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Black barbers have become mental health advocates for African American men

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Re: Black barbers have become mental health advocates for African American men

#111

Post by nobodyandproud »

whatshisface wrote: post #18

If HN can look past the usual tropes, there's something interesting here. Lewis is trying to solve a problem a lot of other people are trying to solve: how can you have a normal community in US culture? Let me list a few solutions and you will see why his is better than average. 1. Religion. Pros: Going to church has tied communities together for millennia, and if you could just find some better pastors, it could con…

1. Religion: Other pros:

- Highly tailored to cultural nuances. Many immigrant communities only have religion as their fallback. I cannot overstate how important this is to such communities.

- In some cases, a diverse set of people and backgrounds from different points in their life.

- Many religions instill a sense of humility.

Other cons: - By nature ripe for abuse, without checks and balances in the structure.

- A lot of work and time/financial commitment by its members.

- In practice, some of the nastiest and most egotistical people I’ve met attend churches.

Re: Black barbers have become mental health advocates for African American men

#112

Post by jimkleiber »

whatshisface wrote: post #92
klyrs wrote: post #86

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There's also therapy. Way more expensive than a haircut, and it's highly stigmatized especially among men. It doesn't provide community, per se, but it can help a person work through the issues that are making it hard for them to find and keep friends. And, yeah. A barbershop is a decent stand-in.

In an ideal world there would be a professionalism gradient for mental health the same way there is for physical health. The physical health gradient starts with yourself (trying to eat healthy), passes through your friends casually assisting (participating in outdoor activities, discussing food, telling you they're staying home because they're sick), then hits easily accessible treatments (pharmacy), moves on to mor…

I really appreciate this comment. What I've seen in my life is that if I call it mental health, I probably still see it as disjointed as that. If I call it emotional health, it seems to open up a much broader spectrum of services. Then me calling my friend and talking about how I'm feeling, about my stress, confusion, anger, joy, excitement, dreams and fears, helps me to process some of those feelings and share them more. And it doesn't have to be a friend, it can be journaling to myself, or talking to a barber or someone on a plane or someone at a bar, or someone via online forums. It could even include the physical activity as well, as I like to define emotional = mental + physical. So going for a run or a swim or throwing a ball with a friend can provide avenues for this as well. At least for me, I find the term "emotional health" helps me see the gradient more.

Re: Black barbers have become mental health advocates for African American men

#113

Post by racl101 »

Because I have thick hair that grows fast I have to go to the barber often. So when I go to a barber I go for the quietest most disinterested barber I can find. I'm not good at doing small talk with the people cutting my hair. If they don't speak English even better.

Thankfully my hair is simple to cut, although.

Re: Black barbers have become mental health advocates for African American men

#114

Post by whymauri »

hhs wrote: post #108
whatshisface wrote: post #18

If HN can look past the usual tropes, there's something interesting here. Lewis is trying to solve a problem a lot of other people are trying to solve: how can you have a normal community in US culture? Let me list a few solutions and you will see why his is better than average. 1. Religion. Pros: Going to church has tied communities together for millennia, and if you could just find some better pastors, it could con…

> Lewis is trying to solve a problem a lot of other people are trying to solve: how can you have a normal community in US culture? Indeed, in sociology this building of community is typically called the 'third place' [0]. [0]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Third_place

Oh wow, this is a great Wiki article -- thank you for sharing!

Re: Black barbers have become mental health advocates for African American men

#115

Post by randomopining »

lemmsjid wrote: post #106
randomopining wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's my point. You share language, el mundo espanol, etc. That's true cultural linkage. Whereas a "white" person from Ireland and a "white" person from Ukraine have very very little in common. A "black" person from South Africa and a "black" person from Colombia have very very little in common. And yet these are the main descriptors used in pop culture, Instagram, the media... and it's silly.

By focusing on shared experience of cultural context or upbringing, you're ignoring the shared experience of how people are treated by others. People do have things in common based on skin color. For example, my sister is Filipina. She lives in a white dominated area which has a lot of xenophobia about Mexican immigrants. She has experienced several events where she gets mistaken as Mexican, simply by her skin color…

I agree with what you said. Good comment.

My only issue is the level at which that single one-word descriptor is used above all others. So much focus is placed on "black" "white" etc... that it devalues the nuance of other descriptors. Like "immigrant", "rich", "poor", "college-educated" etc.

Re: Black barbers have become mental health advocates for African American men

#116

Post by truckerbill »

umvi wrote: post #65
chickenpotpie wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

“ What does a "black" person from Sierra Leone have in common with a "black" person from the deserts in the northeast of Africa?” They face the same discrimination in America and in that they find companionship

> They face the same discrimination in America and in that they find companionship Do they, though? I think African Americans and African immigrants face very different problems in America. My next door neighbors on one side are from Ghana, my next door neighbors on the other side are African Americans. They have very different issues that they deal with and their lifestyles couldn't be more different. My Ghana neigh…

That's what happens when you enslave a portion of your population, then begrudingly free them but then hold it against them for multiple generations.

That doesn't mean both groups aren't discriminated against.

Re: Black barbers have become mental health advocates for African American men

#118

Post by packetslave »

umvi wrote: post #7

Reminds me of the Pixar movie "Soul" (which is very good)

There's an outstanding featurette on Disney+ about "Soul" (part of the "Inside Pixar" series, I think) where Kemp Powers, the co-director and screenwriter talks specifically about adding the barbershop scene(s) because it's such an important part of the African-American culture.

Re: Black barbers have become mental health advocates for African American men

#119

Post by MisterBastahrd »

randomopining wrote: post #47
sergiomattei wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A shared set of experiences. I'm Latino, and when I visit the United States I get along well with other Latino folk because we share a set of experiences we can relate to. We probably grew up in different places but there's a background we have in common, like our language. It's called culture.

That's my point. You share language, el mundo espanol, etc. That's true cultural linkage. Whereas a "white" person from Ireland and a "white" person from Ukraine have very very little in common. A "black" person from South Africa and a "black" person from Colombia have very very little in common. And yet these are the main descriptors used in pop culture, Instagram, the media... and it's silly.

What's silly is your characterization of these barber shops.

We're talking about black American males who are local to their barbers and they use the time to talk about the issues that affect them.

There are literally movies (Coming to America, the Barbershop) and TV shows (The Shop: Uninterrupted) which directly feature these concepts. So if they're as unimportant and silly as you suggest, then why are they so prominent?

Could it possibly be because these people find the experience important in a way that you've missed?

Re: Black barbers have become mental health advocates for African American men

#120

Post by jedimastert »

dragonwriter wrote: post #102
jedimastert wrote: post #75

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Cons: You can't go if you don't have the money for a haircut. This is something that people are unaware of (sort of on purpose), but barbershops in black communities become ad-hoc community centers, where black men can just go and be among other black men. Gatherings of black men were (and are) seen as suspicious or "gang-related", but if there's a large gathering of black men at a barbershop, they're all just ther…

> This is something that people are unaware of (sort of on purpose), but barbershops in black communities become ad-hoc community centers, where black men can just go and be among other black men Originally, it may have been a kinda-sorta-secret, but given the prominent role that barbershop-as-Black-social-nexus has played in popular media portrayals of Black American communities targeting general (not just Black) au…

I think the ignorance in these comments say otherwise...
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