Cultural appropriation...how bad is it?

[malificent7]

So Rhianna is under fire for braiding white model's hair. What if a black model wanted to straighten and bleach her hair?
I love african wax print fabric but don't want to be accused of cultural appropriation if i wear a bit of it. I also own sari fabric clothes.

Aibu to ask mn who may or may not be from different ethnic backgrounds would they consider Rhianna or my behaviour inappropriate and what constitutes real cultural appropriation?

This is not a racist thread as dd is mixed race.

White woman wearing “funky” African tribal print because she personally thinks it looks good
In that case black people should probably stop wearing African wax prints because they’re designed and made by white people in the Netherlands.

But Rhianna hasn't offended all people has she , black people have different opinions on things as well
Some will see it as one things and others not bothered, why do so many think they can tell others what they should think

Also not all black people are if african origin etc and even within that there will be many cultures as such

Oh, the touchingly ignorant racism of the British pops up its head...

See white women positing themselves as yoga experts without acknowledging the origins and gravity of the practice.

So white women can’t be yoga teachers now?

@PrincessNutella why ? Some have made valid points ,
What gets me is the white people who try and tell black people etc that they should be offended by something

@Funnylittlefloozie

Most accusations of "cultural appropriation" are basically total bollocks. Its really not a thing in normal life. My white English mother used to wear a sari when she visited my Indian father's relatives. Thats not CA.

Cultural Appropriation is a nasty woke version of 'stay in your lane'.

Exactly.

Another stick for the perpetually outraged to beat us with....

@YourFinestPantaloons

I'm also very much in the "just fucking listen" camp. If POC en masse are telling us cultural appropriation is damaging, how about we listen to them? Would that be so hard?

Well not also POC agree. My family is half from Nigeria and people over there are more than flattered if you embrace our culture with clothes, food etc.

It's not a black and white issue, if you'll excuse the pun

I personally find it depends on the situation but generally partaking in others culture is fine, it's not a threat to my identity.

@Milkbottlelegs well my yoga tecaher is black so according to that poster she also shouldn't teach it either as not her culture

Some extremely dodgy history here.

@Milkbottlelegs that's not what I said - do you often jump to conclusions without considering nuance?

According to some posters on here it seems only white people do wrong - everyone else can wear/do whatever they like.

@Biker47

Wear what you want to, do your hair how you want to, eat the food that you want to, do the hobbies you want to; and if anyone tells you any different or that you shouldn't be doing them for some spurious reaching reason, tell them to fuck off and mind their own businesses.

Spot on.

And this is what most people do in real life. It's only when the media wakes up & wants to do a bit of stirring that they roll a story about it....

@worriedatthemoment again, not what I said.

If someone makes a living by taking something from a culture without recognising its history, that's not great. If they do recognise its history, then great.

@YourFinestPantaloons

I'm also very much in the "just fucking listen" camp. If POC en masse are telling us cultural appropriation is damaging, how about we listen to them? Would that be so hard?

Completely agree with this. It's mot my job, as a white woman, to decide what should and should not be offensive to a POC. Just as it would be inappropriate for a man to dictate to me what behaviour I should or should not judge to be misogynistic.

In that case black people should probably stop wearing African wax prints because they’re designed and made by white people in the Netherlands.

This is from the same school of thought that posits Yorkshire tea is grown in Yorkshire.

I can absolutely see why POC are infuriated that something with such significance to them holds no meaning to other people is being used in the height of fashion.

Really? There are plenty of POC on the beaches of Spain happy to charge (mainly) white girls to braid their hair.

This is from the same school of thought that posits Yorkshire tea is grown in Yorkshire

www.vlisco.com/about/about-vlisco/

Inform yourself. It’s literally an Indonesian print technique designed and manufactured in the Netherlands and shipped primarily to Africa.

I think African wax fabrics are Dutch...

[quote BrimfulOfBaba]@Ibelieveinghosts it absolutely isn't, all you need to do is do a bit of research and speak to lots of different types of people. If you are determined to believe otherwise, that's a different matter.[/quote]
Well that’s your opinion if you are absolutely intent on thinking that way, go ahead! But assimilation of different aspects of one culture into another is as old as humanity, it is what has helped it progress.

Different things mean different things to different cultures. Are you so irate about say christianity appropriating gods of one culture and turning them into demons? Have you tackled the Vatican about that? What about drag artists appropriating women’s clothes.

Do you get upset of someone wears a crucifix which isn’t a Tau cross (being an actual representation of the most likely cross of crucifixion) what is the Calvary cross appropriating.

As soon as someone says you can’t wear that they are saying “you’re not one of us” immediate division.

@Milkbottlelegs goodness me, some culturally and economically oppressed people are making use of the few resources they have to eke a living? And that means that no POC have any place to consider white woman hair braids culturally offensive? Think it through.

@YourFinestPantaloons

I'm also very much in the "just fucking listen" camp. If POC en masse are telling us cultural appropriation is damaging, how about we listen to them? Would that be so hard?

I think it's racist to lump the majority of the world together in one group as if they are all the same, all think the same, and all have the same opinions on everything.

Which POC are you listening to? Not Rihanna, obviously.

Really? There are plenty of POC on the beaches of Spain happy to charge (mainly) white girls to braid their hair.

This is so lacking in humanity it’s gross. Do you not understand that these people, who will have been bottom of the rung in Algeria and Morocco (because of the extreme darkness of their skin, in part) and fled north in the hope of better prospects, are obliged to sell a part of their heritage, their history, a fibre of their identity, for a few euros apiece? Do you think this is a chosen career? How can you in any way consider them to be as equal to you as to pass such a callous remark?

@BeenThruMoreThanALilBit

Really? There are plenty of POC on the beaches of Spain happy to charge (mainly) white girls to braid their hair.

This is so lacking in humanity it’s gross. Do you not understand that these people, who will have been bottom of the rung in Algeria and Morocco (because of the extreme darkness of their skin, in part) and fled north in the hope of better prospects, are obliged to sell a part of their heritage, their history, a fibre of their identity, for a few euros apiece? Do you think this is a chosen career? How can you in any way consider them to be as equal to you as to pass such a callous remark?

Get your point but your exaggerating a bit. Pp isn't callous, and I truly doubt those people are that worked up about cultural appropriation.

Fewer people than you think care about cultural appropriation and those who feel that strongly, would find another way to make money in the tourism industry

Well not also POC agree. My family is half from Nigeria and people over there are more than flattered if you embrace our culture with clothes, food etc.

It's not a black and white issue, if you'll excuse the pun

I personally find it depends on the situation but generally partaking in others culture is fine, it's not a threat to my identity.

Let me repeat something similar to what I wrote on another thread. I cringe everytime I see someone else mention Nigerians in these discussions only because it's obvious they'd be going against the grain and I can only imagine what some people do while reading it. Perhaps an eyeroll or a groan or something.

But like I wrote somewhere else, I'm afraid your experience doesn't count anymore, according to those people. Haven't you heard? Apparently a lot of Nigerians are self-haters who have a lot of healing to do because they tend to have different opinions from the general party line.

The people who say this also say they believe all black people don't think the same, yet will be the ones to penalize/cancel/reprimand those who think differently.

So I'm afraid your post doesn't help your case but adds fuel to that fire. It's likely considered irrelevant, according to those people.

(In case it isn't clear, I'm not one of those people. I'm only relaying a message, sarcastically).