Thoughts About the New Hairstyles (Gatekeeping and Restrictions)

[-Blue-]

NewLeaf also came out in 2012 and is close to being 10 years old. So that's quite a bit of time from then to here. They made some progress, I will give them that. Hairstyles were only a thing in NL I think. The other games still had you wearing those goofy bull-horns.

Also, the pickle-rick guy wasn't the OP though. The person who was getting ripped apart was probably some young kid who could had just been properly informed instead of having what I can only assume were a handful of adults picking on a child. I mean the OP could very well be an adult. Either way, treating people with respect is something that is foreign to twitter.

 

[kemdi]

NewLeaf also came out in 2012 and is close to being 10 years old. So that's quite a bit of time from then to here. They made some progress, I will give them that. Hairstyles were only a thing in NL I think. The other games still had you wearing those goofy bull-horns.

um, lol no. Harriet was introduced in Wild World, so hairstyles in AC have been a thing for a while. The only game you had to wear horns or triangle hat was the gamecube one.

 

[Berrymia]

Here are some more thoughts on that matter. I want more diverse hairstyles. For all ethnicities. Like, a bigger variety

And I think that the new hair styles should be added as a starter hair style imo. Like, when you start your island. I agree it took too long that Nintendo added these but better later than never i guess?

Also, a hijab for our Muslim friends? Represention matters

 

[Dracule]

um, lol no. Harriet was introduced in Wild World, so hairstyles in AC have been a thing for a while. The only game you had to wear horns or triangle hat was the gamecube one.

That’s why the OP said “I think”—they weren’t entirely sure, but the point still stands about the length of time it’s taken for AC to reach real global popularity. It blew up in quarantine, so now Nintendo had no choice but to start hearing and incorporating other ethnicities.

Harriet’s salon was incredibly limited. Just look here: https://nookipedia.com/wiki/Hairstyle. Basically, as the AC community expanded, so did the list of hairstyles. Now in NH we have skin colors, way more hair colors, and now different types of hair textures and styles. This stuff takes time when there isn’t a big enough voice to make Nintendo (a JAPANESE company) take notice. We still have a long way to go, but this is what I love about the community and how it shows the good in activism. C:

Post automatically merged: Nov 21, 2020

Here are some more thoughts on that matter. I want more diverse hairstyles. For all ethnicities. Like, a bigger variety

And I think that the new hair styles should be added as a starter hair style imo. Like, when you start your island. I agree it took too long that Nintendo added these but better later than never i guess?

Also, a hijab for our Muslim friends? Represention matters

I would love head scarves and wraps! I’ve seen so many beautiful ones worn by black people and muslims.

 

[kemdi]

That’s why the OP said “I think”—they weren’t entirely sure, but the point still stands about the length of time it’s taken for AC to reach real global popularity. It blew up in quarantine, so now Nintendo had no choice but to start hearing and incorporating other ethnicities.

Harriet’s salon was incredibly limited. Just look here: https://nookipedia.com/wiki/Hairstyle. Basically, as the AC community expanded, so did the list of hairstyles. Now in NH we have skin colors, way more hair colors, and now different types of hair textures and styles. This stuff takes time when there isn’t a big enough voice to make Nintendo (a JAPANESE company) take notice. We still have a long way to go, but this is what I love about the community and how it shows the good in activism. C:

Post automatically merged: Nov 21, 2020

I would love head scarves and wraps! I’ve seen so many beautiful ones worn by black people and muslims.

...
Ok, so please don't take this the wrong way, but like, are you guys new? Like is NH your first AC game ever? Uh..yeah, I really don't know how to ask without sounding like a grindy jerk, so I'm genuinely sorry if I come off that way. But I'm really curious.

 

[Dracule]

...
Ok, so please don't take this the wrong way, but like, are you guys new? Like is NH your first AC game ever? Uh..yeah, I really don't know how to ask without sounding like a grindy jerk, so I'm genuinely sorry if I come off that way. But I'm really curious.

I’ve played Animal Crossing since it first came out for GameCube. I remember my older brother first bringing home AC for all of us to play. It had just enough house slots for me, him, and our two other siblings. We’ve all played the different additions throughout the years—but I wasn’t always able to get certain AC games because I was young and didn’t have the money. I still kept up with it the best I could through my siblings who could afford it.

But, to be honest, you even phrasing it this way makes it sound like you’re more knowledgeable and therefore our opinion is wrong compared to your initial statement. The certain words/phrases you use like “like,” “uh.. yeah,” “are you guys new?,” come off extremely passive-aggressive. In combination, these might be connected to negative vocal tone as well, so reading this already makes me listen to what the sound of your voice could be, even if it’s not your intention. What’s more is that I gave a link for you to check out Harriet for yourself and the hairstyle history, but you don’t offer any counter-argument to what I have to say. Instead, if any of us were to even say we’re new to AC, then you’d likely use it against us as a way to make your argument more sound. (I don’t know why else you would ask the two of us if we were new and if NH was the only version of AC we’ve played.)

(Got into a bit of an argument, but kemdi and I needed to work it out better, so I do stand with my initial post—but I should’ve worded myself better and not as argumentatively!)

 

[kemdi]

I’ve played Animal Crossing since it first came out for GameCube. I remember my older brother first bringing home AC for all of us to play. It had just enough house slots for me, him, and our two other siblings. We’ve all played the different additions throughout the years—but I wasn’t always able to get certain AC games because I was young and didn’t have the money. I still kept up with it the best I could through my siblings who could afford it.

But, to be honest, you even phrasing it this way makes it sound like you’re more knowledgeable and therefore our opinion is wrong compared to your initial statement. The certain words/phrases you use like “like,” “uh.. yeah,” “are you guys new?,” come off extremely passive-aggressive. In combination, these might be connected to negative vocal tone as well, so reading this already makes me listen to what the sound of your voice could be, even if it’s not your intention. What’s more is that I gave a link for you to check out Harriet for yourself and the hairstyle history, but you don’t offer any counter-argument to what I have to say. Instead, if any of us were to even say we’re new to AC, then you’d likely use it against us as a way to make your argument more sound. (I don’t know why else you would ask the two of us if we were new and if NH was the only version of AC we’ve played.)

Yeah, I kind of write how I talk. It's a personal habit. But I'm working on it! And yes, I did check out your link. I had no contention with it though. Its just there wasn't much there for me to discuss because I didn't disagree with it. I know when Harriet came, that's why I was asking if you guys(well moreso the other person) were new. Harriet coming in WW isn't an opinion its a fact. I had no issue with the link. :/ I read what they said, and I was just saying that hairstyles have been a thing for like, a long time. I don't have an argument because there isn't one. The other guy said Hairstyles weren't a thing until NL, I said that wasn't true. My tone can't be heard through the internet, so that's my fault. But it wasn't meant to be rude. And then you kinda just came at me like a bull for saying that? So I was asking if you guys were new, cause that's a really off thing to do when I said hairstyles have been a thing for a while. I wasn't being passive aggressive. From my perspective, you're really...not even passive, just...aggressive.

 

[Dracule]

Yeah, I kind of write how I talk. It's a personal habit. But I'm working on it! And yes, I did check out your link. I had no contention with it though. Its just there wasn't much there for me to discuss because I didn't disagree with it. I know when Harriet came, that's why I was asking if you guys(well moreso the other person) were new. Harriet coming in WW isn't an opinion its a fact. I had no issue with the link. :/ I read what they said, and I was just saying that hairstyles have been a thing for like, a long time. I don't have an argument because there isn't one. The other guy said Hairstyles weren't a thing until NL, I said that wasn't true. My tone can't be heard through the internet, so that's my fault. But it wasn't meant to be rude. And then you kinda just came at me like a bull for saying that? So I was asking if you guys were new, cause that's a really off thing to do when I said hairstyles have been a thing for a while. I wasn't being passive aggressive. From my perspective, you're really...not even passive, just...aggressive.

I sometimes have a habit with certain ways I phrase things, so I totally understand. And honestly, I’m very sorry I came across so defensively and strongly. The response sounded passive-aggressive, so I went into argumentation mode, and I really should’ve just responded with my first paragraph and asked why you wanted to know if we were new. I guess I got more defensive with the wording and also cus you didn’t mention anything else about my Harriet response, so that only enhanced how I was writing. Sorry, friend . And I also wasn’t trying to be passive-aggressive back, nor aggressive, but basically defensively argumentative, which I guess is worse in a lot of ways :u. Unless people put all sorts of emotes, or phrase things softer, then idk how to take it, so I usually try to respond nicer—unless it’s like in this context with our conversation. Again, I should’ve checked myself better, and I’m glad you owned up to your own faults with typing.

 

[Bilaz]

Yeah I have to agree though New Leaf was really the first game where you could properly *see* the hairstyles. In city folk and ESPECIALLY Wild World they were just kinda... alterations of the gamecube girl ‘hair’ and it was kinda hard to tell what it even was? Like you could imagine those hairstyles as poofy or straight as you wanted because the resolution was so low

 

[Faux]

Legitimately saw someone saying white people who play as POC people in video games are doing it for kicks, and are able to ' turn off their blackness and go back to their privileged lives ' whenever they want, whereas POC people cannot, and I just. I had to sit down for awhile after that.

Like.
Do you suddenly gain white privilege when you play as a white character in a game? No??? I wonder why that is ... ? Because it is a video game and your avatar is not you. It can be a self insert if you want it to be, but it's still not you. It does not impact your life in the way an IRL interaction can.

People need to stop with this crap.

 

[Bilaz]

I have a question I hope someone could help me answer. I’d ask on other social media but I’m afraid of asking in case I say something wrong.

It’s about the cornrows hairstyle.
So far what I understand is that it’s a protective hairstyle for black people’s hair. That it has massive cultural significance amongst American black people due to a long history and that black people are protective of their hairstyles because they face discrimination for it
I definitely understand all of this.

What I’m confused about is that I distinctly remember in summers in the 2000s that there were a lot of North African and Middle Eastern women braiding tourists’ hair like that along the coast in like Spain? For money?

Is there also a history of this hairstyle around the Mediterranean or was that a trend based off of black people’s hair like it is now? I really want to be educated about this but I can’t find anything about it other than the history of it in America alone.

Thanks if anyone knows the answer!
As for the Animal Crossing hairs, I won’t be using it myself but I really appreciate the opinions of black people who have spoken up about this here, and I’m glad there are finally different hair types!

 

[Crowsie]

<- Black person. Here are my two cents:

I've been wearing odango hair, ao dais, saris, cheongsams, geisha wigs, china poblanas, and kimonos since the game launched and no one's said anything to me about appropriation. I'm not Asian or Latina, so going by these rules I should be 'disallowed' from dressing up in another culture's garb? No. Because it's a game.

When it comes down to it, I get where they're coming from. Like, I get it. Us black people have long had to endure people taking things considered 'uncouth' or 'unprofessional' on us only to turn them around, give them quirky-cute name like 'mini knots', then turn them into a trend much more palatable to the greater, less melanated, populace. It's the bread and butter of the Kardashian-Jenners and everyone knows it. There's a lot of residual upset in the community over this. We're told time and time again that styles and fashions that we've coined are ghetto and ugly when we wear them. But once an outsider comes in and cops it, it's all of a sudden cute or a daring statement.

But like, in AC? Gatekeeping and throwing arbitrary rules on who can wear what on their little bundles of pixel and code? Nonsense. They're fighting a battle that just isn't there and making themselves look all the way dumb in the process.



Non-issues like this are why people's eyes roll when 'cultural appropriation' even gets brought up.

It's a video game. Let people wear whatever hair they want.

 

[ForgottenT]

They're numbskulls addicted to hate, outrage, and control/power.
Just ignore them.

 

[Neprezi]

To be honest, I haven't actually seen any PoC who are upset about this. 90% of twitter controversy just seems to be white people getting mad on behalf of black people.

 

[Crowsie]

To be honest, I haven't actually seen any PoC who are upset about this. 90% of twitter controversy just seems to be white people getting mad on behalf of black people.

As always...
I didn't want to say-so before in order to not speak for any POC who may have any (unwarranted) upset over this, but it's really how it is. Out of all the outrage I've seen, only one or maybe two confirmed POCs have chimed in. Other than that, it's just been white Gen Z twitter denizens who rally their troops at the slightest provocation.

 

[Maiana]

<- Black person. Here are my two cents:

When it comes down to it, I get where they're coming from. Like, I get it. Us black people have long had to endure people taking things considered 'uncouth' or 'unprofessional' on us only to turn them around, give them quirky-cute name like 'mini knots', then turn them into a trend much more palatable to the greater, less melanated, populace. It's the bread and butter of the Kardashian-Jenners and everyone knows it. There's a lot of residual upset in the community over this. We're told time and time again that styles and fashions that we've coined are ghetto and ugly when we wear them. But once an outsider comes in and cops it, it's all of a sudden cute or a daring statement.

But like, in AC? Gatekeeping and throwing arbitrary rules on who can wear what on their little bundles of pixel and code? Nonsense. They're fighting a battle that just isn't there and making themselves look all the way dumb in the process.

100% agree. To me, it's not cute outside of AC because this is a real-life issue black people face Worldwide.

But in a game like Animal Crossing? People gotta let this one rest lol

 

[AssassinVicz]

I understand the update has brought in more inclusive hairstyles and it’s great that people can now create a character which represents them.

However I feel like a lot of people are over-reacting on Twitter and the gate keeping issues is just making it worse.
Nintendo didn’t label the new hair types for anyone in particular and If your hair is any of the new types, then use them.

That’s it.

 

[eggie_]

*Note these screen shots are not of my Twitter. I don't own one these are of someone else I follow on a different social website.
So...here we go again we have more gate keeping of hair styles. Imo I don't see anything wrong with the original post and find it cute.
DO PEOPLE FORGET THAT WHITE PEOPLE CAN ALSO HAVE CURLY HAIR ? IT IS LITERALLY POSSIBLE IRL "sHe kNew wHat sHe wAs doiNG" she's probably 12 playing acnh calling those space buns in fact I'M a POC AT 18 CALLING THEM LITTLE THINGS SPACE BUNS bruh i'm a black person saying it's just a game like chill dude it's just a game be appreciative that Nintendo even added these in. I feel bad for this player he/she probably is just twelve calling them cute space buns and I find it wholesome but sensitive people are getting so up in arms about a video game it'd be different if this was irl and she was a random white girl trying to have afro puffs but even then how are to assume she's just white? She could easily be white and African and just have pale skin and curly hair that is a thing. She could be black and white and again have pale skin and curly hair seen it on youtube. Before calling out a person out make sure you have all the facts straight. Curly hair isn't just limited to dark people not all black people look the same.
Edit: It's actually racist of them to say that basically black people are only dark with curly hair. I guess mixed people just don't exist.

That's just my take of this situation..what's your opinion of these screenshots ?
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yeah wow i hate everything about these screenshots. literally everyone is being reactionary and just assuming they know everything about op's life, ethnicity, hair texture, education level, age, etc based on one animal crossing screenshot.
personally i wont be using the new hair styles because i have wavy hair, not curly/kinky. theyre obviously not made for me. however, me not using them as a white person doesn't make me morally superior to any white person who does use them - it is just a game. on the other hand, i think its absolutely understandable why POC would be protective over this.

the people commenting on her use of the afro puffs have the right intentions i think, but i do not like how polarizing they are acting. its also exhausting to have to constantly explain everything with nothing but the utmost patience, though..... i do get why people would be defensive/aggressive/snippy. but if its a typed message on social media, and not a heat-of-the-moment irl conversation, i feel its a bit different. like, youre typing it out, not just blurting these things. that obnoxious and 100% racist guy replying to everyone had the time to think and educate himself and understand why people were saying what they were saying before he commented. everyone being snippy towards the girl had the time to look at her account, make sure their assumptions are right, etc. likewise, the girl had the time to make sure she was using the correct terminology before posting. if they didnt truly have the time, none of them would be on social media typing out a response and scrolling thru their timeline, tbh. but again, i think everyones comments are basically fair - i understand what they're saying. (except for that everything zen guy god just obnoxious)

 

[Vintage Viola]

I mean, real life is it’s own conversation, but this is a game. The hairstyles were put in there specially for people to use them, just like anything else. If you wanna use them for any of your avatars then go ahead. By that logic, nobody should be using any of the Japanese wigs, clothes, and furniture unless they’re actually Japanese.

 

[John Wick]

People, black or white, can choose whatever hairstyles they like.

It's just a game!

I have a half black character in my town.
My wife plays Halle Berry's John Wick character Sofia Al-Azwar.

She can wear whatever hairstyle she wants.

I think some folks just can't exist without some form of drama.

Just move on, ignore the morons, and play AC the way YOU want to.