Cultural appropriation (i.e. Its frankly fairly easy to find examples of artists using cultures outside their own for the sake of achieving an aesthetic. From Katy Perry and geishas to Miley Cyrus and twerking, cherry picking parts of another culture and ultimately diluting and profiting off of them is cultural appropriation at its most clear. Why Ariana Grande Is Accused of Stealing Outfits, Cultural There is no law on whether or not it's acceptable to wear a cheongsam if you are not Chinese. We Interviewed 5 Cultural Appropriators at Coachella 2018 "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. "It also empowered me as a woman due to the non-conformity of society that the headscarf allowed me to exercise, not that it's the only way to do it. Personally, I love wearing kimonos. Intan suggests reflecting on the reason for wanting to wear a wrap or head scarf. The primary problem lies in the fact while black women receive cultural repercussions, like being fired from their job, for wearing dreadlocks or braids, women who arent black can sport the same hairstyle and be praised for being cool and edgy. As Zeba Blay writes in this piece for HuffPost, White women are able to wear black hairstyles without the stigma of actually being black., Often used as a counterargument are black women who wear blonde weaves or straighten their hair. Simply put, cultural appropriation hurts everyone. is wearing a bandana as a shirt cultural appropriation. Here are 9 trends that your might not realize are cultural appropriation. A related behavior we see some people . 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. Is Wearing A Body Chain Cultural Appropriation?-Quick Answer Well find out about that and more in this article. Cultural appropriation at music festivals like Coachella can be seen in decorative bindis, headdresses, henna, and other accessories deemed exotic or trendy. I've been shopping online for more head scarves for when my hair falls out. 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. 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. While the women ended up reverse engineering a tortilla recipe of their own, portions of the interview where the women talked about peeking into the windows of every kitchen was what struck some as appropriative. When we look at examples of cultural appropriation, there comes a point where lines get blurry. As author Carvell Wallace writes in a piece on Meghan Trainors blaccent for MTV News, What does it mean that Meghan Trainors voice is, technically, an approximated black one that comes from a white body?. (It didnt help that apparently no Filipino was consulted.) Black people I know were like, No, these are cornrows or boxer braids! When is it problematic to adopt customs, practices or ideas from a group of people or culture? 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. Chanceline Kakule, 21, was born in Congo and raised in Zambia. 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. Hair Chains, cultural appropriation or no? see comments for more We have a term within the Black community: Christopher Columbus-ing. Its taking something from a marginalized group and renaming it to claim it as your own. 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. Remember that African people, like all other societies and cultures, are always happy to share parts of their culture and not really protective of it. For hundreds of years, the West learned of other cultures through the reports of its own emissaries, and the market for exotic goods still presupposes that there is comfort, for many, in having a white person translate another culture to make it less threatening, or to play up its supposed strangeness for a thrill. An icon in the shape of a person's head and shoulders. Weeks after I shaved my head, I had made it to the inevitable awkward stages of hair growth: the fuzz that doesn't brush. The "RuPaul's Drag Race" space Farrah Grumble and the fashion supervisor Instagram account Diet Prada have logged that most high-profile complaints via Grandes either, notably, around her apparent habit of copying accessories from . 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. But what if it had, in fact, been a traditional Zulu song? entertainment, news presenter | 4.8K views, 28 likes, 13 loves, 80 comments, 2 shares, Facebook Watch Videos from GBN Grenada Broadcasting Network: GBN News 28th April 2023 Anchor: Kenroy Baptiste. Can non Africans wear waist beads? 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. 7 Things You Might Not Realize Are Cultural Appropriation, But Are - Bustle 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. 2023 BDG Media, Inc. All rights reserved. But when you wear another groups cultural signifiers head to toe, it can create the impression that you see them as a costume. 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. 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. Courtesy of the artist and Gagosian, Titus Kaphar. What They Really Mean: In Japanese, kimono translates to thing to wear and it refers to the countrys traditional garment that has been around for hundreds of years. Such a slippery verb, appropriate, from the Latin ad propriare, to make ones own. It doesnt carry the forthrightly criminal aura of steal. Embedded in it is the notion of adapting something so it is particular to oneself, so that it no longer belongs to or is true to the character of the original source is no longer other but self. 11 of the Most Culturally Appropriated South Asian Accessories - And It often indicates a user profile. circus, merchandising | 862 views, 32 likes, 6 loves, 153 comments, 4 shares, Facebook Watch Videos from Cafe Locked Out: The No Goat Show. For the thousands of viewers seeing this for the first time, they wont think Ife, they wont think Nigeria, the Nigerian artist Victor Ehikhamenor wrote on Instagram. NONE OF THIS means that artists shouldnt take inspiration from other cultures. "And it's helped me become confident in the things I liked for myself, not what others liked for me.". Throughout this article are paintings by two artists, Titus Kaphar and Alfonso Gonzalez Jr. What They Really Mean: The burqa or burka is an Islamic outer garment for women that covers the entire body and face. Stephanie is a jewelry lover when she was a teenager. Some have likened using chopsticks as a hair accessory to putting a fork in your updo. What They Really Mean: From Southeast Asia to the Middle East, North Africa, and more, communities all over the world wear turbans to signify their religious faith. But can a more amorphous collective, a culture, likewise be harmed? While borrowing and sharing from other cultures is an important and natural process, there is sometimes a complicated line between that and cultural appropriation which can have a negative impact on people of those cultures. I would never buy an offensive item or appropriate something from another culture, you might say. 15 Popular Fake Chains That Look Real in 2023, Is Sterling Silver 925 Worth Anything? I would be careful not to dishonor the symbol. We need understanding at every level. Wearing body chains, especially the waist beads, isn't a form of cultural appropriation but rather cultural appreciation. An icon in the shape of a person's head and shoulders. Cookie Notice Your information is being handled in accordance with the, 'Why can't I be myself? Are Balaclavas Cultural Appropriation? Wearing a Balaclava One famous case of cultural appropriation is the Native American feather headdress, which is now banned at several festivals around the world and woe betide any starlet who thinks it's "cute" to pose in it on Halloween or Instagram. Kim Kardashian, however, can wear it any day of the week and walk into an office or a business meeting, and no one is going to think she uses drugs or lacks sophistication. When she wears wraps, they are colourful and handmade and make her feel empowered because they speak of her cultural and family history. 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. 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. If You Purposely Look For Angel Numbers, Do They Even Mean Anything? Scan this QR code to download the app now. 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. Think about whether someone else would encounter bias if she wore the style youre considering. So Is Wearing A Body Chain Cultural Appropriation? But, as Khan clarifies, Privilege isnt about what youve gone through; its about what you havent had to go through., This much I know: In order to work through these issues, we have to hear one another, to see one anothers humanity, to acknowledge one anothers hurt. Cuisine often exemplifies cultural exchange as its best. 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. So borrow away just be conscious about it. I sometimes post things I do not personally agree with, but I believe Even the nose ring, or nath, has cultural associations, depending on where in India it is being worn. Are Head Chains Cultural Appropriation? - Quick Answer Costumes that are examples of cultural appropriation can unfortunately be found pretty much anywhere Halloween garb is sold. (Expert Answer in 2023). Its easier to attack individuals than institutions unless you can disrupt the market: Earlier this year, enough Chinese citizens complained about the similarity between a Christian Dior design and the pleated mamian qun (horse-face skirt), which dates back to the Song dynasty (960-1279), that the fashion house removed the garment from its website because China, with its population of about 1.4 billion consumers, has serious bargaining power. So, with waist beads and body chains worn increasingly in the waist, whether made of threaded strings, hooped chains, or small beads, the popularity of body chains can be regarded as the best form of cultural appreciation. Why You Shouldnt Wear It: Like the hijab, its clear theres a double standard tied to burqas and niqabs that you shouldnt perpetuate. This article was originally published on Oct. 28, 2015, Zendaya Wore A Vintage Bustier Dress From The Versace Vault, Florence Pugh Put Her Own Chic Twist On The No-Pants Trend, Heres Everything You Need To Know About The 2023 Met Gala, The Most Stunning Plus-Size Looks In Met Gala History, Get Even More From Bustle Sign Up For The Newsletter. Reply Jezebelle22 Additional comment actions But the turban style feels kinda like it would be cultural appropriation. Much of what you see on tumblr is a confused idea of cultural appropriation. As Emma Roberts learned during the 2015 Met Gala, chopsticks as a means to celebrate Asian culture are both culturally inaccurate and reducing Asian culture to a singular stereotype. Are Waist Chains Cultural Appropriation? An In-Depth Exploration 26 Apr 2023 11:12:58 Cultural appreciation and cultural exchange are vital parts of any culture. "Head wraps [are] far more than a piece of fabric.". I scrolled through a list of people giving tutorials and got excited. (What a boring world that would be.) It's possible to delight in the glory of a particular culture's skill in jewelry-making without, you know, insulting them by wearing it completely out of its intended context as a cute thing at Coachella. Do you know the significance? In the examples mentioned above, its celebrating black or Asian culture minus the presence of black or Asian people. 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? No one is going to fire her or Miley, or kick them out of school for wearing these hairstyles. 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.. Its important to note that her hair, makeup and accessories were tasteful and subdued. Would it be offensive for me to wear this? 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. . RT @KimComstock5: Got a question for my friends. Additionally, year-round parties in which the theme is something stereotypically associated with a specific group of people (Looking at you, thug parties) goes beyond cultural appropriation in just being blatantly racist. It's time to stop judging women for wearing nail art, With great curly hair comes great responsibility this is how to embrace it, Feeling comfy in your own skin when you've grown up thinking it's the wrong colour, From yellowface to Crazy Rich: Asian Australians celebrate seeing themselves onscreen, complicated line between that and cultural appropriation. Some called it a desecration. Certainly these are nontraditional ingredients, but the tradition in this case is only a hundred years old: The Philippines started receiving shipments of ice in the mid-19th century and, as chronicled by the Filipino historian Ambeth R. Ocampo, halo-halo evolved in the 1920s and 30s from a Japanese dessert of red beans in syrup over ice (itself part of a much longer tradition in Japan, going back to at least the 10th century). 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. Courtesy of the artist and Gagosian. Yasmin uses square scarves in silk and chiffon, which are often in block colour pastels or vibrant patterns. Kevin Winter/Getty Images Entertainment/Getty Images, Portland burrito cart were criticized for cultural appropriation, Cultural appropriation at music festivals, baby hairs and box braids worn by white models, Costumes that are examples of cultural appropriation. I know a Middle Eastern young woman who wears a head covering for religious reasons. Courtesy of the artist and Matthew Brown, Los Angeles, Titus Kaphar. When she goes out, she thinks twice: Maybe I should show a bit of my hair or wear more makeup so I seem less threatening? These are the second thoughts that some people have to consider when theyre trying to display their own culture. I loved the way I looked in it. Strictly speaking, cultural appropriation is the adoption of some element of another culture -- food, language, practices, fashion, etc. The very name halo-halo means mix-mix, and the treat is characterized by exuberant abundance. I typed into the search bar. The body chains from these periods were intricately designed in what looks like the detailed Roman style that is also seen in the ancient but standing architecture. It comes down to the spirit in which you wear a garment and whether that spirit communicates respect versus condescension. If a member of the culture that originated the look were to wear it, might she suffer for it? Copyright law (within human history, a fairly recent development) tells us that individuals have ownership over what they create and are harmed when others copy from them without permission, attribution or compensation. She actually has the privilege to enter most rooms and spaces dressed any way she likes without people attaching stereotypes to her. It covers the hair, head, and chest, but the laws for wearing differ all over the world. The consequences of cultural appropriation can have insidious implications regardless of the intentions of the appropriator. Photo: Prudence Cuming Associates Ltd. "I use long chiffon scarves, square silk scarves or slip-on scarves (the activewear kind). There were so many different styles and materials to use. I needed to shape my hair and I thought a wrap would be perfect. It is believed that the body chains were worn as accessories draped over ones shoulders and also around the hips. Since head chains have an origin and meaning behind them, you do not want your choice of head jewelry offending someone else unless you are honoring the culture and not making fun of it. Are Bandanas Cultural Appropriation? (2023) From baby hairs and box braids worn by white models on the runway to tutorials for how to achieve afros with white hair, black culture is often appropriated in the name of fashion. The choices are abysmal. sho konishi on Instagram: "When I was trying to be a ready-to-wear And as per historical records, the waist chains were used and largely worn in India by men and women. No, wearing a balaclava isn't a form of cultural appropriation and is largely seen as a type of clothing that protects you from the cold weather - however, wearing a balaclava when hijabs and hoodies for people of color is a contentious topic does create a system of privilege. While being culturally appreciated by the rest of the world, the decision by the Western nations to now label the chain as belly beads or the beaded waist chains rather than the waist beads can be considered a form of cultural appropriation. Here's What You Get Wrong When You Culturally Appropriate - HuffPost Intan says when she steps out of the door, she's always wearing a wrap. It was updated on October 9, 2019. So few slots are available for nonwhite writers that those who break through are sometimes themselves charged with a kind of self-appropriation: self-Orientalizing or minstrelsy, exaggerating elements of their culture for a white gaze; living up to the image that white writers have created for them, the easier to be packaged and sold. But if it's not part of a culture you identify with, it's worth finding out more so you can at least make an informed choice about what you are wearing and the history you are drawing from if you do. Although waist beads are largely associated with West Africa, they are also seen and present in Latin and Hispanic cultures. 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 . Then you should probably step away. This is not about a white person wearing a cheongsam to prom or a sombrero to a frat party or boasting about the strange, exotic, foreign foods theyve tried, any of which has the potential to come across as derisive or misrepresentative or to annoy someone from the originating culture although refusal to interact with or appreciate other cultures would be a greater cause for offense but which are generally irrelevant to larger issues of capital and power. Being displayed in a museum confers value; Nigeria was not invited to present a national pavilion at the Venice Biennale until 2017 and, even then, the Nigerian artists there were overshadowed in the press by Hirst. "They have been a symbol of Black pride for centuries. Why You Shouldn't Wear It: The increasing appearance of the mark on the foreheads of fashionistas around the world under the excuse that it's "so '90s" is not impressing people who wear them as, you know, part of their culture. But what does it signal when I wear them as a Black woman? And as accusations of improper borrowing increase, what is at stake when boundaries of collective identity are crossed? Again, its culture, not costume. There is fear, too, that the appropriated form of a culture may supplant the original and become the only version people outside that culture know. 215 likes, 2 comments - sho konishi (@sho_konishi) on Instagram on November 15, 2021: "When I was trying to be a ready-to-wear designer This is my junior year work at @modegakuen." sho konishi on Instagram: "When I was trying to be a ready-to-wear designer This is my junior year work at @modegakuen from the sewing class in 2012. Lets look specifically at Native American headdresses as a trendy accessory. In addition to reducing Native American cultures, of which there are hundreds, to a single stereotype, this is removing all context for why headdresses are significant. The problem is the system that limits who gets to do the imagining. Depending on the material that the body chains were made of, others wore the chains as a way of showing off their affluence. But is your decision to wear a body chain considered a form of cultural appropriation or a form of disrespect to some ancient culture? 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.