Cultural misappropriation and hair

[meandthem]

Am I being unreasonable to object to ethnicity being a factor in respect of what hairstyle choices women are "allowed"? I am pissed of that it now seems acceptable for some styles to be considered cultural misappropriation. What happened to the sisterhood and feminism and women's right to do what the hell we want with our hair!

One point to bear in mind is how disheartening it is to see racism played out in a scenario like...
an African-american woman is fired from her job/made to leave school for wearing her hair natural or in locs.
A white woman doing the same thing is able to do so with impunity.

Yeah I think that's the crux of this here. I also remember Asian people saying when the bindis etc were popular in the UK a while back, people in my community have been called names, laughed at for smelling of curry etc when they wear their traditional clothes, but as soon as a white person wears the trappings of it, that's fine and in all the magazines as the latest look. I think if black and brown people didn't so often get stick for wearing braids etc, there wouldn't be the same complaints when white people do it.

It is a different context in the UK to the US though, that's true. It's not that we don't have racism, but we're living on land where for many of the white people, our ancestors did wear braided hairstyles too.

Lastly, I'd agree about straight hair being seen as more professional, cleaner etc. I am a white person with curly hair and have some experience of that- my natural texture isn't good enough. I've had more compliments on the whole, probably, but it definitely exists and if it's happening to me as a white woman, it's happening to black women. I remember a few years back actually, there was a thread on here with a white woman who had curly hair, and who was told at work to straighten it. There were a shocking number of posters who thought that was acceptable.

The chances of a black woman being sacked from a company for having dreads or corn rows in the UK while a white woman is allowed them are just about nil. It’s far, far more likely that a white woman would be disciplined for having them.

@CherryMaDeary

And yet I bet you're the type of person who gets het up about Muslim women wearing hijab

You literally make no sense. There is no reason why I would. If I don't get upset at white women wearing dreads, why the fuck would a Muslim wearing a hijab upset me?

Stop making up utter bollocks that makes no sense, just to suit your lame agenda..

And I bet YOU'RE the sort of person who gets het about every fucking thing and looks for things to get offended by (daily!)

@Sasbel

Cherry You have missed my point just a little bit.

Please stop being so goady.

Very goady indeed. Amongst other things. trouble-maker, stirrer, making shit up to suit her argument.......

@ohwhatfuckeryisthisnow

because the right wing resurgence has given them carte Blanche to stick their grubby little heads above the parapet.

Yeah, coz God FORBID someone 'right of centre' has an opinion! And one that doesn't fall in line with the ranting, rabid lefties! 🙄

Jesus wept. People like you are the reason the Tories keep getting in!

@meandthem the issue here is that your feminism completely lacks intersectionality.

You're suggesting that the most important aspect of feminism is that you have total freedom to do whatever you like. But what if that freedom is actively harmful to other women?

Cultural appropriation harms women of colour. You don't need to look far for examples of black women who are discriminated against for wearing their hair in certain styles, like dreadlocks. For example, Zendaya wore her hair in locs on the red carpet and was mocked for it, told it was ugly, and told she looked like she smelled of patchouli and weed.

By contrast, Miley Cyrus wore her hair in locs and was praised for her edgy and cool new look. In other words, Miley received praise and cultural capital for something that Zendaya was criticised for, despite Zendaya belonging to the culture that created that hair style.

Cultural appropriation hurts because it allows white people to profit from the exploitation of people of colour. It's a two way system whereby people of colour are discriminated against for their hair (in this example) and then white people praised when they steal those same styles.

So you can see why your feminism isn't good enough if you basically saying 'it's ok for me to exploit the labour and creativity of black people because as a woman I should have the freedom to do whatever I want to my hair'.

I too think it’s just hair.

Next time you’re out and about and see a black woman most likely she will have fake or permed (to straighten) hair. Wigs ARE the norm. Many are SUFFERING with alopecia and irreversible damage due to years of trying to hide their Afro hair. This is because the hairstyles that are now deemed fashionable (for whites only) are styles their own natural hair should/would form but leads to abuse/mistrust/sexualisation/harassment/feelings of inferiority/feeling ugly (perpetuated by the media etc etc) I can go on. Young black girls have for decades been pressurised to straighten their hair to be more accepted. This racism is endemic in non-black culture; just as much here as in the US (it’s just more sophisticated here) - the trivialising of this issue by the white privileged who can literally just decide to take Instagram snaps for fun then carry on about their merry way is why this is being spoken about by the few that are ‘woke’.

@Peekaboo

So just looked at back on your other posts and saw the thread where an OP posted that her neighbour told her he had sold his house to a Muslim family and then said just kidding, he had sold it to a white family.

Most people on the thread thought the neighbour was racist but you thought it was just a joke, you wouldn't take it seriously and people are too sensitive.

So yes, I stand by my comment and think you would have double standards about Muslims wearing hijab.

Is it not the people who comment in this way that are wrong?

Personally I think we should embrace the braid when I was at school tight braids were seen as a defence against head lice it is neat tidy and appropriate for learning much better than the long flowing "elsa" style we have now which is a pita

@TabbyMack, I completely agree. I do think, however, that people who post in this manner do so because they are unable to back up their own comments. It's a bit like 'Well if you don't know what you've done I won't tell you' shit that teenagers do. They think it makes them sound clever but, in actual fact, it makes them sound like a dick.

The chances of a black woman being sacked from a company for having dreads or corn rows in the UK while a white woman is allowed them are just about nil. It’s far, far more likely that a white woman would be disciplined for having them.

Yeah I think here it's much less overt than that. There's a certain professional look, and that look doesn't include styles perceived as 'messy'. We know that people who are in positions of influence are disproportionately likely to choose to promote people who are 'like' them. One of the ways you can become more like that if you're black is to choose a more white looking hairstyle.

Peekaboo

Very goady indeed. Amongst other things. trouble-maker, stirrer, making shit up to suit her argument.......

Yawn and whatever. Your agenda is clear.

You've conflated two completely separate issues - although I can see why you feel there's a crossover.

The cultural appropriation issue is where the majority culture commodifies something from a minority culture while either ignoring or belittling the contribution of said culture. Ie something is fashionable or noteworthy when a white person does it but either invisible or considered low brow when a black person does it.

A recent example is Kim K's 'Bo Derek' braids because clearly Bo Derek was the originator of braided hair. Actually she was wearing Fulani braids, which did not need to be renamed, and have been worn by black women for hundreds of years.

That's my understanding anyway although I'm happy to be corrected.

Anyway I do think it’s better when we are all humans rather than dividing us up by historical events. Saying that white people shouldn’t wear braids is odd imo. Well actually I don’t know why you’d want to as they cause headaches and pull anyway.

The term cultural misappropriation has been increasingly applied to specific situations. My problem with this is that it is a concept that is based on opinion which appears to be very movable. Therefore I don't believe a person can always be accused of being disrespectful of another culture if they wear certain clothes or adopt a different hairstyles (there may be occasions when it would be disrespectful
In my opinion - but that would be based on a specific context). I personally think now of the words "cultural misappropriation" as just an opinion not an insult. In the case of dreadlocks I do not believe it is an insult for people of different cultures to wear them

Miley Cyrus wore her hair in locs and was praised for her edgy and cool new look

Was she? I suppose I don't read much stuff about Miley Cyrus but I thought she got slated for the fake locs and for her twerking.

Rubbish Peek what I meant was the rise of arse holes like trump, the volubility of the carpet munching DM online readership, the FAR right rising in Europe and America. Fucking nazis becoming legitimate political beings, KH getting a voice(and not just being laughed at). I believe in people's rights to legal, legitimate political differences and discussions. But It's all about removing activism, making it look illegitimate till people stop questioning why we actually need it.
And maybe we rant and rave to get our voices heard.

Feel a bit sad by all the posters saying that it’s not a thing and it’s just hair. That’s not the case for black and mixed people. Hair is political for black people and your choices affect your career, especially if you don’t opt for a more acceptable hairstyle.

The issue is not with white people choosing black hairstyles - we shouldn’t moan about these people who are just inspired by something they like. The problem is the usual narrative surrounding that. The one where we say that the white person looks great in a hairstyle that we would normally berate a black person for wearing. This comes through the media, through workplaces and social media. This is what we need to fix.

Once people accept all the hairstyles of POC without making them conform to white standards, I think only then will white people be able to wear any hairstyle they like without a discussion around cultural appropriation.

I have read some white people saying that they are ‘tired’ of this discussion. But, maybe, try thinking about how tiring it is for black people to go through their lives feeling that they have to change their natural hair, just to fit in and succeed in school and their careers.

I must admit I didn't know this was a 'thing', I think dreads look amazing if they are done right regardless of the colour head they are growing out of.

I saw a student the other day with purple, black, white, pink mix of dreads, I was very

A quick Google tells me that Miley got roasted for her dreadlocks.

Try being mixed race but looking white. Then you get it from all sides. In work for you hair being too curly to be "professional". Women with their 1,000 helpful unasked for hints to beat the frizz. And try a style that actually works for your hair and now you get slagged off for cultural appropriation. Happy fucking days.

Bottom line: people love telling young women they are wrong. Especially young pretty women. Everyone seems to get off on that.

Fuck intersectionality, anything that is about telling young women how they should look, dress and present themselves is old fashioned patriarchal sexism trying to dress itself up as woke.

BTW peekaboo you are the one coming across as rude and ignorant on this thread. Why all the aggression!?

Anyone is free to wear their hair whichever way they choose; why opt for some truly extravagant styles is beyond me, but each their own. I would always defend individual's right to a hairstyle ( how ridiculous does it sound ), despite finding them perfectly ghastly.

Ahem.