White people with dreadlocks: Justin Bieber adds fuel to the cultural appropriation debate

Where does the line fall between cultural appreciation and cultural appropriation? Does it even exist when it comes to personal style? And if so, how big is the margin of error for famous people, specifically?

The questionof whether or not it's okay for white people to wear dreadlocks(or cornrows orafros orany other black hairstyle, for that matter)is polarizing, nuanced, and seemingly impossible to reach a consensus on.

Even justa cursory look at the historical context surrounding this issue could and does fill many books. In the past four monthsalone, more than 770,000 headlines containing the term"cultural appropriation"have been archived by Google, along with millionsof posts on Facebook, Twitter and other social networks.

Simply put, racial hair politics area lot bigger than JustinBieber. But,as the most-recent celebrity to take heat for wearing dreadlocks in the name of fashun, Bieber is where we begin.

The Canadian-born pop star debuted his new platinum blond locs onSundaybothat theiHeartRadio Music Awards in Los Angeles and to his fans on Instagram.

The ensuing wave ofinternetragecrashed fast and hard, giving way to dozens ofbiting thought pieces within just 24 hours of Bieber's original post.

In the video above,shot backstage at the awards show,the singerappears to be having a conversationwith rapper Big Seanabouthow people were reacting to thehairstyle choice.

"[People say] you wanna be black and all that stuff," reads the video's transcription. "I'm like 'its just my hair'."

But, as critics were quick to point out, it's not just hair tothose who wear dreadlocks forcultural, political or religious reasons. Rastafarians in Jamaica for many years faced discrimination based on their appearance, for example.

It's not "just hair" for men and womenwho've been fired, sent home from schooland even physically assaulted over what's on their own heads, either.

"When black people wear these hairstyles that we've worn for decades, we catch flak for them,"saysYesha Callahan, a writer and editorfor the massively-popularAfrican-American news outlet The Root, to CBC News."But when white peoplewear them, they're occasionally considered trendy or 'trendsetters."

She points to the discrepancy in how hairstyles are received when worn by"culture vultures" like the Kardashiansand Bieber,andthe controversial remarks made byFashion Policehost Giuliana Rancicafter actressZendaya Coleman wore fake dreadlocks to the 2015 Oscars.

"When Zendaya Coleman wore even fake dreadlocks, [Rancic]said she looked like she smelled like patchouli and smoked weed," she told CBC News. "After theKardashiansstarted wearing cornrows, KimKardashianrenamed them'Kim Kardashianstyle braids' so it's trendy now."

Kim K and her younger sisters are indeed responsible for one of the hottest hair trends in existence right now andCallahan is far from the only personwho's called outthe reality TV star's"boxer braids" for what they really are.

"Noone is saying that blackpeopleare the only people who can wear dreadlocks," she continued."But there are people who justdo it for a fad who take aspects of other peoples' cultures because they think its stylish who disregard the historical and cultural context of a style."

Of course, the Kardashian / Jenner braids and Bieber dreadlocksarejust a few ofmany, many racially-charged hair controversies to emerge from the worlds of pop culture and fashion in recent years.

From music festivals selling First Nations-style headdresses as fashion accessoriesto Marc Jacobs passing offbantuknots as "mini-buns," there's been no shortage of fodder for angry (in many cases, justifiably so)blog posts about cultural appropriationthis decade.

Just last week, the"white people with dreadlocks" controversy came to yet another head when a video shot at SanFrancisco State University, in which a black student is seen confronting a white student about his hairstyle,went viral.

While Callahan, who covered this story for The Root, believes that the white SFSU student had an understanding of and respect for dreadlocks, she doesn't suspect the same is true for Bieber.

"Justin Biebercan probably care less that Vikings wore dreadlocks, or that East Indians wore dreadlocks, or about any other ancientculturewho wore their hair that way," she told CBC News.

That said, she isn't upset bythe pop star'shair howeverhe chooses to style it.

"I personally don't have any issue with people wearing dreadlocks," she said. "When it comes down to it, you wear your hair how you want to wear your hair. It's not my hair, it's not growing out of my scalp."

Either way, she says, it's likely a short-lived look for the Biebs:"Next week, I'm pretty sure he won't have these dreadlocks."