The choices are abysmal. Her major was fashion design when she was in college. While text accompanying the piece did acknowledge the Nigerian antecedent, it also offered, without critique, an early 20th-century German anthropologists outlandish and insulting theory that the technical virtuosity of the original heads was so great, they had to be the work of ancient Greeks who swam to Nigeria after the sinking of the island of Atlantis and not testament to the skills of the Nigerians themselves. I stuck to the basics and made use of an old bandana I had lying around. "l feel most empowered when I see my mother wearing it because it's a helmet of courage," she says. RT @KimComstock5: Got a question for my friends. (6 Reasons Explained). Should that have made it fair game, even though it came not from the Western traditions that these producers shared but from a culture of which they and much of their audience likely knew very little from a people who were suppressed and dispossessed under colonialism? And what's the line between inspiration and evolution, and cultural appropriation? As Americans dress up for Halloween during a year of record holiday spending, experts are saying: Be careful. From hair trends to relationship advice, our daily newsletter has everything you need to sound like a person whos on TikTok, even if you arent. Its not that Kim K or Miley Cyrus meant to offend with their hairstyles or jewelry. And that's one of the key problems with cultural appropriation: It uses other cultures as cute accessories, rather than real things with meaning to real people. By accepting all cookies, you agree to our use of cookies to deliver and maintain our services and site, improve the quality of Reddit, personalize Reddit content and advertising, and measure the effectiveness of advertising. The Western world should stop making assumptions that Muslim women arent empowered if they wear a hijab, and they certainly shouldnt appropriate it as a passing trend. And my great-grandmother.". Depending on the material that the body chains were made of, others wore the chains as a way of showing off their affluence. In the United States, the song was rejiggered for white singers who couldnt quite manage the beat but saw their perky doo-wop arrangements climb the charts nevertheless. I would never buy an offensive item or appropriate something from another culture, you might say. There is an appeal to the boundaryless world, where we might walk at will, eat and dress, make art, write music and spin stories following whatever whim takes hold, free of the burden of identity. In addition to this, astrology also has associations with the body chains featured as part of the Roman and Greek art associated with the planet/star Venus, and subsequently, the goddess of love. An icon in the shape of a person's head and shoulders. (English lyrics were added in 1961 by the American songwriters George David Weiss, Hugo Peretti and Luigi Creatore.) This post was originally published on May 30, 2017. "I generally prefer lighter materials. I dont have the license to wear this particular hairstyle as I want to. And yet in the 90s, when a few of these producers were squabbling among themselves over rights to the song, one of them tried to make a case that the original tune was not the product of Lindas individual imagination but a traditional Zulu melody: a cultural artifact, like the Scottish Highlands air behind Morning Has Broken (immortalized by the British singer Cat Stevens in a 1972 single) and the Appalachian coal miners ballad The House of the Rising Sun (a hit for the British band the Animals in 1964), that belonged to no one and thus everyone. Some people may beg to differ from our point of view, but nothing shows cultural appreciation better than wearing such waist beads and body chains, among other kinds of body jewelry. Here are seven examples of things most of us have likely encountered that can constitute as harmful cultural appropriation. As an example, Pham examines the American designer Marc Jacobss spring 2017 fashion show, mounted in the fall of 2016, in which primarily white models were sent down the runway in dreadlocks, a hairstyle historically documented among peoples in Africa, the Americas and Asia, as well as in ancient Greece but, for nearly 70 years, considered almost exclusively a marker of Black culture a symbol of nonconformity and, as a practice in Rastafarianism, evoking a lions mane and spirit often to the detriment of Black people who have chosen to embrace that style, including a number who have lost jobs because of it. Do you know the significance? Cultural appropriation doesnt come down to some quasi-legalistic standard of is this allowed?; the unleashing of critics on social media who prefer outrage to nuance and the panicked retreat by the accused to the nonapology of Im sorry if you were offended is mostly sound and fury, and a measure of how powerless certain groups feel to bring about actual change. Jacobss blithely whimsical, multicolored felted-wool locs, Pham argues, do nothing to increase the acceptance or reduce the surveillance of Black women and men who wear their hair in dreadlocks. Removed from the context of Black culture, they become explicitly non-Black and, in conjunction with clothes that cost hundreds of dollars, implicitly elevated.. TikToks Things I Ate & Survived Trend Will Make You LOL, 45 Comfy, Cheap Outfits From Amazon That Look Actually Expensive, Genius Cleaning & Organizing Essentials You Need From Target, Get Even More From Bustle Sign Up For The Newsletter. She first started wrapping her hair in headscarves when she was younger for religious reasons, despite her mother's concern about her wearing them in a Western secular society. As Kat Blaque states in her video on cultural appropriation, There is no larger pressure that white people go under to assimilate into afrocentric beauty standards.. In the case of Mbube, there was proof that Linda wrote the notes. Sarah Jessica Parker wears a turban in Abu Dhabi in Sex and the City 2 and its fashion. ), A fairly straightforward story of exploitation, no? Some have likened using chopsticks as a hair accessory to putting a fork in your updo. For more information, please see our At the end of the day, the waist beads make the most stunning kind of jewelry, and in addition to there being no laws that stop you from wearing them, they look great on pretty much everyone! Come out and play, they say. Cookie Notice The next time youre thinking about wearing an item from another culture, here are some tips for what to do: When you wear cultural items head to toe, it can seem like a Halloween costume. And thanks to the size of Venus, the body chain is believed to have been used to adorn the statue of Venue rather than a real woman, as is the case today. These objects are deliberately mishandled, misappropriated, so they become, Hebdige writes, a form of stigmata, tokens of a self-imposed exile., Transformation is more profound than theft, which can make appropriation a useful tool for outsiders. It is believed that the body chains were worn as accessories draped over ones shoulders and also around the hips. But cultural appropriation is not the freewheeling cross-pollination that for millenniums has made the world a more interesting place (and which, its worth remembering, was often a byproduct of conquest and violence). It is sometimes considered cultural appropriation to use a Mandala if it's to be trendy and fashionable while you have no direct understanding of (or connection to) Buddhist culture. Its important to note that her hair, makeup and accessories were tasteful and subdued. Privilege and erasure are at the heart of any discussion about appropriation. Then a number of white Americans began to fear the very thing Han hopes for, their own transformation in the encounter with the Other, themselves melting, and so they beat a retreat. It often indicates a user profile. Should everybody just shop at the Gap and call it a day? "Cultural appropriation is about the power dynamic. cultural appropriation, adoption of certain language, behaviour, clothing, or tradition belonging to a minority culture or social group by a dominant culture or group in a way that is exploitative, disrespectful, or stereotypical. Some argue that cultural appropriation is good that its just another name for borrowing or taking inspiration from other cultures, which has happened throughout history and without which civilization would wither and die. They're situated between the brows at the site of the Third Eye, and function as a spiritual reminder for Hindus of their faith and duties at times when they aren't at prayer. Did you research the meaning and history? Best to rethink this Halloween costume if it isn't actually your culture. Basically, the key question to ask yourself if you're thinking of wearing something religious or ceremonial is: Are you part of that culture? Racial plagiarism, she writes, is never just about being inspired by but rather improving on an unrefined, unsophisticated, incomplete and, most crucially, unfashionable racialized form, reinforcing a system of value in which the originating culture continues to be seen as unrefined. Thus the frustration last year when a white-run company in Oregon started promoting congee with marketing language that framed it as a modernized version designed, in a statement on its Instagram, to delight the Western palate, which apparently meant adding blueberries in lieu of dried shrimp or jellylike, sulfurous century egg preserved in slaked lime. In other words, I didnt wear wooden clogs or style my hair in a shimada, the way that Vogue editors styled a white model for a famously appropriative and incendiary 2017 spread. Reaction was mixed when a Caucasian high school student wore a cheongsam to her senior prom. Last year, a piece on how you should be eating pho received criticism because it featured a white chefs own take on the Vietnamese dish. It comes down to the spirit in which you wear a garment and whether that spirit communicates respect versus condescension. No? An idea of cultural plurality that took its bearings from the protection of species and could only succeed by introducing artificial enclosures would be sterile, Han writes, and then concedes, Having lively cultural exchange means that things spread but also that certain forms of life disappear. Once, Americans touted the idea of the melting pot, with immigrants shedding their pasts and assimilating, which some of us learned too late can be a kind of erasure. Wearing body chains, especially the waist beads, isn't a form of cultural appropriation but rather cultural appreciation. When I ask her what it means to wear a head wrap, she says it's supposed to embody modesty and serve as a reminder to be conscious of how she carries herself and how to interact with others. But as non-Black and -brown celebrities, they have the privilege to wear the looks associated with another persons culture when that person cant necessarily wear looks from her own culture without suffering some type of fallout. So, yes, you can wear the white waist beads if its a jewelry style that you like. The problem is the system that limits who gets to do the imagining. If a headdress has no religious significance to you, dont put it on. CULTURAL APPROPRIATION IS one of the most misunderstood and abused phrases of our tortured age. Exotifying and commercializing food of another culture, thus removing it of it cultural history, can also lead to people reducing entire communities into a monolithic cuisine. Or, as the Washington Posts Clinton Yates explained, its showing up someplace and acting as if history started the moment you arrived., When Kim Kardashian wore cornrows or Fulani braids a hairstyle with deep roots in the Black community but called them Bo Derek braids (a reference to the blond-and-blue-eyed movie star who wore them in the 1979 movie 10), she was met with outrage. In the examples mentioned above, its celebrating black or Asian culture minus the presence of black or Asian people. Wearing a bandana, however, is of low concern when it comes to cultural appropriation debates. The very name halo-halo means mix-mix, and the treat is characterized by exuberant abundance. In African cultures head wraps can express a woman's marital status or age at a glance. Intan suggests reflecting on the reason for wanting to wear a wrap or head scarf. But google it. I scrolled through a list of people giving tutorials and got excited. Payals, or anklets, are meant to symbolize the arrival of a wife into her husband's house. There were so many different styles and materials to use. Cuisine often exemplifies cultural exchange as its best. Members of minority groups are more likely to struggle for opportunities to connect with broad audiences, from securing the loans and investment necessary to open restaurants in prime areas to winning the approval and financial backing of cultural gatekeepers like museums and publishing houses. Chanceline Kakule, 21, was born in Congo and raised in Zambia. If you're from a culture or faith that practices hair covering or rock a head wrap for reasons outside of those listed above, shoot us an email at customercare@lozatam.com BROWSE OUR COLLECTION OF HEAD WRAPS Why You Shouldn't Do It: Taking on the bantu knots if you're not a Black woman is increasingly seen as pretty culturally insensitive. What to know about cultural appropriation. After all, what was a folk song? Malan writes. What They Really Mean: These small buns all over the head may have had their origins in the Zulu tribe in the southern part of Africa. Body chains and beads are worn by many people from different tribe and culture and continent as as such it is not appropriated by any people but rather appreciated and borrowed into the fashion world. Why You Shouldn't Do It: Indian bridal jewelry, just like henna, is not something you can shove onto yourself out of context without expecting people to be confused and affronted. The race and class differentials a poor Black man living under an oppressive regime versus slick white record producers in the booming postwar West simply underscore the imbalance of power. They're often used as an overnight style for natural hair. She is a jewelry designer at SOQ Jewelry and other design companies. ABC Everyday helps you navigate life's challenges and choices so you can stay on top of the things that matter to you. I agree with you that it's important to think deeply about whether a piece is culturally appropriative before you wear it, but in this case, I see no real connection with the traditional piece other than the fact that they're both jewelry that goes on the head. Yes, white people can wear the waist beads, and there is really no rule that is against white people or anyone else wearing the waist beads. At the end of the day, anyone that stirs up trouble about white people wearing the waist beads is only a societal concern and nothing for you to worry about. "This led me to developing a stronger sense of self-identify not in the sense of me identifying as a hijabi or Muslim, because I don't believe these things necessarily define you, but just understanding and knowing who I am as a person. At night she ties her hair with a silk scarf that sits at the top of her head. If you dont understand cultural appropriation, imagine working on a project and getting an F and then somebody copies you and gets an A and credit for your work. In recent years, there has been an increasing debate around the world about whether certain fashion items are culturally appropriative or not. Again, its culture, not costume. How many white people wearing cornrows (hello, Kim Kardashian and Katy Perry) know that, in 15th-Century Africa, hair was a way to distinguish a person's age, religion, social rank and marital . I typed into the search bar. Yes, you could wear the waist beads even if you are not African or Indian. Above all, it turned halo-halo into just another commodity a trendy food that didnt need to be understood to be enjoyed and then discarded for the next big thing. The body chains, especially the belly or waist chains, can be traced to at least 4000 years ago, and all evidence point to this type of jewelry originating from India, or rather, the Indian Subcontinent. I cant help but wonder if they see these things as colorful, disposable accessories that can be amusingly donned and then ditched. There is no law on whether or not its acceptable to wear a cheongsam if you are not Chinese. But by the 1950s, after the all-white National Party government had codified segregation into the system of apartheid in 1948, he was working a janitorial job at the record companys warehouse and had signed over the copyright of the song for 10 shillings, roughly the equivalent of $41.80 today. "This isn't to mean that I need to be a reserved, shy or quiet person. Well find out about that and more in this article. But can a more amorphous collective, a culture, likewise be harmed? The hashtag #ReclaimTheBindi is ruthlessly speaking truth to the hordes of people who apparently think they are a cute hippie accessory instead of a religious tradition. When people with power and privilege decide to 'validate' customs and traditions that oppressed people have long been marginalized for by. It often indicates a user profile. In a culture where black women are penalized for their natural hair, changing it to look more like the dominant culture (in this instance, white hair) is a means for survival. By subscribing to this BDG newsletter, you agree to our. However, in instances where someone of the dominant culture is profiting off of the customs and culture of a nondominant culture, without the occurrence of any sort of cultural (or monetary) exchange, it gets into dicey territory. and our When it comes it body chains and waist beads, however, the definition may not be the same, but like all kinds of body jewelry, some people think of the body chains as elements that represent cultural appropriation. In a piece for Mic, author Jamilah King states, The problem, of course, is that it's unclear whether the Mexican women who handed over their recipes ever got anything in return. However, when pop culture takes parts from people who have not been historically deemed cool and beautiful and allows those parts to thrive through the bodies and voices of people who have been deemed cool and beautiful, we need to take notice. The problem often lies in the fact that, whether it is the artists intention or not, certain looks and sounds and aesthetics are automatically deemed more palatable by society when displayed on or by someone who is white. If youre looking for a hard line on what constitutes cultural appropriation what does not, I unfortunately dont have the answers you seek. Notably, champions of cultural appropriation tend to point triumphantly to hip-hop sampling as an exemplar never mentioning the white bands and performers who in the 50s and 60s made it big by co-opting rhythm and blues, while Black musicians still lived under segregation and, not unlike Solomon Linda, received dramatically less recognition and income than their white counterparts and sometimes had to give up credit and revenue just to get their music heard. BUT as I read and watched more about wrapping my hair, it dawned on me that the choice to wrap my hair wasn't as simple as I thought. Since Mariana Grande filed a $10 milliards lawsuit against Forever 21 for Monday, she has been hit with accusations of hypocrisy and cultural appropriation.. I usually style them either as a regular hijab or a head wrap/turban depending on my mood and weather.". Also, I've noticed when I wear it (at home), it evokes a feeling of European peasantry (my ancestry on both sides of my family). As activist Janaya Future Khan so powerfully explained in a viral video, people have explosive reactions to the word privilege. They feel defensive because they themselves have almost certainly been marginalized in some way; they too have gone through heartache and trauma at the hands of others. Body chains, especially the beaded ones originating from West Africa among other African countries, are often considered an African cultural thing that has been adopted by the rest of the world, with body chains considered an important accessory that anyone can wear today. So borrow away just be conscious about it. This is another example of cherry picking parts of a culture, thus leaving them devoid of their original intention. A huge part of cultural appropriation comes from the fact that we want the things we are told to want by industries and ideologies bigger than ourselves. What It Really Means: The reality is that the pieces a bride wears at an Indian wedding are all very context-specific, and have unique meanings. However, it becomes a problem when appreciation becomes fetishization, when exchange is one-sided, or when cultures are reduced to a single stereotype. So when people express concern over, say, novelists creating characters from another culture who merely fulfill uncomfortable stereotypes (which may be just bad writing), its in part a response to scarcity. IN 1939, SOLOMON Linda, a Zulu musician who grew up herding cattle in drought-prone Msinga in South Africa, improvised a few notes at what was then Johannesburgs (and sub-Saharan Africas and possibly the continents) lone recording studio. What They Really Mean: The Hijab is a covering worn in public by Muslim women when theyre in the presence of men outside of their immediate family. The problem is not so much the act of appropriation in and of itself, for what is a writers job but to imagine the lives of others, even if they fail in the attempt; to behold the universe through the eyes of another, of a hundred others, to behold the hundred universes that each of them beholds, in the words of the French writer Marcel Proust? "I use long chiffon scarves, square silk scarves or slip-on scarves (the activewear kind). To be clear: if a costume is a stereotypic portrayal of an entire demographic of people, that should be a red flag for it being appropriative. In other words, cultural appropriation can become more clearly harmful when a trend takes from a minority culture and deems that trend more societally acceptable when the majority culture adopts it. This, however, more often exemplifies assimilation than appropriation. Cultural Appropriation: "Taking intellectual property, traditional knowledge, cultural expressions, or artifacts from someone else's culture without permission.This can include unauthorized . On an individual level, it can be difficult to determine what is cultural appropriation versus cultural exchange versus appreciation. Still not sure? It comes down to whether youre aware of a looks cultural history, whether you give credit where it is due (as opposed to renaming the style), and how you honor whatever you are borrowing. What It Really Means: This look stems from a very particular subset of society which does not appreciate being made into weird "fashion symbols" while the reality of their lives is neglected. Wearing body chains, especially the waist beads, isnt a form of cultural appropriation but rather cultural appreciation. ': Black women reject racism and embrace their natural hair, The global fashion trend that's just starting to take off in Australia, My braided hair is more than a fashion choice it's sending a message. "While I rarely wear head wraps, when I do, it says words I am unable to verbally convey, and it states how proud I am of where I come from.". Still, what most people think of today as cultural appropriation is the opposite: a member of the dominant culture an insider taking from a culture that has historically been and is still . Scan this QR code to download the app now. Eventually, Disney took notice; Lindas lilting lullaby is arguably the heart of The Lion King. Record executives interviewed by Malan estimated that, as of 2000, Linda couldve earned $15 million in revenues and royalties. If You Purposely Look For Angel Numbers, Do They Even Mean Anything? It denotes that Im ghetto or that Im likely not educated. But I'm mostly a fan of the bow-style headwrap.". Weeks after I shaved my head, I had made it to the inevitable awkward stages of hair growth: the fuzz that doesn't brush. Beyonc in a clich-ridden Coldplay video) is different than appreciation (wearing a traditional sari at your South Asian friend's wedding at their request). They are not always considered cultural appropriation, although can be in some instances. Cultural appropriation often is viewed as a problem of . Ive seen blond Caucasian women wearing henna hand tattoos or cornrows with dashikis (traditional African caftans), and American tourists posting selfies while wearing turbans with embroidered caftans in the Middle East. (What a boring world that would be.) The things I reference are a part of my life, an archive of my experiences, he tells T. My work highlights the culture, landscape and craft that have always been around. Above: Say No More Fam (2022). Sometimes I wish I could wear those Bo Derek cornrow braids because I just want my hair off my face. Among its many pieces, it features a near replica of a brass Ife head (rendered by Hirst in gold) from a set of Yoruba sculptures that date back to the 14th or 15th century. Reddit and its partners use cookies and similar technologies to provide you with a better experience. One angry observer tweeted: My culture is NOT your goddamn prom dress. But the popular opinion in China, per some press reports, was to celebrate the teen for her stylish choice. Photo by Christopher Gardner. What It Really Means: The Day of the Dead, or Dia de Muertos, is a hugely significant Mexican holiday. But this is not always the case, especially with body jewelry traditionally referred to as any kind of adornment that was placed through and was attached to a specific body part. And as per historical records, the waist chains were used and largely worn in India by men and women. Courtesy of the artist and Matthew Brown, Los Angeles, Titus Kaphar. "They have been a symbol of Black pride for centuries. Do a little research into a garments cultural history before you wear it. Is it ever OK to wear a bindi or headdress? Are we as individuals allowed to wear only the native styles of our ancestors? When she wears wraps, they are colourful and handmade and make her feel empowered because they speak of her cultural and family history. I sometimes post things I do not personally agree with, but I believe Black people I know were like, No, these are cornrows or boxer braids! In 2017, Nigerian artists called attention to the British art star Damien Hirsts installation Treasures From the Wreck of the Unbelievable in Venice, which was so colossal that it filled two museums and reportedly cost millions to produce, including more than $60 million of Hirsts own money. Talk about racist biases. Why You Shouldn't Do It: The proliferation of Day of the Dead makeup on Halloween is rightfully pissing off some Mexican people, who point out that it's a fundamental part of their culture's perspective on life and honoring the dead not just a pretty bit of makeup. "It's a reminder of what she's had to endure, what we've had to endure, and overall a reminder that I am an African Australian meaning that I have African roots always. Much of what you see on tumblr is a confused idea of cultural appropriation. We acknowledge Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/30/t-magazine/cultural-appropriation.html. It is generally believed that the significance of this accessory had, at the time, changed to symbolize male authority and power rather than female sexuality. (The law, too, draws a distinction between commercial and personal use: For years, the song Happy Birthday was under copyright until a 2015 legal decision invalidated the claim which meant that people had to pay thousands of dollars in licensing fees to include it in a play, movie or TV show or to publicly perform it in front of a large audience; but anyone could sing it to family and friends for free.). Now she is also a writer for our website. As Rachel Kuo writes for Everyday Feminism, when people think culture can seemingly be understood with a bite of food, thats where it gets problematic., Music and cultural appropriation go way, way back.