Agreed. I’ve long believed that “race” is nothing more than a social construct. Each person is an individual.
Every individual does tend to identify with a larger group. Maybe aligning oneself with a group is a survival instinct. But it’s really not much more than that (IMHO).
And braids have been worn in many different cultures since ancient times. It’s a hairstyle that doesn’t “belong” to any one group.
This thread reminded me last night of a Baltimore hairdresser who has made a project of re-creating ancient hairstyles as they appear in works of art; what she’s done is fascinating:
http://www.livescience.com/26112-oldest-roman-hairstyle-recreated.html
I can’t imagine sitting still for the long hairstyling processes that lots of women go through today to get those fancy braids; but apparently we’ve been doing it forever ;-)
-JT