9 Things You Can Do To Stop Hair Discrimination

Hair Discrimination has crept into every area of our lives, including the sports ground. Anything from skin color, dress size, ethnicity, or hair type has been discriminated against in the past.

The dictionary gives two different meanings of the word discrimination. One would be the unjust or prejudicial treatment of different categories of people. The more positive description is listed as recognizing and understanding the difference between one thing and another.

One sure way of overcoming discrimination would be to practice unconditional acceptance. For hair discrimination to stop, there are a few things you can do:

1. Embracing Uniqueness

Everyone has unique features, including hairstyles, colors, and types. Instead of being biased against these characteristics, embrace them. 

Accepting that every person has features that make them uniquely who they are, includes our thoughts about our hair. Every person should embrace their beautiful qualities by allowing others to do the same. Each one should be able to go about their career or hobbies without hostile treatment, like discrimination against hair in sports activities, for example.

2. Let Go Of Things That Can’t Be Changed

There is absolutely nothing we can do about another person’s hair. They were born with a specific color, texture, and type that no one has control over. 

If it can’t be changed, we should accept that this attribute is something they will have for the rest of their lives, regardless of our thoughts about their hair.

3. Identify Their Strengths

Looking for the features that stand out about that person would prevent thoughts of what we do not like. Finding their strengths would change the focus from the negative aspects to the more positive ones.

Perhaps the person is an excellent goalie, swims the fastest in the team, or has a brilliant dancing technique. Changing the mindset could overcome the discriminating thoughts popping up.

4. Celebrate Their Accomplishments- Hair Discrimination

Sharing a team or personal achievement builds a good team spirit. This sharing is the perfect opportunity to set differences aside and practice acceptance.

The person accomplished that goal without their hair affecting the outcome, which means their hair had nothing to do with their abilities. They are not a better or worse sportsman because of their hair.

5. Plan Interactions

Setting a plan for interactions with the other person would help avoid discriminating behavior and comments.

It may be helpful to roleplay some scenarios before the next interaction and memorize some responses and positive thoughts about the person. Constantly having reminders to focus on the person’s positive attributes wouldn’t leave much room for other ideas.

6. Be Kind And Compassionate

Kindness and compassion could go a long way to strengthen the bonds of a relationship, albeit a sport-related one.

If someone is being nice to someone else and cares about them as a person, it allows them to discover other characteristics that could be appreciated. Empathy could also be included as part of compassion, and it would open up opportunities for someone to put themselves in others’ shoes.

7. Set A Goal For Practicing Acceptance

As with any sport, the more effort is made, the better the results will be. The same could be said for practicing acceptance.

Find opportunities or situations to practice these skills in, set a goal, and record the outcome. After a month, see how much progress was made and where improvements could still be made. When areas were identified where more work could be done, make a conscious effort when faced with a similar situation in the future.

8. Get Involved

The best place to practice inclusivity and acceptance is wherever you are. And the more activities you’re involved in, the more people you’re able to influence, creating a platform to practice the newly learned acceptance skills.

Seeing people in different settings off of the sports field would show more of that person and their other qualities. Communities frequently have activities that allow a vast array of people to join in, and getting involved would help make a difference for the community and the self

9. Find Support Systems

If acceptance is complicated or more struggles to overcome, a support system could help. Other people going through similar situations may provide insight and knowledge about their efforts.

It may be easier to overcome when recognizing that others feel the same. As individuals, we may not have the capacity to find solutions for issues or problems, but we may find solace in a group.

 

Driving Home The Goal

Accepting others starts with our self-acceptance. Before we can extend this to someone else, we need to practice it ourselves. Of course, this is not a natural thing for us as our brains are wired to seek out the negative or bad to protect us. With practice, it would become more manageable, and we can retrain our brains to be more positive and, in the process, more accepting of other people’s hair instead of discriminating against it.