlocks. Many people, especially the elderly, have had a fair
share of lamentations about the waning image of an African man in
several aspects; dreadlocks being one of the fading, unappreciated
hairstyles.
Some people argue that men should not
plait or have hair like women do; while others maintain that it is just
part of living in a dynamic world.
How do dreadlocks, therefore, play out
for the corporate man? Do they have to be an inch-long or as one may
please? Is it about the rules and regulations about one’s
job/profession? Or is it about self?
With the new fashion trends that have
been attributed to the Western influence, just like women, men have
broken out to taste the mysteries of having preferred hairstyles. While
most men are comfortable with shaving their heads bald, others do not
mind combing and patting their afros for work. It all seems to revolve
around comfort.
Well, if the afro can pass for the corporate man, what about the dreadlocks?
Ronald Irumba, a hairstylist and owner
of Iruro hair and style unisex salon in Mutungo, a Kampala suburb, says
people who used to do dreadlocks in the past were associated with common
vices—they were usually smokers, drug users, the jobless and lumpens of
the time. He reveals that they did not take care of their dreadlocks
and thus created a wrong perception in the minds of many about this
hairstyle.
“However, nowadays people are getting
used to it because dreadlocks have no problem. I receive male clients of
different classes including the corporate men,” he says.
He adds that his clients trust him
because he advises them about how to properly take care of themselves to
fit in the work environment without any grimace of disgust.
He adds: “With time, society will be
okay with it because the people wearing dreadlocks are perfectly in good
shape, sane and responsible. Actually, the number is increasing each
day.”
Banet Mutungi, an engineer with Watoto
Limited, says having dreadlocks should not be a yardstick for measuring
one’s character, lifestyle or ability to deliver at work. He, however,
maintains that in the corporate world, it is not safe for people such as
managers to have dreadlocks because their subordinates and clientele
might have different perceptions of such a hairstyle.
“I worked with them [dreadlocks]. My
mates, friends and clients can testify that my work ethos, character and
performance were just fine and excellent irrespective of my hair,’’ he
says. “[However], I chopped them [dreadlocks] when I felt it was time
and I wanted to have a change. Coincidentally, it was simultaneous with
the fact that I was getting a higher position at work,”
He advises that dreadlocks should be
well taken care of, kept neat and at a reasonable length if one decides
to have them. Because human nature is rational, it is a matter of choice
for a corporate man to settle for such a hairstyle as long as he is not
discomforting the people around him.
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