Can I teach English in Japan with Dreadlocks (country, place, people)

[cleveland mitchell]

Hello my name is Cleveland Mitchell im a junior in College getting my bachelors in education majoring in English I already have all my TEFL certs just so it can put me on the top of the list Im 26 years old African American im pretty clean cut no tattoos or piercings but I have been growing my dreadlocks for 8 years it has always been my dream to teach english and work in Japan but my hair has became kind of my identity and more then just a hair style to me but a physical representation of my growth over the years and I read in japan its more about conforming then being yourself and its already difficult for african americans to get a job over the typical westerner look blue eyes and blonde hair just wanted to see other peoples opinion on a highly qualified young graduate possibly being held back because of his hair

[antinimby]

Why don't you just give it a try and if it doesn't work then cut it off? Frankly, your dreadlocks look wouldn't go well in many workplaces in this country either.

[cleveland mitchell]

Originally Posted by antinimby

Why don't you just give it a try and if it doesn't work then cut it off? Frankly, your dreadlocks look wouldn't go well in many workplaces in this country either.

I am regardless just looking for opinions

[theunbrainwashed]

Dreadlocks are not seen as professional in tne US. They won't be in Japan and they look down on the unusual there. There's a saying in Japanese, if a nail sticks out it must be hammered down. If tne dreadlocks are that important to you, Asia isn't the place for you.

[cleveland mitchell]

Originally Posted by theunbrainwashed

Dreadlocks are not seen as professional in tne US. They won't be in Japan and they look down on the unusual there. There's a saying in Japanese, if a nail sticks out it must be hammered down. If tne dreadlocks are that important to you, Asia isn't the place for you.

Have u taught English in Japan

[theunbrainwashed]

Originally Posted by cleveland mitchell

Have u taught English in Japan

No, but my mom married her second husband, who is Asian, when I was a kid and grew up with an Asian family. I may have not taught in Japan, but I know the Asian mentality better than most Americans. There's only 1 or 2 guys on here who have taught in Japan, one of them is Tiger Beer, but none of them are black. I can't say with honesty there is any black poster on here that taught in Japan. The closest thing to minority you have on here is me, a Hispanic, and Medalyyunko or whatever, he's also Hispanic.

[415_s2k]

Moderator cut: against TOS

People will definitely stare - if you're a foreigner in Asia, even if you live in a foreigner-heavy area, people will stare at you frequently enough. I'm a white guy with a psychobilly wedge hairstyle in China and I get stared at frequently; whether I had my hair in a buzz, a short-to-medium normal haircut, a beard, a fu manchu, doesn't matter, I get stared at because I'm not Asian, and I don't have straight, black hair and dark brown eyes.

If you go through with it, just know that most of the stares that you get are from simple curiosity and not any ill will. I have red facial hair and had a beard for a long time here; I got stared at tons, people would ask to touch it, or occasionally wouldn't ask and would just touch it anyways. As far as it affecting your job; if you are in Toyko or Osaka, and your dreds are neat/tight and you can pull them back, then it may be okay. In rural or suburban Japan, maybe less so. If you are going to go through the JET program, then they will put you where they need you, which may indeed be in suburban or rural areas (a friend of mine stated she was only interested in going to Tokyo, Osaka, or Yokohama, and got a peripheral area of Kobe; another only wanted to go to rural Northern Japan to live out some sort of samurai fantasy thing, and instead got Toyko). JET's interview process can be pretty quiet and hands-off, and they will probably take your appearance into account; being black won't affect it much as there are plenty of African American and African English teachers in Japan, but if they think that your hair could damage your chances of going, they may reject you without giving you a specific reason.

In other parts of Asia, it can vary wildly... in China, your chances would be really slim, even in a city like Shanghai or Beijing. HK it would be more permissible but still less-than-desirable for teaching, though in all these places, you may be able to get modeling gigs if you're in good physical shape too. In Thailand or the Philippines, people would be more OK with it, and you have smaller but still-existent cultures of rockers and reggae fans who have dreds themselves. No matter where you go, I think the key is to make sure that they are really neat and well-kept; having them loose and wild will probably diminish your chances.

[Irene-cd]

Originally Posted by theunbrainwashed

No, but my mom married her second husband, who is Asian, when I was a kid and grew up with an Asian family. I may have not taught in Japan, but I know the Asian mentality better than most Americans. There's only 1 or 2 guys on here who have taught in Japan, one of them is Tiger Beer, but none of them are black. I can't say with honesty there is any black poster on here that taught in Japan. The closest thing to minority you have on here is me, a Hispanic, and Medalyyunko or whatever, he's also Hispanic.

there is not a single asian mentality

the chinese are very different from the japanese

the thai don't have the same mentality as vietnamese

a south korean has very little if nothing in common with a malaysian

Moderator cut: off topic

[Oldhag1]

Please stay on topic. This is not the writing forum, it a forum about Asia. The topic of this post is whether or not having dreadlocks will be a barrier to teaching English in Japan.

[jtur88]

oops.