Adele

[angieb89]

I don't understand how she is being culturally appropriate for wearing Jamaican bikini and wearing her hair in a Jamaican style in honour of Notting Hill carnival?
She doesn't seem to be doing it to offend anyone?

Call me ignorant but I would like to understand why some people are kicking off? Seems it mainly African-Americans that are offended and Jamaicans are fine with it.

Seems we can't do anything without upsetting or offending anyone?

For context, I'm white British female.

*For the record I’m black British Caribbean (not Jamaican) and my circle is largely laughing at the Americans over this as they clearly don’t get Adele or London multiculturalism.

I completely agree with this. It's almost impossible for African-Americans to understand London multiculturalism because that genuine integration and celebration of cultures is something that doesn't really exist in the USA (or indeed almost anywhere else in the UK).*

Black British Caribbean too and agree with everything above

It is interesting. Maybe it's something to do with the fact that she probably has an understanding and respect for "black culture" and possibly the fact that people from Notting Hill with Jamaican heritage may have respect for Adele, if that makes sense.
Anybody with experience of carnival knows that it is fairly normal and acceptable for people of any nationality to adopt dress /flags etc of Caribbean culture of the weekend of carnival. That's a big generalisation I've just made, but Carnival is unique and I guess unless you've lived there /attended many times, you may not get it.

@angieb89

So once again Americans are kicking up a fuss coz they have nothing better to do. Sad existence

Absolutely not American, no ties to America, last visited 20 years ago but a statement as above which says Americans (not some Americans, apparently all Americans) have nothing better to do than make a fuss and have a sad existence seems at best a facile generalisation and at worst xenophobic/racist

It's also why I hate the use of the term BIPOC in Britain. It works for countries like the US or New Zealand where indigenous people aren't white, it does not work for Britain.

I've never heard this, let alone in Britain. Thank you. Another thing to google properly

@Lockdowner13

The whole thing is ridiculous. How can we close the divide, if black people don’t share. It just creates more of a divide and more of a barrier. People need to stop being offended so easily. It’s just hair. She’s not racist.

She’s in the news because of weight loss but of course people need to jump on the “racist” bandwagon. She would be front page if she was dressed in green for st paddy’s. It’s Adele in a bikini! She’s looking slim and people are interested.

Plenty of black people are OK with it. Black Brits/Jamaicans. It's AMERICANS who are complaining, and that's the part that pisses me off, because they keep talking over black Brits and acting like they know more about black Brits' culture than black Brits do.

@EveryDayIsADuvetDay

Should I be offended by the cultural appropriation of black women that have straightened hair, wear jeans or other "western" clothes?

Do people honestly still trot this one out?!

@yetanothernamitynamechange

Does anyone else find the whole "and now I have to tiptoe around POC because ANYTHING I said could be construed as offensive" a little reminiscent of some of the reaction to me to that went along the lines of "And now I have to tiptoe around by female colleagues because even saying hello to a woman could be construed as sexual harrasment"

Yes. FFS, just because a few people on the internet are angry at Adele does not mean that everyone who isn't white is a hive mind.

Jamaican culture is popular and well loved. I'm (a British born) Jamaican, I'm not at all offended by that photo of Adele. Frankly I don't care what people do with their hair.

When I holiday in Jamaica, I always see white females with cornrows, it doesn't suit everyone, but it's not offensive!

@Tidyhousefornow

It is interesting. Maybe it's something to do with the fact that she probably has an understanding and respect for "black culture" and possibly the fact that people from Notting Hill with Jamaican heritage may have respect for Adele, if that makes sense. Anybody with experience of carnival knows that it is fairly normal and acceptable for people of any nationality to adopt dress /flags etc of Caribbean culture of the weekend of carnival. That's a big generalisation I've just made, but Carnival is unique and I guess unless you've lived there /attended many times, you may not get it.

This is exactly it @Tidyhousefornow, thankyou.

FWIW I come from a massive blended family of different cultures and heritages. There’s South Asians, Black Africans, Muslims, Irish, all together in one family. I dread to think which culture is appropriating the other the most. We are no so integrated with eachother, I could barely begin to untangle it and I think this family situation reflects Notting Hill and many other areas of London actually. Big solid balls of solid multiculturalism.

@EveryDayIsADuvetDay

Should I be offended by the cultural appropriation of black women that have straightened hair, wear jeans or other "western" clothes?

Plenty of black people are OK with it. Black Brits/Jamaicans. It's AMERICANS who are complaining, and that's the part that pisses me off, because they keep talking over black Brits and acting like they know more about black Brits' culture than black Brits do.

🙌🏾

@letmethinkaboutitfornow
@EveryDayIsADuvetDay
If you look at history regarding hair, black women wear their hair straight, permed etc to be accepted in the western cultures. Even black people in Africa dressed 'western' due to colonialism as it became the accepted form of dress. People damage their skins through bleaching just to meet the western standards of beauty.

So, those things you list about black people are a sign of them being oppressed and trying to fit in and not appropriation. Cultural appropriation is where elements of a culture that is considered 'unaccepted' or 'unprofessional' are taken by someone of another culture and considered cool, edgy and accepted.

I'm a black woman and I wear my hair straight to work. When I've worn an african style such as my afro or bantu knots to work on the weekend, I get all the 'ethnic', 'wow', 'is that your hair' comments. I hate straightening my hair. It has become really thin now. But that's the only way to look like part of the team. I wouldn't dare attend a job interview in my natural hair, no matter how neat it was.

With regards to Adele, I feel she was celebrating the culture, celebrating Notting Hill Carnival and I thought it was great.

I'm very happy with other cultures wearing other culture's styles though. I was just explaining why the 'straight hair on black' and 'bantu knots on white' aren't quite the same thing.

@Gurtcha
I never said I had an issue with it. Seeing and understanding another viewpoint isn't hard, you don't have to agree with it.

"Cultural appropriation is where elements of a culture that is considered 'unaccepted' or 'unprofessional' are taken by someone of another culture and considered cool, edgy and accepted."

This, in my opinion, sums it up perfectly.

I think Adele looked better before she lost weight imo. She's completely unrecognisable and I think she's had other work done too.

Nothing wrong with losing weight - I've lost nearly 5 stone myself but I don't think the weight she's at is the weight that suits her best.

Adele is attractive with good skin,she looks good now and in past

Don’t care about Adele. But as mumsnet is a forum for sharing I need to respond to people who have mentioned black women wearing straight hair as an example of cultural appropriation. If you have ever been pulled aside at work by a ‘kindly’ person advising you that wearing braids to work would impede your professional progress, as I have, you would understand that it is done out of a need to ‘conform’. It is a terrible equivalence to use.

I think Americans seem to forget that their history is not the worlds history. Black history in the U.K. is different to that of one the US - the sheer number of slaves, racist laws and segregation without living memory, lynching (and people walking off Scot free, photos of grinning crowds posing next to corpses, kkk - it’s no rose garden in the U.K. but the US is in a league of its own.

I think Adele should wear what the fuck she likes frankly.

@Greensidepark

Don’t care about Adele. But as mumsnet is a forum for sharing I need to respond to people who have mentioned black women wearing straight hair as an example of cultural appropriation. If you have ever been pulled aside at work by a ‘kindly’ person advising you that wearing braids to work would impede your professional progress, as I have, you would understand that it is done out of a need to ‘conform’. It is a terrible equivalence to use.

EXACTLY.

Same with girls being sent home for having Afro hair.

Yes, you do sound quite ignorant if you can’t even grasp the issue, whether you agree or not.

A quick google or search on MN will bring up the arguments around cultural appropriation. You can review them at your leisure.

If you’re finding you can’t do or say anything without offending people....you’re having quite an unusual experience.

Where on earth have not seen and understood another viewpoint. I’ve even agreed with posts when talking about why somebody might be offended. The point I am standing by is that there is context surrounding this particular situation that may mean that the arguments against cultural appropriation wouldn’t really apply.

Don’t be calling me ignorant for recognising something isn’t as straight forward as you might like. @PonfusedCarent I’ve not aimed any of my comments at you so no idea what you’re on about I’m afraid.

I thought Adele lived in LA now anyway? Why is she celebrating a British festival in her garden if she lives in LA?

Just a shot in the dark @KatherineParr4 but probably because you don’t lose your heritage as soon as you move locations?

@Gurtcha I think the tone of my post has not translated clearly, you disagreed with my earlier post and I was clarifying that whilst I get why people are offended and stated the reasons, I had not been one of those people. That was for the very reason that the UK and US are very different, I agree the context is important here.