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?

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?

so two separate choices of hair style on two separate days? is that not allowed?

I was worried about purchasing beautiful saris when in India in January. I spoke to our host who said, please buy one. We went to emporium and I bought two stunningly beautiful saris for the girls. One is a bridesmaid to an Indian friend and was asked to wear one and the other just wanted one.
I coveted one but thought no, it might cause offence. Our guide dragged me to a different store and I spent an hour and a half being shown how to wear a sari. I asked the staff and other customers if there was a risk of causing offence and they thought I was crazy. They said “ We wear jeans from America and summer dresses from England. You think our outfits are beautiful and want to copy us. Why would we be offended?”. I bought myself two but have, as yet, only worn one out. It attracted many positive comments and hid a multitude of sins. I felt more beautiful than I had done in many years - plus it was comfortable!
We can all find something to be angry about if we want to.

I saw a different article a while back where a girl went to her prom in a traditional Chinese dress. It went viral as she was accused of cultural appropriation. I was mortified for this girl.
A Vine video of this girl has been shown well across the internet, showing her saying that she doesn't like Asians and she thinks they're lame. She has deliberately been racist towards them then taken part of their culture and used it for fashion. This is cultural appropriation and why she was slated for it. Don't know how you didn't come across the video if you were reading the article about it.

Learning about a culture properly and accepting its customs, then adopting them is cultural appreciation. Wearing a traditional dress or wearing dreadlocks(something black people have been oppressed for having for centuries yet white people get a pass) and calling it 'vintage' or 'traditional' not knowing where it's even from is cultural appropriation. Picking out a dress that you think looks 'oriental' and plastering it all over social media without learning about the culture it is worn in is disrespectful because the people of that culture have been oppressed for wearing the same thing for centuries. It's about respect.

Take dreadlocks for example. Black people have been discriminated against for centuries because they have dreadlocks. If you are not a black person and you wish to wear dreadlocks, you should do some research into the culture so that you can appreciate it more, instead of just taking part of the culture without knowing what it's about. You get the benefit of wear it this without facing prejudice; the least you could do is know what it is you're putting on your head.

This is a load of nonsense.

"dreadlocks" re nothing other than plain and simple human hair.

As worn by humans

It's not about the slave trade, it's about appropriating from cultures that are currently oppressed. Copying traditionally black hairstyles which when worn by black people are deemed unprofessional, unglamourous, disgusting etc, but are now fashionable because white people are doing it.

That said, I don't have a problem personally with Kim's braids, and I think that ultimately the issue is with the inherent racism in society, not what people choose to wear.

@tacolover I did not know that. Just read various articles which popped up on my feed.

I don’t think people are ‘getting a pass’ I think they are just enjoying other cultures, sometimes educating themselves and embracing it.

What’s the difference if a white guy wears dreads as he has adopted the rustafarian way of life, compared to a black guy who wears them because he thinks their cool?

@user1495490253 this is what I don’t understand why is it fashionable because white peoples wear it? Why can’t it be fashionable because black people made it fashionable and encouraged everyone to try the style?

Yes it’s bollocks

I don’t think people are ‘getting a pass’ I think they are just enjoying other cultures, sometimes educating themselves and embracing it.
The vast majority of the time this isn't the case though. White people wearing dreadlocks 90% of the time will not be embracing a culture. They will be taking part of a culture they know nothing about and wearing it with no respect(research about the culture) for the millions who are oppressed for doing the same.

What’s the difference if a white guy wears dreads as he has adopted the rustafarian way of life, compared to a black guy who wears them because he thinks their cool?
In both cases here, dreadlocks are a part of their culture. I'm assuming if the white man is Rastafarian then he has educated himself about the culture that he is partaking in. That is cultural appreciation. Also, black people don't just wear dreadlocks because they think they're cool. They wear them because it is a staple in their culture and part of their way of life.

Interesting...... I have had a DNA test done and have done my family tree and I have sub Saharan ancestry through to slave ancestors as least as close to many black people (and in many instances closer) walking around today. Yet I am white skinned, very white, white blond hair/blue eyes kind of white skinned. For some reason my north European DNA has taken hold outwardly in me rather than my sub Saharan ancestry. Would I be able to have these plaits to celebrate my known black cultural heritage or would I be judged because I look whiter than most white people..... bearing in mind also that I am aware of exactly which people in my family tree were actually black slaves. Not all British black people descend from slavery, some are economic immigrants etc. Would they be allowed to have the plaits?

I suppose what I'm getting at is- it's just hair - more important is fighting racism at all levels and having regard for the people that have been through slavery and those that are still slaves and try to do something about it.

@user1495490253 this is what I don’t understand why is it fashionable because white peoples wear it? Why can’t it be fashionable because black people made it fashionable and encouraged everyone to try the style?
Can you seriously not answer this question yourself?

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

Exactly. My Aunt, who is from Sierra Leone, used to braid my hair along with her mixed race daughters in the summer holidays. It was for purely practical reasons because I spent a lot of time with her family in the summer and her daughters with mine and she wasn’t very experienced looking after little white girls’ hair nor my mother with Afro hair. Plus we used to spend most of the summer playing in fields and running through forests and jumping in mud and the sea and riding bikes and messing about on beaches and climbing trees. Braids are an incredibly practical hairstyle for little girls and very liberating. My cousins and I have had a fantastic time over the last 20 years experimenting with hair pieces, wigs and extensions and have spent many happy Saturdays going around shops and markets looking for hair then experimenting with new styles. Never, ever has a British African or British Caribbean person ever objected to it or told me I shouldn’t be doing it. In fact the only time anybody has ever raised any objection to that sort of thing is when my niece had her hair braided by the same aunty and some mothers at her almost exclusively white and exclusively middle class school in Surrey tut tutted and said it offended them. And it was literally just a nice gesture her Aunt did. It’s something really bonding, sitting and having your hair braided by someone and chatting to them. It makes you feel really close to them and it’s relaxing. I can also do it (not very well and very slowly) and I love the occasions when I do it for littler people too. It’s very sad that something so innocent is politicised.

And surprise, surprise: it’s almost all aimed at women too. Another reason to put women down and criticise them for what they wear or how they do their hair. Just what we need.

yes absolutely

There are more people in slavery today than there ever have been before

People who are the great great great great great great great great grandchildren of African slaves ( as well as being the great great etc grandchildren of African slave traders - and no one is one without being the other.....)kicking up a stink because they feel entitled to act all indigent and affronted, without doing anything at all to act against modern slavery.

What can you say?

The biggest slave industry in the UK is cannabis, so anyone who has ever smoked, bought or condoned cannabis use is effectively supporting slavery today here and now.

Slightly more significant than having a hissy fit because of whose ancestors did what to whose ancestors, when we all share our ancestory anyway.

No one accused Bo Derek of cultural appropriation when she had braids

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?

I don’t see anything wrong with it at all. (Assuming the daughter enjoyed having it done)

Cultural appropriation is definitely a thing but braided hair is not an example of it unless the person doing it claims they have invented them ie. calls them dutch braids.
The tweets in that article are ridiculous.
One tweeter is 'exhausted' by a dark skinned but not black woman having her hair plaited.

Models being dressed up in 'fun' facsimiles of Native American head-wear is CA.
Verses lifted out of the Koran to decorate frocks is CA

My old boss making tens of thousands from 'inventing' extensions was a massive CA and he wouldn't get away with that shit now days.

The politics of black hair is a real thing too and shouldn't be dismissed. I don't think the 'black woman would be allowed to wear her hair like that' applies here though. Those braids are conservative and wouldn't cause issues in the workplace.

People get stuff mixed up. Don't lets forget that there will be certain sections of both the white AND black communities who will despise KK for being with a black man whatever she does.

Clauretree1 and then the money is laundered through cash only nail bars. Not to mention sex slavery in this country by Eastern European gangs.

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?

I don't like to see children with chemically straightened hair but I can absolutely understand why its been done in the past.
I don't think its done as much now as hair products for children are so much better and easier to get.
There is a push towards 'natural' hair generally and I am very happy about that.

Yes, there are other slave industries in the UK, but cannabis is the worst known , particularly for the enslavement of children

I still can't really get my head around this.

So if a black woman relaxes her hair and dyes it blonde does that woman need to research white culture to do this respectfully? I would guess most people would say no, but then a white person is told that they must research other cultures in order to emulate their styles.

People saying that this is because of the whole oppressor/oppressed thing ignore the really sad cases where paler skinned and fairer haired people have been oppressed such as the Yazadis in Iraq. Do these incidents not count?

I also don't really understand the whole argument about white people making things associated with black culture fashionable. Isn't Kim Kardashian keen to have her hair because it has already been made fashionable by black people? If white people can never adopt fashions championed by black people for fear of cultural appropriation then I can't see how that is helpful in a world where we should celebrate our differences and encourage the sharing of ideas.

Clairetree1

I just wanted to say that I agree with all your posts. You sound very sensible.

Thank you @TisNowt. That is a really nice thing to say

There is a serious lack of understanding about white privilege here. It isn't the same thing if a POC dyes their hair blonde and straightens it.

They've grown up with an entire culture telling them that they are less than. That ideals of beauty are white oriented. Even the English language is racist.

I'm not really knowledgeable enough to answer all the points raised here, so I'm not going to try but cultural appropriation is a real thing. It is complex and affects different people in different ways. It would be lovely if we could all mix and match, but we can't. Or shouldn't always? There's a lot of history and geopolitics that we aren't always aware of.

Being sensitive to other people's cultures is not a bad thing, you know. I hate this whole PC gone mad thing. Being respectful of other people is not going mad. Being able to walk down the street and know that the majority of people agree that calling me a Paki (for example) is unacceptable, is important to me.

I think that it started as a perfectly legitimRr greivance when the traditions of an oppressed culture (as in currently or within living memory oppressed not oppressed ten generations ago) are used fir gain by the oppressing culture with no recognition or payment given in return. However, like all things, it was picked up by stupid people who saw it as another way to prove in the Internet how much more woke they were than the rest of us.