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?

It's just more pb bullshit that's all. Hang on a minute, surely a man dressing as a woman is cultural appropriation seeing as women are oppressed and all that. It's a whole new can of worms to be fretted over.....

@jamiefraser I was clearly exaggerating!
As I think wearing hair/clothes a certain was is also a huge exaggeration.

black people have been relaxing their hair for years. Does it really matter?

Look into why they've been relaxing their hair. This article is a good place to start www.newstatesman.com/media/2014/01/politics-black-hair

Or this one www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/beauty/the-politics-of-black-hair-20180319-p4z53x.html

Ok so I feel like this is the millionth time I've had to explain thus. Zendaya wore dreadlocks to the Oscars and the white ' 'fashion critic' Guiliana Rancic said that she looked like she might smell of 'weed' whilst Kim K gets to do it all day long and be 'fashion forward.' Dreadlocks have been used by many races to keep hair out of the way and for ceremonial/ religious reasons. It isn't about who invented it first, it's about the way people react to you when you have dreadlocks. To use another example, I have curly hair but it doesn't look like when people with straight hair curl theirs, it's manic. When I wore my hair to work curly and down I was told to wear it up. My colleague could wear her hair down and even curled it! Nothing was said. Basically the company thought of my natural, curly, non white hair as 'messy' whilst white hair is 'professional.' Now do you get it?

"cultural appropriation" should mean the disrespecting of a sacred symbol or practice by using it in a mocking or casual way.

For example, rosary beads, used by catholics to count their prayers, being used in pornography as a bondage tool.

That is upsetting and offensive.

the idea that using anything associated with one culture is "cultural appropriation" is simply an excusse for people with a massive chip on their shoulder to bully and harrange other completely innocent people.

I can’t stand this “privileged white person” nonsense as if we’re all direct descendents of slave traders living on the fruits of their actions. Or come from people living it up in India or Africa “White Mischief” style. My family were dirt poor until a generation ago. Fgs there were people here in the 1930s who had no shoes and little to eat.

And it’s cultural appreciation unless you’re making fun of a culture, which of course is unacceptable.

Oh here we go again. The faux outcry of the bewildered ignorant over cultural appropriation.

I’m not ignorant or bewildered. I’m historically aware enough to know that most of the ideas underpinning it are absolute bullshit.

And I’ve thought long enough about it to decide it’s mainly just another tool of the rich and middle classes to divide and conquer and breed resentment and punish their current favourite whipping boy which is poor white people.

After all, their kids usually mix with far fewer children of other races so they’re far less likely to copy their clothes, mannerisms or speech. But poor white kids do because they’re friends. Or partners. Or have mixed race children. And that’s what friends do.

But it’s far, far easier to hold your hands up in horror at the apparent racism of that and get people to obsess about that than face up to the fact most of the people who peddle this bullshit are wealthy, educated middle class people whose social circles, professional level and certainly family are not going to be troubled by many if any non-white people. And because the financial and social privilege they will claim and protect for themselves and their family and exclusion of ethnic minorities from the same privileges is actually far more damaging than a 17 yo from Penge wearing braids.

@queenoftheandals that article was clearly written by a woman who had her own insecurities. She should have embraced her hair and should encourage others to embrace it.
It’s contradictory as back in the day there was a huge amount of oppression. Now the oppressed are trying to oppress the majority.
Why can’t we all make our own choices?

I am very, very hopeful this sort of crap may end soon.

Historical thinking has been dominated by Marxist anti-colonialists since the 60s, and their ideas are being rejected and undermined and exposed for their dogmatism and bias very, very frequently now. I hope the tide is turning, because this sort of crap is divide and rule, hatred and division sowing shite.

Have you not considered why she might have those insecurities? Anyway I'm out. There's no helping the terminally thick who refuse to listen or learn.

Precisely JenBarber.

@queenoftheandals it’s people like you who breed racism and hate.

We should respect and remember oppressions from the past. But absolutely no chance am I hating on another race for something that happened hundreds of years ago. Same way I won’t be blamed!

Bye bye

@Londonerlove it's very well saying 'she should have embraced her own natural hair' when you have your boss standing over you saying 'we've err had some comments and, well you know I think your hair is just 'great' but could you possibly wear it up in future? It just looks more professional. Thanks'

@jackfruitburger I’d call that racism and discrimination not cultural appropriation.

@wakeupmaggie had a point. Woman also come from an oppressed background. If a man wants to wear a skirt he can go ahead.

@jackfruitburger a lot of people seem to hold on to anger as their ancestors were oppressed. Who do they blame now? If the blame continues there willl never be equality or peace.

Never thought I’d type this, but I feel a bit sorry for Kim K that she is held up as an example of disrespectful cultral appropriation.

First off, she’s not white. Secondly how sad that people berate her for wearing her hair in a way that her daughter would not receive the same ire for.

I don’t like the current trend for this philosophy at all. It’s not being done in a disrespectful way, it’s simply people finding something they believe is beautiful and emulating it.

Oh another coach party from the DM comments section.

If you AS "cultural appropriation" in thread titles there are at least half a dozen just in the last six months.

Some of them have useful links and history, if people are looking to understand the concept and issues rather than trot out tabloid dismissals of those issues.

@C8H10N4O2 thank you but are any relating to the situation with Kim K.

I honestly haven’t looked into the history. Tbh there is a reason for that. But I can still believe that this is going too far. Kim K is not trying to cause offence nor has she disrespected anyone.

Cultural appropriation contradicts people’s free choice.

Hmm, the slave trade operated by Muslims wasn't really comparable in scale to the slave trade operated by the British and the Americans though.

Ever heard of the Ottoman Empire?

are any relating to the situation with Kim K

The item in yesterday's news? Well last months "cultural appropriation is PC gone maaad" thread predates yesterday's news so I guessing not.

However if you want discussion (from both sides) on the issues then some of those threads do have a lot of useful information.

So no one sees anything wrong with the woman who straightened her black child's natural hair wearing a traditionally African hairstyle the next week?

Some people make a hobby of virtue signaling and being offended-- often on behalf of someone else.

They're welcome to self-flagellate and bemoan "privilege" all they want, but when they bully, berate, and shame other people for innocently adopting a style of dress or hair, they end up doing more to harm than help their cause.