Cultural appropriation

[Londonerlove]

AIBU to be totally annoyed by cultural appropriation.
I read this today and though wtf!

www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www.bbc.co.uk/news/amp/newsbeat-44572555

I’m not a fan of kim but if she wants her hair in braids she can have her hair in braids?

Shouldn’t this be praised rather than attacked?
Is eating pasta cultural appropriation?

If I did this I could most proudly state that it was my heritage!
Your heritage?
Mate, it doesn't work like that.

You can't claim working classness because your gran was shoved up a chimney.

Of course its offensive when a bunch of trilling mc women in pinnies and head scarves turn up at a functioning working mans club to play at being working class.

I don't care if their great aunt Minnie worked in a pie and mash shop in 1958.

Bingo is beyond tedious though

Er, why not?

There are people on here saying their heritage is this, that and the other, but mine “doesn’t work like that” ?

Do you not approve of social mobility?

Incidentally, I work with a Chinese lady whose mother makes traditional chinese dresses to sell on Etsy. When the kid at prom went viral she insisted the Chinese enjoy sharing their culture and chinese dress makers want westerners to adopt their fashions because traditional dress in China is fading from fashion and dress makers are struggling.

This is one person though. Many people are upset by cultural appropriation; and in the example you mentioned, the girl in question also uploaded a Vine video saying that Asians are lame and that she doesn't like them. So she's been racist towards Asians then taken a part of their culture and used it for fashion. I don't know if this lady's mother grew up in China or not but often in the actual country where the culture started(e.g. a traditional dress) the people living there say that they don't have a problem with white people wearing their traditional dress. Many of my relatives in Bangladesh have said that they don't mind if white people in this country wear our traditional dress; obviously they don't have to be offended or annoyed but I think their situation is slightly different because where they live their cultural dress is the norm, and they are not oppressed for wearing it. It's different in the West because I am told I need to integrate into society more when I wear traditional dress whereas I've seen white people wear the exact same thing and called 'exotic' or 'trendy'.

Er, why not?

There are people on here saying their heritage is this, that and the other, but mine “doesn’t work like that” ? confused

Because you don't stop being black.
YOu do stop being working class.

Do you not approve of social mobility?
What about my post suggests that? The bit where I say you cant claim to be working class because your grandmother was? Yes, I can see you are confused

Many people may be upset by cultural appropriation but equally many people are not. As far as I am concerned people are welcome to knock themselves out covering their house in tartan. Do I think it is a little odd to wear a clan tartan when you are not part of the clan, yes, would I do it, no. I also wouldn't call my dd a male originated name like Mackenzie but honestly it is the decision of the people who do this, not my decision to make.
Braids cannot belong to only one cultural group they are been portrayed throughout time in different cultures.
Different cultures should not be actively mocked or disparaged but cross cultural pollination can surely only help integration.
There are more important battles to be fought than which women can wear which hairstyle.

It’s social media nonsense and middle cosss white virtue signalling.

People who believe in this stuff are useful idiots. And it is based on racist theory.

Oppressive people have come from every race, country and religion. Every race, country and religion has been oppressed at some point.

The only thing we can ever say all oppressors have in common is that they are always part of a wealthy powerful elite.

The type of philosophy underpinning these views is that oppression is a preserve of white people and always has been and that other people have always been the oppressed. And that white people, no matter how well meaning or unprejudiced, are inherently oppressive due purely to the colour of their skin. That is a pure racist philosophy to it’s very core. I know that people argue that white people can’t be the victim of racism because they are oppressors, but that’s a circular argument which you have to believe the original statement for it to be true. And it’s clearly not. Plus ‘you can’t be racist to white people’ is becoming the catch all cover and excuse for saying incredibly racist and nasty things about white people.

Believing oppression is the fault of “white people” as some sort of amorphous blob is not only racist, it lets those who are really to blame off the hook.

I see very little discussion of scrutiny of the elite who actually did the oppressing and who are encouraging this kind of thinking.

Because it makes their life much easier if nobody is correctly ascribing oppression to them alone, and instead they’re shouting at young working class girls wearing bindis or braids.

And blaming their neighbours and all the white people around them for oppression instead of the real guilty parties.

People never like having characteristics or blame placed on them purely for their race which they are told they cannot change or remove purely because of their skin colour. And they never put up with it for long.

Unfortunately this sort of thing seems to be backfiring and it’s driving people turning to the far right. It is a very, very dangerous road to go down.

Definitely useful idiots.

Gilead

got to love white feminism

Are you being racist as well as trying to control women’s choice of clothes and hair too?

How strange you see feminism as not all about women’s choices. I think you may have missed the point of it.

Oh, and braids being called ‘disgusting’ or inappropriate. This is just made up. Braids have always been considered the smartest, most conservative haircut for little black girls and actually went out of fashion because they were considered too conservative and goody goody and smacked of little obedient church going girls in their Sunday best.

LeahJack

I wish mumsnet had a like button.

Oh, and braids being called ‘disgusting’ or inappropriate. This is just made up.
Do you mean braids or dreads? Either way I have personally seen black people told that their hair is inappropriate when wearing braids or dreadlocks while white women did the same and were praised. Nice to see white people literally denying the experiences of POC

Reni Eddo-Lodge's book 'Why I'm No Longer Talking to White People About Race' is really worth reading. She addresses many of the arguments in this thread.

It's an excellent book. Nish Kumar had it as his choice on A Good Read.

here Please listen.

It’s just another reason for the PC police to rant

There was uproar when whatshername from LittleMix had braids as CI but it wasn’t when Nicki Minaj (although I like her music) wasn’t blasted when she impersonated a Chinese person and her whole aesthetic was Chinese.

It should work both ways and as long as the person isn’t degrading the culture I see no problem.

My grandparents are from India- so I should be offended if anyone wears a bindi or eats curry ????

Taco

Where and when have you actually seen that? What did you or they do? Did you escalate it?

Can people step back and consider who has been "ranting" on this thread?

There was uproar on daft Internet forums! Nobody sensible cared about little mix hair ffs. Nobody in RL. It’s all nonsense

No one has been ranting have they? We just profoundly disagree.

No one has been ranting have they? We just profoundly disagree.

That really is hard of thinking isn’t it!

Makes non sense

Who really cares?

They suit her. We should all be able to wear whatever we like on our own heads.

Either way I have personally seen black people told that their hair is inappropriate when wearing braids or dreadlocks while white women did the same and were praised

As a black woman, I've always had people comment on my braids; white and black, alike. No one has ever told me they were disgusting. It's awful that people have been subjected to this.

And I don’t know where you fit in!

The human race I expect like everyone else.