The Jewfro

Seriously, what is up with that haircut? Why is it so common? Is it part of some ritual, do they actually colour their hair? I'm genuinely curious.

A Jewfro (portmanteau of the words Jewish and afro) or Isro (portmanteau of the words Israel and afro) refers to a curly hairstyle worn by certain people of Jewish descent. Similar hair worn by non-Jewish people is usually considered, with humor, to be a Jewfro. Its name is inspired by the afro hairstyle, which it resembles, and builds on a similar history of racial discrimination.[13]

The term has its roots in the 1960s and 1970s when many prominent figures were described as sporting the hairstyle. The Los Angeles Times called college football star Scott Marcus a flower child with "golden brown hair...in ringlets around his head in what he calls a Jewish afro style".[14]

The New York Times in a 1971 article on Harvard University's "hairy" basketball team, wrote that Captain Brian Newmark, "hasn’t had a haircut since last May and his friends have suggested his hairdo is a first cousin to the Afro...in the case of the Jewish Junior from Brooklyn, though, the bushy dark hair that is piled high on his head has been called an Isro."[15] Novelist Judith Rossner was described in a Chicago Tribune profile as the "grown-up Wunderkind with an open, oval face framed by a Jewish Afro."[16]

edited 8th Feb '11 4:58:42 AM by Ardiente

I don't know. I've never been that curious about it to find out. And anyway, it can look pretty cute as long as it's cut kind of short like Andy Samberg's.

If it's good enough for Spike Spiegel, it's good enough for the rest of us lesser mortals.

Is it bad that I'm really into super straight hair?

Always have been. It's not as if I'm trying to marginalize naturally "nappy" hair. I just happen to find the super straight hair pretty, especially in the Hime Cut. I'm not suggesting that anyone straighten their hair, it's just my personal taste. I wish my own hair was a little less frizzy, to be honest. I have long hair, and it's horrible to manage. I use a hair straightener every time I go out.

One friend of mine actually suggested that I use African/Black/Brown hair products to make my hair straighter. Hah hah.

... And now the concept of "Gay Hair" has sprung into my mind and is trying to take some sort of shape...

^ I would advise not searching that on google images. Unless you're like me and happen to like that kind of thing.

Big "NO!"

edited 8th Feb '11 8:17:42 AM by Ardiente

... you searched, didn't you?

No, but my imagination did the job.

I think it's a cool style - as long as you don't overdo it like the last guy! Not sure about the name though.

But I'm also a Hime cut fan.

edited 8th Feb '11 10:02:11 AM by FrodoGoofballCoTV

Jewish hair just tends to be naturally curly. Curly hair, when short, tends to look a bit afro-like. Boys typically have short hair. Thus, the jewfro for Jewish boys.

Heck, I've known quite a few Jewish girls whose hair was a bit jewfro-ish.

My hair is too long to be a Jewfro.

So... it's not some sort of Rite of Passage or something?

Uggh I hate Jewfros so much, they always look so unkempt and mangy, looks like such a mess.

^

Not that I'm aware of, it's just a hairstyle.

I can't think of any rite of passage beyond Bar/Bat Mitsvah but I may be wrong.

There is a specific haircut that Orthodox Jews feel are required but its ot the Jewfro.

Jewfros are ugly. My broher has one. It looks terrible. No jewish people actually wear them.

edited 8th Feb '11 8:24:14 PM by Firestarter

Dude, I know Jewish people who wear them.

My dad wore one when he was in college.

I've seen quite a variety of hairstyle on Jewish people. They're a really diverse people of like of "races" and ethnicities. There are definitely plenty of straight haired Jewish people. But there are also plenty of curly haired Jewish people. I tend to think maybe it's a little more common among Mediterranean people is where the stereotype comes from. Jim Croce also had curly hair, who is an Italian American who converted to Judaism.

I personally think it's a person to person thing. Some people like curly. Some people like straight. I personally like straight, because I am a White Supremacist.

I personally like straight, because I am a White Supremacist.

If I didn't know your political opinions better, I'd find that a really disturbing statement. Knowing them, I think you should probably rephrase...

My friend has one perennially. It's pretty exceptional.

Jewfros are cute and fun to touch. WHEE. CURLY HAIRS.

@Ukon: Hey booooooy, loook what I gooot here! *produces black person* "Hey Where da White Women At??"