Cultural Appropriation?

Hey guys!

So, this is a bit of a different post for me, but I was inspired by this blog post by my classmate Whitney. Her post addresses an issues that's been of particular interest to me lately, and that's cultural appropriation and the ethical dilemma behind it.

I watch a lot of YouTube videos, and one of the YouTuber that I watch recently got into a bit of a dilemma because of this issues. You see, she's a young white woman from England, and her hair is pink, and in dreadlocks.

People were outraged by her hair, and it seemed crazy to me for several reasons. One, of course, being that it is her hair, and I think that someone should have freedom of expression with their body and appearance.

And, according to this article, there may be historical flaws in the conflict:

Dreadlocks have a history rooted in the African continent beginning with the ancient Egyptians, but not necessarily in the black community.Dreadlocks can be dated as far back as 2500 B.C. and can be found in different religious documents, such as the story of Samson in the Old Testament of the Bible and the Hindu deity Shiva.The transition of dreadlocks into mainstream society began with musician Bob Marley, as well as the introduction of Rastafarianism outside of Jamaica.The history of Rastafarianism, however, is rooted in black culture, but the point of the column isn’t to give you a history lesson. The intent is to show that blacks are subject to cultural appropriation — no matter how hard it is to admit.African-Americans didn’t create dreadlocks. We appropriated it after it underwent its own round of cultural diffusion in Africa. It would be ignorant to think that cultural appropriation doesn’t happen anymore within U.S diversity.

So, the bigger question that seemed to be raditating from this issue was: Why is it offensive? Some may say that she is disrespecting African American culture by wearing dreadlocks, but even that is appropriation of a different sort. Is that really what's happening here?

I think that people are so quick to villainize others that they fail to really look at a situation: if this girl wanted to relate a malicious or disrespectful message about a culture, why would she do it in a way that is so permanently connected to her?

Then, if one watched the next video she uploaded, one would see that she was in tears, and explaining that she had the locks put in because her hair was falling out from bleach and heat damage.

Suddenly, all the comments were much more positive, which got me thinking: So, it's okay if there's a reason for it? Were people not assuming there was a reason before? Is cultural admiration a good enough reason?

This ties into Whitney's article, which mentioned Halloween and costume parties, and some schools saying it wasn't okay for students to dress as a character who was not the same ethnicity as themselves.

To me (as an avid Halloween fan and cosplayer) this sends the wrong message to kids and adults alike. We're punishing people for having a favorite Disney princess who's black, or really loving a comic book character who's Asian. When did we stop teaching diversity and admiration for other cultures, and start teaching people to never step outside their cultural bounds?

I agree that there is a difference between a costume and blackface, and in no way is it ever okay to make fun of someone else's culture, but is that really what's happening here?

For example, I'm latina, and I would have no problem with someone coming to a costume party dressed as a Spanish princess or a flamenco dancer.

I'm also latina and I regularly get braided sew-in extensions, aka a weave. Am I appropriating what is traditionally an African American hair technique? I, personally, don't think so. I get those extensions because my hair is damaged, and they're one of the only methods that protects your hair and gives you a lengthening effect. I appreciate that. I love it! I have no disrespect whatsoever for anything about it.

Whitney also mentioned that cultural appropriation has to do with consent to use those cultural aspects or practices, and I have to wonder: how does one acquire consent from an entire ethnic group? That would be impossible.

Finally, I think we are forgetting that America is a nation of immigrants, and technically very little of the cultural practices here are explicitly our own. We once prided ourselves on being a melting pot of cultures, now it seems we are punishing people for embracing that idea.

What do you think?