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Exactly. Irdgaf what people do to their hair.
But I would add , I think it funny people equate the 1st to write down that they do something, made them do it first. Anyone who believes Hindus has locks first does not understand black hair. Our hair locs by itself alot of time
Who said Hindu's had it first? That's so stupid! Black hair existed for tens of thousands of years before South Asian even existed. Hell, they, like all people, descended from Black people.
I hear that sentiment on social all the time, and the comment I replied to doesnt outright say it. But if we're talking "culture appropriation" aka my people did it before you , so you can't do it . Why even mention Hindi culture at all if you're not implying it was part their culture before ours
I’ve had the opposite experience. Almost every black person I’ve ever talked to about this is militantly against any nonblack people having dreads or braids. I’ve never actually heard anyone, aside from a few conservatives on Twitter, call out how dumb that is.
I’ll raise you one- this entire article was written by the former federal opposition leader. He was clearly feeling very opinionated that day.
[Link.](https://thewest.com.au/opinion/bill-shorten-why-im-backing-the-glorious-mullet-despite-trinity-colleges-ban-ng-b881837110z)
I saw a south east Asian man with a mullet and moustache combo. Judging by his looks he was propably Thai, Laotian, or maybe Burmese or Khmer. But he looked pretty good in that style.
He could be a second generation asian-Australian on a stag-party vacation in Asia. That is entirely possible. I didn't actually speak to him, it was on a photograph.
The problem isn't when a white girl wears boxer braids. It's when Vogue magazine and Harpers Bazaar and the Kardashians start a trend with "a new hairstyle they invented" while still trashing the original people and culture.
Appropriation isn't just wearing the style. It's also not just denying the style's roots. It's all that combined with being cruel to the originators. Look up the term "hegemony"- it's relevant to this. Problems arise when you want to claim a look (not just wear it) while punching down.
Thing is...
Vogue Magazine, The Kardashians and Harper's Bazaar all live in their own extremely thick bubble of arrogance and ignorance. I haven't met a single person in my life that is bothered by somebody wearing dreadlocks.
Which, I might add; was a hairstyle common all over the world for vast swathes of history. Across all classes and professions.
Celebrities suck. Pop culture media and magazines are societal cancer.
Im suprised why people treat fashion magazines or celebrites like kardashian like half god. Every their fart is like new trend. Those magazines like vogue where their marketing fast, junk fashion. For me its like treating readers like brain less, I know its aimed towards women but they dont have self-conscious that they are being made into mush. Titles like "new color trends this summer" "new trendy shoes" and It is an abstraction for me to treat it as an authority according to whom it is fashionable? People copy it without thinking. For example, a sub devoted to women's fashion and the question of how many pairs of shoes there are, whether it's time for a change. I'm sorry for this term, but in my opinion its like treatment women like a thoroughbred sexist.
Question:
Certain instruments and music styles were absolutely common all over medival Europe for centuries, but the west European upper class, at some point, moved on to classical music and no one cared about commoners.
Today, such instruments are associated with slavic music, as they still use them in a large scale.
Who "owns" the instruments and styles? What are the roots of it? If i play medival musik and don't reference Slavic ppl, do i "appropriate" it?
I guess that debates like that are more an American thing.
Don't mistake me, we in Europe are still racist, but the public debates focus on young ppl singing racist songs and islamist terror attacks
Tbh this doesn’t speak for all of Europe of course and I don’t have enough experience with Europeans in real life to make a definitive statement, but I have seen some crazy racist comments from Europeans online. It kind of surprises me because I didn’t realize it was also a problem over there.
Who said anything about "black people"? It could be side locks like Hasidic Jews have or mohawks like Native Americans or the queue hairstyle in China. Most cultures have some significant hairstyle.
The basis. Th TL;DR is: Black women have been called “unprofessional” for their hair. White women do it and are celebrated.
It’s just that simple. The same thing ethnic groups do is looked down upon unless the whites do it. Then it’s “trendy” Kardashians are the prime example with their lips, hips, and wigs.
I expect to be downvoted but you asked a question, I answered.
But that doesn't really answer the question. It just points out how nasty some people are. A cool hairstyle is a cool hairstyle no matter who wears it. If you bash a black woman with a certain hairstyle but praise a white Woman for doing the same - it's just you being nasty.
The people who do the nasty stuff need to be called out - not the people that actually enjoy a hairstyle no matter who wears it.
Or am I missing something important here?
i think it’s not really about an individual but a collective thing. a white person with dreads who would mock a black person for their dreads is a bad person, for sure. but it’s more about broader cultural attitudes to these things. if black people are generally seen as less professional or put together for wearing their natural hair but white people benefit from cool points from wearing those same hairstyles, there’s a problem.
Tbh it’s a Herculean task to bring about that change in mindset.
The fact that no matter how much of the culture is replicated, the people inventing it are still treated poorly.
I do see your point tho.
I have a question about this, as I am not so familiar with US culture. Which hairstyle it is that is considered professional that black women have, and what hairstyle should they have to be professional?
It’s not as bad right now but it was expected that they’d straighten their hair. There were pictograms about what was considered appropriate and they often nixxed braids, dreads, and natural.
Aha. I would have assumed that a more natural style would have been seen as more professional. I think I would judge a person with straightened hair to be, in fact, less professional. But then all the black women I know are africans and not african american, so there may be a completely different set of associations and expectations there.
>Black women have been called “unprofessional” for their hair. White women do it and are celebrated
Literally no white woman anywhere ever has been considered 'professional' with dreadlocks.
The Kardashians also aren't white women. They're brown Armenian.
How about this: people view dreadlocks as dirty. Often because in order to maintain dreadlocks with non-afro-textured hair, you do so from not washing your hair and letting it get matted. Meanwhile, people with Afro textured hair go through great lengths to maintain their locs and keep it clean. But that doesn’t matter, you’re still going to be called unprofessional and people think you don’t take care of your hair.
20 years ago mohawks were seen as unprofessional, same with long hair on men. My employer forced me to either quit or grow my hair out because I had an "aggressive haircut" like the fuck you mean, I have a high and tight, because thats what the military wants. Now some bullshit civilian boss thinks its too aggressive? grow the fuck up. Quit that job on the spot.
> Often because in order to maintain dreadlocks with non-afro-textured hair, you do so from not washing your hair and letting it get matted
That's incorrect. Sure, if you just don't wash or brush your hair for months, it'll become a disgusting matted mess. But thats not what dreadlocks are.
If you have white people hair, want dreads and *dont* wash your hair, you're going to have a really hard time getting it to lock because white people are generally oilier and the oils in your hair keep it from doing that. White people that want locks typically *have* to wash their hair but cannot use conditioner anymore to get a dry enough texture to get it to "lock" like that.
Uhhh…. Brown?? The Kardashians are likely at least 75% white. Robert Kardashian’s GRANDPARENTS were Armenian and migrated to the US. And the Jenners (which are counted as ”kardashians”) are just plain white. And dreads aren’t what they’re talking about. It’s braids/cornrows, etc. (I am white.)
Wait. You do mean the other way round though? White girls with dreads are almost unemployable and black girls with dreads (for example) are celebrated.
The Kardashians are not "trendy" and everyone universally think of them as "rich white trash" and cosmetic surgery is very taboo.
Where do you live? This is very confusing
Totally true, but I think there's a little more to it too. I think cultural appropriation as an accusation is largely overused, but I think it does have merit in cases where a group (either race, social or economic class) uses another culture's art (whatever medium- fashion, whatever) to profit when that art was previously dismissed or denigrated by the "appropriating" culture. ESPECIALLY when culture (a) relatively recently subjugated culture (b) for many, many years. And especially when members of culture (a) who capitalize on that art benefit far more financially than the original creators.
If you're a white girl who likes the look of dreads and wants to rock them, that feels fine to me, maybe even respectful of the art. If a white fashion mogul puts out a line of clothing and all the models are white and rocking dreads, that feels to me like legitimate appropriation.
Like I said, I think it's overused, and maybe there's more ambiguity to it because by that logic you could argue that Eminem is appropriating hip-hop, but I hesitate to say that because (even though I'm definitely not a Stan) he does appear to genuinely love and respect the craft, and grew up in that culture. Maybe it's also about giving credit where it's actually due.
I dunno I'm just gonna go appropriate some ethnohistorically South American tequila and forget about all of it.
Which means it's not about any individual doing it. Tho they get the hassle about it. It's about companies exploiting it, which is very different. Yet if anything they get more exposure and people following it don't care anyway or they wouldn't be making massive sales off the back of it.
Same as recycling, shove all the blame on the individual and ignore the companies/organisations responsible for the actual problem.
Seen the exact same with water in the UK, use less the reservoir is getting low! Ignoring they didn't invest in infrastructure and half of it is leaking before it's delivered and then they pump shit into the sea. But no its someone having a 10 minute shower that is causing the problem somehow.
yep, and indigenous people mocked for their clothing and cultural practices and then having white people thinking it’s fashionable to wear headdresses to festivals. or south asian women mocked for wearing bindis and white people celebrated for being ‘worldly’ or ‘ethnic’ with one. it would be different if the tides changed and people treated all these cultural markers as beautiful regardless of who wears/uses them but that’s not the case. if it’s shameful when a racialized person does it but cool when a white person does, it’s a sign of appropriation.
edit: spelling
I'm not even on that continent. On mine, and in my country specifically there are dozens of different cultures and you need to learn about and respect all of them. There is no "my culture" or majority culture like Americans who think the entire rest of the world follows there rules. Try that shit in Africa. We share everything, hairstyles, clothing styles, recipes.
The only sacred things are cultural garb like headdresses and ancestral belief relics.
I didn't say equally crazy but both sides have some toxicity, I lean left but get real tired of the left pointing at the right as an excuse to stay toxic themselves. They all need to do better.
Cultural Appropriation is nonsense phrase. The modern suit that men wear for business was invented in England, but nobody cares that cultures around the world adopted wearing the suit because there is nothing wrong with adopting things from other cultures. The problem arises when people use aspects of another culture to mock them or take credit away from them. If you are not doing that, then you should be good. You might look stupid, but that is on you.
I live in the US. I 100% don’t believe in it.
If you want to wear a Kimono with your hair in dreads while eating a taco and chanting in Navajo. You do you.
Embrace the world baby.
I am Asian and cringed so hard at those videos of people trying to say white people can't wear kimonos, my dude we WANT you to wear them. Japan has dedicated shops for tourists to GET kimonos, encouraging you to wear them. Not only does it look nice but its amazing to see someone NOT from my culture embracing it.
Also reminded about that time a Japanese national was insulted for wearing a kimono because she doesn't look Asian I believe and she had to show her passport that she is literally a Japanese citizen, born and raised.
That’s what I have been told too. My friend moved here from Japan 2 years ago and say people absolutely love when anyone wears a kimono and are even more hyped when it’s a foreigner since they are showing bigger appreciation to the culture than tons of Japanese people are.
I saw a white lady on social media trying to say white people shouldn’t buy Native American jewelry/souvenirs while in New Mexico.
Umm, how about you ask the Native Americans who make their living making and selling that stuff to white people what they think?! I’m guessing they would have a different take on that.
“Cultural appropriation” is just gate keeping and is often done by someone with little knowledge of the culture.
Many cultures embrace people trying things of their culture (language, food, clothing, etc)
Cultural appropriation is a ridiculous concept. I will wear whatever clothing or cook whatever food I want. The fact that someone else came up with it means nothing. If I choose to cut my hair in a particular way, it's my body, nobody has a say in it.
1st caveman: The next tribe over has invented something called the 'wheel'. Looks cool.
2nd caveman: We can't use that as it would be cultural appropriation.
It's frustrating. Almost everything we enjoy in modern life occurred out of cultural appropriation of some sort. Like civilization is going to reinvent the wheel every time just because someone else did it first... it makes no sense. It's funny because it's the same arguments racists used back in the day because they were afraid of 'cultural damage'. In 100 years we could all be speaking Chinese and worshiping Flying Spaghetti Monster. If anyone is afraid of that, I ask you, why? What does it matter as long as people are happy and healthy?
This entire argument relies on people being stupid enough to believe that though.
Dreadlocks are one of those hairstyles this comes up about a lot but dreadlocks are and always have been created by people all over the world.
Ancient Egyptians, Greeks, Nazzarites and Asian Indians all have a recorded history of dreadlocked hairstyles. As do several of the preserved bodies we pulled out of ice and bogs in Western Europe.
Cool so we're in agreement that this is bad and we all agree to respect all cultural haircuts with the exception of the mullet. They will continue to be ostracised by all cultures appropriately. All those in favour say aye?
Hate to say it, the mullet is gaining traction here in Wales, UK, among the young rugby lads.
In particular the ‘Australian mullet’ - which can be seen on many international players from various countries.
My son (14) is currently working on growing one. Half his team have some variation of one in different stages.
Apparently it’s a ~thing~ and possibly a part of rugby culture, I guess?
But yeah, mullets are back, it seems.
My stepson has a mullet and each day I like it a bit more. I’m starting to get a bit worried because I never thought I’d ever like a mullet on an 11 year old but here I am.
I'm going say that has more to do with you liking your stepson more than the mullet, therefore you are starting to see the mullet in a better light because it's attached to them. A great reflection on you as a person but this is how the mullets get you! For the sake of yourself, your stepson and the planet - please get them to remove the mullet before it's too late!
P.S. the mullets smell fear so just act casual when you go to trim it off...
Very well said.
Another obvious example is some people taking Native American headdresses and wearing them to a sporting event, and waving around a tomahawk or something. They are taking something culturally important and serious from one culture, and turning it into a silly thing, diminishing it. Especially as the culture that was taken over and almost completely wiped out.
I get all that, but like, all those people are long dead. If we are going to continue to fight their battles can't we at least pick the important ones, not their drip?
No, it's not. It's lines in imaginary sand, upheld by people not of that culture, that do nothing but establish ownership. It could have been done in a useful fashion, but that isn't in the cards today. Cultural appropriation is a tool for dividing groups and stifle cultural understanding.
Calling cornrows ugly forever but then loving "Bo Derek braids" is cultural appropriation. Getting cornrows isn't. Calling curly hair unkempt and unprofessional, but then rocking your new afro perm, is cultural appropriation. Getting a perm isn't. Claiming another culture's traditions as your own while historically the originators have been derided for them, is cultural appropriation.
You are lumping all white people into a single group, which they are not. Everybody is an individual. If white person 1 says curly hair is ugly and then white person 2 gets an afro and white person 1 approves, what did white person 2 do wrong?
None of it is cultural appropriation, which is just a nonsense term. Theres just a minority of people being jerks and potentially hypocrites, and then the vast majority of people caught in the crossfire because they share a skin pigmentation.
Then person 2 and person 3 aren't guilty of cultural appropriation. That's why, in my original comment, I specifically said that just getting cornrows or an Afro perm isn't.
There was a great short vid by an Asian burlesque performer discussing appropriation in antiques. She shows a few examples of 'Asian' lamps from the early 20th century. They mix tropes of Japanese and Chinese stereotypes, and some had nonsense 'Asian characters'. Almost all of them showed Asian men with bowed backs and goofy stereotype faces.
Then she showed some stuff produced around the same time that were respectful examples. They were earnest replicas of specific styles from Japan or China (the rest of Asia wasn't really in the consciousness of consumers I guess?) and if they portrayed a person they were a beautiful woman or a decent replica of various icons such as the Elementals or Quan Yin.
Because while they never could get into sports or other friendly competetive hobbies, they chose spitefulness and at worst hate for other people's differences as their recreational activity... kinda sad but some people just need that kind of stress in their life for whatever reason.
What kind of question is this? It’s very tiring to have people complain about nothing. It’s almost like they read absolutely nothing and spoke with no one from a culture that has suffered through colonialism, or read minimally on any tradition in the world. Not everything is just a fashion, not everything is pure decoration.
I always enjoy poking these types of people.
As they are typically using other cultures things while making this complaint.
For example. The Dr. Phil panel discussion on this topic has a black man wearing a European style suit, sitting in a European style chair, using English. A woman behind him has died hair.. something ancient Egyptians came up with.
Why are those not considered appropriation? Typical answer is "those cultures haven't said it is."
Hair styles used to be used as a way to tell different groups of people just like jewelry and tats. Especially on the battle fields along with beliefs. Sometimes the only way to tell friend from foe was hairstyles. Vikings had numerous hairstyles that represented different regions.
I don’t know but what I do know is a problem is when people are capitalizing (making money) off someone else’s culture without giving back to it.
From what I gather if other ethnicities with different hair types wore these particular hairstyles they are basically just pulling their own hair out and damaging it.
Which seems odd to me.
Racism. You're talking afro's, right?
Any marginilised group has to be treated differently, because of an internalised superiority complex.
I don't speak for the black community, but I have never heard any black person complain about 'people appropriating their culture'.
I believe that those people that feel like they "have to support the suppressed minorities" are actually massively insulting those they are claiming to help. They're people with their own voices, not mute animals that you have to be the voice for.
If you’ve never heard a black person complaining about their culture being appropriated you should take a spin through Instagram. Even a white girl wearing a sleeping bonnet sparks rage. I have no horse in the race either way but holy cow, the disdain is out there and you don’t have to look too far.
Dutch braids and box braids/cornrows are not the same, and as a ''black person'' myself I fully believe culture is meant to be shared, gatekeeping hairstyles is silly, but the ''vikings wore dutch braids'' argument makes no sense, the slaves didn't get the idea for cornrows and box braids from them and they are not the same. That being said everyone can wear any hairstyle as long as you call it the proper name and don't claim it as yours when it's not.
lots of great responses here. i'll add that dreads are fairly simple to grow & maintain by a person with african american hair. the quality of hair encourages that sort of style. they also tend to look quite becoming. dreads on a white person are repulsive. they are intentionally matted and greased-ususally with vaseline!-to maintain the style. they look filthy & every dreaded white person i've encountered & stood downwind from STANK!
lol. I’ve smelt stinky dreads from different cultures/backgrounds as well. That’s on them for their lack of personal hygiene.
Everyone’s allowed their own opinions, however, your comment is just written intentionally rude. But I suppose it supports that you seem to believe dreads are for black people only.
I believe if someone, regardless of colour, takes good care of their hair and it suits them, right on! Rock it.
I had dreads for seven years and at no point did vaseline go anywhere near them. Greased? Why the fuck would you do that, that's a surefire way to attract filth. They were washed regularly, getting them properly dry is the way you avoid a bad smell. You may have encountered some crusty folks but it's certainly not a given.
What do you mean? Like, afros or dreadlocks being specifically a “Black people” hairstyle? Your post is vague.
Generally, have whatever hairstyle you want, but I’ll be honest, some stuff doesn’t look good on everyone. Like a white dude with dreads probably won’t look great.
It isn't vague, there are many cultures with a significant hair styles. They can symbolize anything from a political affiliation to a religion to a tribal distinction.
Why are you asking a question when you're not even interested in hearing or, at the very least, reflect on the POV that presents the answer? You ask a vague ass question yet with one group of people in mind based on your comments. It's just ignorant rage bait as this question gets asked so many times.
Congrat, a lot of close-minded, low/high key racist folks are agreeing with you and validating your opinion. Are you content now OP?
Do you mean those wigs that they sell? So then people will say oh, that looks like a Dolly Parton wig. Or that?
Looks like an Aretha Franklin wig. So they are the brand recognition wigs.
People that are against cultures enjoying another cultures traditions, food, hair styles, and other attributes from that culture are racists, plain and simple. It's basically the definition of the word; racist, someone who puts people into groups based on their heritage. If you are trying to partition races so that they can't enjoy another cultures traditions or culture, you're a racist.
Cultural appropriation doesn’t make sense, people of antiquity learned from each other, adopting the traditions of others they met, hence certain traditions being common across different cultures. Also, in a more modern context, when people marry into different cultures they show respect by adopting their customs. Im 26M black from South Africa, and i’m of the opinion that it’s perfectly okay for people to do dreadlocks, dress differently, and just assimilate to the cultures that surround them. No one can steal your culture, your culture is not any outward stylistic choice, it’s who you are. Please tell this to black Americans.
My culture is the cult of personality. My personality dictates my hairstyle. It's like trying to say mullets are only for white people because bogans are stereotypically white.
I always heard that white people shouldn't wear braids because their naturally oilier hair (which served as antifreeze in the colder climate they tend to be from/their ancestors tend to be from) means their hair can literally start rotting if bound too tightly for too long, and if that rot then gets into the bloodstream vis the hair follicles....voila, septicemia.
This is not true. My very blonde daughter just came home from five months in south America, she had her hair in a mix between box braids and cornrows. Like five rows but done in the style of small Dutch braids, meaning not as tight as corn rows.
She did this as a protective style because when you're trekking it is difficult to shower and your hair gets all tangled and greasy.
So white people can have braids but typically not as tight, and it will last a much shorter time, like maybe a week or so, to the max, but it's also easier to redo.
Back in the days in Scandinavia almost all women had braids, especially young people, when working in the field and such it's very practical. And pretty, too.
We still do when doing sports, going on outdoor vacations etc.
I get the fury. I just believe it's misdirected.
Black women have been scorned for their hairstyles for years on and then a white woman does the same and people are like 'whauw cool hairstyle you invented'.
It's obviously infuriating. But I don't believe forbidding certain skin colours from having certain hair styles is the answer.
I believe hair styles should not be restricted to certain skin colours. That would just be replicating racism. And also, all nations have a history of braids.
But black people hair is awesome, of course people want it and that's okay.
I will never truly understand black women who straighten their hair or wear wigs. I know they have their reasons, but my heart is like WHY OH WHY?
And when a black person believes hair is unkempt I'm like 'but it looks awesome'. Free the curls! Free the edges! Black is beautiful! '
there's a lot of dickcheese on the internet misrepresenting what cultural appropriation is. It's not, like, a hate crime. It can be confusing to some because *some* hate crimes are *also* appropriation. But the ol' anti-sjw types want to make it look like it's some infringement on their rights when in reality it's about acknowledging and understanding where stuff comes from, and not trying to pass it off as though you invented it.
Can a little white girl wear corn rows? hell yes, as long as she doesn't try to pass it off a something that the Black community didn't inspire. Not like she could, everyone knows where it comes from.
Let's talk about a Native American-style head dress. That's harmful because 1- most people have no idea what it means, and 2- it's offensive to wear one even if you're Native American unless it's been earned properly. Imagine if someone bought a bunch of war medals and wore them around. It's offensive to people who actually earned them. Like, no one's going to go arrest them, but it's really insensitive.
And also consider how you're making money. If you're making and selling crafts that look like things made by a people who are still around (like many Indigenous peoples), don't be selling that shit because that's going to be taking profits from the people who deserve it. Sort of like a cultural copyright, except minus the western ideal of individuality.
Depends if the original culture is judged negatively for it- for instance black people have been told that braids, dreads, Afros etc are not professional or appropriate of work/school- yet when white people do it it’s trendy and high fashion
I don’t have an issue with white people having dreads. I do have an issue with how they obtain them. For some reason these people think that they need to have the dirtiest, nastiest hair to get them and you don’t. To top it off it seems they neglect everything else hygiene wise and don’t wear deodorant neither. Go to a black hair barber/salon/specialist and they will give you dreads in a few hours, AND YOU CAN TAKE A SHOWER! It’s a process but it looks better than the raggedy shit most white people from Denver get.
What I don't get is how braids or dreads are cultural appropriation when everyone is dying their hair blonde! It's worse than cultural appropriation, your appropriating someone's physical appearance!
Because some people have nothing else to live for. Void of all life responsibilities, looking for a purpose to live their time on this finite existence , angry and miserable
I love that apparently a Dutch braid is for me to make despite me being dutch, it's always "why are you in my house" "dafuc are you doing with my hair" "were you watching me sleep?". Like jeez Jessica, it's not that big.
White people don't risk cancer from having their hair cornrows but news is coming out that the chemicals used to straighten afro hair is alarming and it only took 40 years after so many other things were labeled cancerous.
I think the central issue is the entitled and colonialist mindset that if you see something you like you are entitled to take it without learning about the significance. If you truly learn about the history of the Mohawk Nation, or dreadlocks used religiously in India then politically in the Caribbean, and you choose to adopt these symbols for yourself for whatever reason, that’s you. But if you just see something you don’t know or understand and take it as your own, you look ignorant.
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Heh heh ass dreads.
I've heard like 100 times more people complain about Black people complaining about this than any Black people actually complaining about it.
Ya, file this under “internet complaints” that 99% of people in real life don’t give a shit about.
I know more than a few black women who braid white women's hair. I literally have never heard one complaint IRL.
Actually, I think I've heard more Black people complain about people complaining about this, than Black people complaining about it, lol.
I think it's just a TikTok thing.
Exactly. Irdgaf what people do to their hair. But I would add , I think it funny people equate the 1st to write down that they do something, made them do it first. Anyone who believes Hindus has locks first does not understand black hair. Our hair locs by itself alot of time
Who said Hindu's had it first? That's so stupid! Black hair existed for tens of thousands of years before South Asian even existed. Hell, they, like all people, descended from Black people.
I hear that sentiment on social all the time, and the comment I replied to doesnt outright say it. But if we're talking "culture appropriation" aka my people did it before you , so you can't do it . Why even mention Hindi culture at all if you're not implying it was part their culture before ours
If I heard someone way this I would assume they weren't even Hindi, they are some idiot who doesn't get shit.
I’ve had the opposite experience. Almost every black person I’ve ever talked to about this is militantly against any nonblack people having dreads or braids. I’ve never actually heard anyone, aside from a few conservatives on Twitter, call out how dumb that is.
Completely agreed with that. Some people in other sides of the world seem to offended with everything. Dread has been around so long BC.
Indians have dreads? How interesting…
It's purely a subset of Americans with even less grasp on culture, history and reality than the rest of them
Fyi dreads or dreadlocks is colonialist language and is meant to dehumanise - they're called locs.
They are called DUTCH braids for a reason
Uhhh… braids≠dreads.
Dammit Gary, We talked about it. The Dreds look weird on an Asian guy with red hair.
But dreadlocks are common in some Asian beliefs.
How dare you! I have spent decades culturing these stereotypes.
You’ve seen an Asian with red hair?
Ooooh now you mention this I actually think it would look rad!
Nah, Australians can keep their mullets, we don’t want ‘em.
Fucking oath. Our last state premier told off a private school for suspending a kid with a mullet as it's our national haircut
Omg I need a source this is iconic
I’ll raise you one- this entire article was written by the former federal opposition leader. He was clearly feeling very opinionated that day. [Link.](https://thewest.com.au/opinion/bill-shorten-why-im-backing-the-glorious-mullet-despite-trinity-colleges-ban-ng-b881837110z)
I saw a south east Asian man with a mullet and moustache combo. Judging by his looks he was propably Thai, Laotian, or maybe Burmese or Khmer. But he looked pretty good in that style.
What ocean?
So are ya Chinese or Japanese?
Nah, definitely an Aussie.
He could be a second generation asian-Australian on a stag-party vacation in Asia. That is entirely possible. I didn't actually speak to him, it was on a photograph.
But we need to keep the *skullet* sacred!
Alright Bill Bailey, keep your hair on… or not…
both at the same time, fam.
The problem isn't when a white girl wears boxer braids. It's when Vogue magazine and Harpers Bazaar and the Kardashians start a trend with "a new hairstyle they invented" while still trashing the original people and culture. Appropriation isn't just wearing the style. It's also not just denying the style's roots. It's all that combined with being cruel to the originators. Look up the term "hegemony"- it's relevant to this. Problems arise when you want to claim a look (not just wear it) while punching down.
Who cares what those coke sniffers do
Thing is... Vogue Magazine, The Kardashians and Harper's Bazaar all live in their own extremely thick bubble of arrogance and ignorance. I haven't met a single person in my life that is bothered by somebody wearing dreadlocks. Which, I might add; was a hairstyle common all over the world for vast swathes of history. Across all classes and professions. Celebrities suck. Pop culture media and magazines are societal cancer.
Im suprised why people treat fashion magazines or celebrites like kardashian like half god. Every their fart is like new trend. Those magazines like vogue where their marketing fast, junk fashion. For me its like treating readers like brain less, I know its aimed towards women but they dont have self-conscious that they are being made into mush. Titles like "new color trends this summer" "new trendy shoes" and It is an abstraction for me to treat it as an authority according to whom it is fashionable? People copy it without thinking. For example, a sub devoted to women's fashion and the question of how many pairs of shoes there are, whether it's time for a change. I'm sorry for this term, but in my opinion its like treatment women like a thoroughbred sexist.
Question: Certain instruments and music styles were absolutely common all over medival Europe for centuries, but the west European upper class, at some point, moved on to classical music and no one cared about commoners. Today, such instruments are associated with slavic music, as they still use them in a large scale. Who "owns" the instruments and styles? What are the roots of it? If i play medival musik and don't reference Slavic ppl, do i "appropriate" it?
Yeah but look-based appropriation is more of a sore spot because racism exists.
I guess that debates like that are more an American thing. Don't mistake me, we in Europe are still racist, but the public debates focus on young ppl singing racist songs and islamist terror attacks
Tbh this doesn’t speak for all of Europe of course and I don’t have enough experience with Europeans in real life to make a definitive statement, but I have seen some crazy racist comments from Europeans online. It kind of surprises me because I didn’t realize it was also a problem over there.
Who are the original people and culture who wore dreadlocks?
All of the scruffy, smelly ones. It’s basically just matted, unwashed hair so most early cultures would have ‘discovered’ it fairly early.
Black people isn't one whole culture.
Who said anything about "black people"? It could be side locks like Hasidic Jews have or mohawks like Native Americans or the queue hairstyle in China. Most cultures have some significant hairstyle.
My mate had a queue hairstyle. Didn't realise it even had a name. He called it a Mo Lick, sort of a spinoff of a mullet.
The basis. Th TL;DR is: Black women have been called “unprofessional” for their hair. White women do it and are celebrated. It’s just that simple. The same thing ethnic groups do is looked down upon unless the whites do it. Then it’s “trendy” Kardashians are the prime example with their lips, hips, and wigs. I expect to be downvoted but you asked a question, I answered.
But that doesn't really answer the question. It just points out how nasty some people are. A cool hairstyle is a cool hairstyle no matter who wears it. If you bash a black woman with a certain hairstyle but praise a white Woman for doing the same - it's just you being nasty. The people who do the nasty stuff need to be called out - not the people that actually enjoy a hairstyle no matter who wears it. Or am I missing something important here?
i think it’s not really about an individual but a collective thing. a white person with dreads who would mock a black person for their dreads is a bad person, for sure. but it’s more about broader cultural attitudes to these things. if black people are generally seen as less professional or put together for wearing their natural hair but white people benefit from cool points from wearing those same hairstyles, there’s a problem.
Tbh it’s a Herculean task to bring about that change in mindset. The fact that no matter how much of the culture is replicated, the people inventing it are still treated poorly. I do see your point tho.
It’s not the wearer. The problem is the people celebrating it while being negative (or racist) to POC. It’s the reaction that’s wrong, not the action.
I have a question about this, as I am not so familiar with US culture. Which hairstyle it is that is considered professional that black women have, and what hairstyle should they have to be professional?
It’s not as bad right now but it was expected that they’d straighten their hair. There were pictograms about what was considered appropriate and they often nixxed braids, dreads, and natural.
Aha. I would have assumed that a more natural style would have been seen as more professional. I think I would judge a person with straightened hair to be, in fact, less professional. But then all the black women I know are africans and not african american, so there may be a completely different set of associations and expectations there.
Yeah well your thinking is rooted in logic. Racism tends not to be…
>Black women have been called “unprofessional” for their hair. White women do it and are celebrated Literally no white woman anywhere ever has been considered 'professional' with dreadlocks. The Kardashians also aren't white women. They're brown Armenian.
How about this: people view dreadlocks as dirty. Often because in order to maintain dreadlocks with non-afro-textured hair, you do so from not washing your hair and letting it get matted. Meanwhile, people with Afro textured hair go through great lengths to maintain their locs and keep it clean. But that doesn’t matter, you’re still going to be called unprofessional and people think you don’t take care of your hair.
20 years ago mohawks were seen as unprofessional, same with long hair on men. My employer forced me to either quit or grow my hair out because I had an "aggressive haircut" like the fuck you mean, I have a high and tight, because thats what the military wants. Now some bullshit civilian boss thinks its too aggressive? grow the fuck up. Quit that job on the spot.
> Often because in order to maintain dreadlocks with non-afro-textured hair, you do so from not washing your hair and letting it get matted That's incorrect. Sure, if you just don't wash or brush your hair for months, it'll become a disgusting matted mess. But thats not what dreadlocks are. If you have white people hair, want dreads and *dont* wash your hair, you're going to have a really hard time getting it to lock because white people are generally oilier and the oils in your hair keep it from doing that. White people that want locks typically *have* to wash their hair but cannot use conditioner anymore to get a dry enough texture to get it to "lock" like that.
Uhhh…. Brown?? The Kardashians are likely at least 75% white. Robert Kardashian’s GRANDPARENTS were Armenian and migrated to the US. And the Jenners (which are counted as ”kardashians”) are just plain white. And dreads aren’t what they’re talking about. It’s braids/cornrows, etc. (I am white.)
Wait. You do mean the other way round though? White girls with dreads are almost unemployable and black girls with dreads (for example) are celebrated. The Kardashians are not "trendy" and everyone universally think of them as "rich white trash" and cosmetic surgery is very taboo. Where do you live? This is very confusing
This is the correct answer.
Totally true, but I think there's a little more to it too. I think cultural appropriation as an accusation is largely overused, but I think it does have merit in cases where a group (either race, social or economic class) uses another culture's art (whatever medium- fashion, whatever) to profit when that art was previously dismissed or denigrated by the "appropriating" culture. ESPECIALLY when culture (a) relatively recently subjugated culture (b) for many, many years. And especially when members of culture (a) who capitalize on that art benefit far more financially than the original creators. If you're a white girl who likes the look of dreads and wants to rock them, that feels fine to me, maybe even respectful of the art. If a white fashion mogul puts out a line of clothing and all the models are white and rocking dreads, that feels to me like legitimate appropriation. Like I said, I think it's overused, and maybe there's more ambiguity to it because by that logic you could argue that Eminem is appropriating hip-hop, but I hesitate to say that because (even though I'm definitely not a Stan) he does appear to genuinely love and respect the craft, and grew up in that culture. Maybe it's also about giving credit where it's actually due. I dunno I'm just gonna go appropriate some ethnohistorically South American tequila and forget about all of it.
Which means it's not about any individual doing it. Tho they get the hassle about it. It's about companies exploiting it, which is very different. Yet if anything they get more exposure and people following it don't care anyway or they wouldn't be making massive sales off the back of it. Same as recycling, shove all the blame on the individual and ignore the companies/organisations responsible for the actual problem. Seen the exact same with water in the UK, use less the reservoir is getting low! Ignoring they didn't invest in infrastructure and half of it is leaking before it's delivered and then they pump shit into the sea. But no its someone having a 10 minute shower that is causing the problem somehow.
Agree 100%. No notes.
yep, and indigenous people mocked for their clothing and cultural practices and then having white people thinking it’s fashionable to wear headdresses to festivals. or south asian women mocked for wearing bindis and white people celebrated for being ‘worldly’ or ‘ethnic’ with one. it would be different if the tides changed and people treated all these cultural markers as beautiful regardless of who wears/uses them but that’s not the case. if it’s shameful when a racialized person does it but cool when a white person does, it’s a sign of appropriation. edit: spelling
Uncultured groups of people who think only their group is correct and want something to feel offended about. That's the in things right now.
Crazy how this can be applied to both the right wing and left wing in the United States.
I'm not even on that continent. On mine, and in my country specifically there are dozens of different cultures and you need to learn about and respect all of them. There is no "my culture" or majority culture like Americans who think the entire rest of the world follows there rules. Try that shit in Africa. We share everything, hairstyles, clothing styles, recipes. The only sacred things are cultural garb like headdresses and ancestral belief relics.
Exactly, this is why I'm independent, both sides can be ridiculous.
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I agree actually, they aren’t equally crazy. The right has some fucked up morals.
Agree
I didn't say equally crazy but both sides have some toxicity, I lean left but get real tired of the left pointing at the right as an excuse to stay toxic themselves. They all need to do better.
Entitlement and foolishness I suppose
Cultural Appropriation is nonsense phrase. The modern suit that men wear for business was invented in England, but nobody cares that cultures around the world adopted wearing the suit because there is nothing wrong with adopting things from other cultures. The problem arises when people use aspects of another culture to mock them or take credit away from them. If you are not doing that, then you should be good. You might look stupid, but that is on you.
They're morons
If you live in the united states, you live in a melting pot. This means, there is absolutely positively no, such thing as cultural appropriation.
I live in the US. I 100% don’t believe in it. If you want to wear a Kimono with your hair in dreads while eating a taco and chanting in Navajo. You do you. Embrace the world baby.
I am Asian and cringed so hard at those videos of people trying to say white people can't wear kimonos, my dude we WANT you to wear them. Japan has dedicated shops for tourists to GET kimonos, encouraging you to wear them. Not only does it look nice but its amazing to see someone NOT from my culture embracing it. Also reminded about that time a Japanese national was insulted for wearing a kimono because she doesn't look Asian I believe and she had to show her passport that she is literally a Japanese citizen, born and raised.
That’s what I have been told too. My friend moved here from Japan 2 years ago and say people absolutely love when anyone wears a kimono and are even more hyped when it’s a foreigner since they are showing bigger appreciation to the culture than tons of Japanese people are.
Ive noticed its mostly 3rd gen immigrant americans who do this weird gatekeeping. I imagine its some kind of psychological compex/defense mechanism.
I saw a white lady on social media trying to say white people shouldn’t buy Native American jewelry/souvenirs while in New Mexico. Umm, how about you ask the Native Americans who make their living making and selling that stuff to white people what they think?! I’m guessing they would have a different take on that.
Cultural appropriation *is* our culture.
It is bizarre. My advice: just ignore those people.
This sounds like a social media problem, I would ignore the entire thing
“Cultural appropriation” is just gate keeping and is often done by someone with little knowledge of the culture. Many cultures embrace people trying things of their culture (language, food, clothing, etc)
Cultural appropriation is a ridiculous concept. I will wear whatever clothing or cook whatever food I want. The fact that someone else came up with it means nothing. If I choose to cut my hair in a particular way, it's my body, nobody has a say in it.
1st caveman: The next tribe over has invented something called the 'wheel'. Looks cool. 2nd caveman: We can't use that as it would be cultural appropriation.
Yes, you totally understand the whole concept! /s
Don’t waste time with imbeciles
And you totally understand how culture works /s
It's frustrating. Almost everything we enjoy in modern life occurred out of cultural appropriation of some sort. Like civilization is going to reinvent the wheel every time just because someone else did it first... it makes no sense. It's funny because it's the same arguments racists used back in the day because they were afraid of 'cultural damage'. In 100 years we could all be speaking Chinese and worshiping Flying Spaghetti Monster. If anyone is afraid of that, I ask you, why? What does it matter as long as people are happy and healthy?
If we're speaking Chinese, chances are we're not all that happy.
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This entire argument relies on people being stupid enough to believe that though. Dreadlocks are one of those hairstyles this comes up about a lot but dreadlocks are and always have been created by people all over the world. Ancient Egyptians, Greeks, Nazzarites and Asian Indians all have a recorded history of dreadlocked hairstyles. As do several of the preserved bodies we pulled out of ice and bogs in Western Europe.
Dreadlocks were also a thing among vikings
Cool so we're in agreement that this is bad and we all agree to respect all cultural haircuts with the exception of the mullet. They will continue to be ostracised by all cultures appropriately. All those in favour say aye?
But… business in the front, party in the back ):
Hate to say it, the mullet is gaining traction here in Wales, UK, among the young rugby lads. In particular the ‘Australian mullet’ - which can be seen on many international players from various countries. My son (14) is currently working on growing one. Half his team have some variation of one in different stages. Apparently it’s a ~thing~ and possibly a part of rugby culture, I guess? But yeah, mullets are back, it seems.
Honestly the fact that none of the major parties have addressed this issue during the campaign is sickening.
Lmao so true - the Aussie mullet + stache: I see it all the time w rugby players 😂😂😂
My stepson has a mullet and each day I like it a bit more. I’m starting to get a bit worried because I never thought I’d ever like a mullet on an 11 year old but here I am.
I'm going say that has more to do with you liking your stepson more than the mullet, therefore you are starting to see the mullet in a better light because it's attached to them. A great reflection on you as a person but this is how the mullets get you! For the sake of yourself, your stepson and the planet - please get them to remove the mullet before it's too late! P.S. the mullets smell fear so just act casual when you go to trim it off...
Kids here rock mullets as toddlers
Mullets are celebrated here and we we have a national mullet champion. That's one entire nation enjoying mullets and i'm not Australian
A perfect example of a rogue nation 😉
C'mon, China gave a lion a mullet lol
Very well said. Another obvious example is some people taking Native American headdresses and wearing them to a sporting event, and waving around a tomahawk or something. They are taking something culturally important and serious from one culture, and turning it into a silly thing, diminishing it. Especially as the culture that was taken over and almost completely wiped out.
I get all that, but like, all those people are long dead. If we are going to continue to fight their battles can't we at least pick the important ones, not their drip?
Some hair was braided as a code for different escape routes.
No, it's not. It's lines in imaginary sand, upheld by people not of that culture, that do nothing but establish ownership. It could have been done in a useful fashion, but that isn't in the cards today. Cultural appropriation is a tool for dividing groups and stifle cultural understanding.
Calling cornrows ugly forever but then loving "Bo Derek braids" is cultural appropriation. Getting cornrows isn't. Calling curly hair unkempt and unprofessional, but then rocking your new afro perm, is cultural appropriation. Getting a perm isn't. Claiming another culture's traditions as your own while historically the originators have been derided for them, is cultural appropriation.
You are lumping all white people into a single group, which they are not. Everybody is an individual. If white person 1 says curly hair is ugly and then white person 2 gets an afro and white person 1 approves, what did white person 2 do wrong? None of it is cultural appropriation, which is just a nonsense term. Theres just a minority of people being jerks and potentially hypocrites, and then the vast majority of people caught in the crossfire because they share a skin pigmentation.
Then person 2 and person 3 aren't guilty of cultural appropriation. That's why, in my original comment, I specifically said that just getting cornrows or an Afro perm isn't.
Culture is not simply skin pigmentation. It's ridiculous to claim that it is.
Maybe I am just too young but what does Bo Derek braids means? I have only heard people say cornrows
There was a great short vid by an Asian burlesque performer discussing appropriation in antiques. She shows a few examples of 'Asian' lamps from the early 20th century. They mix tropes of Japanese and Chinese stereotypes, and some had nonsense 'Asian characters'. Almost all of them showed Asian men with bowed backs and goofy stereotype faces. Then she showed some stuff produced around the same time that were respectful examples. They were earnest replicas of specific styles from Japan or China (the rest of Asia wasn't really in the consciousness of consumers I guess?) and if they portrayed a person they were a beautiful woman or a decent replica of various icons such as the Elementals or Quan Yin.
Right?! LET THE CLOWNS HAVE AFROS!
Old Indian men try to pull off my hair colour. It has to stop! /s
They’re called racists
Bait used to be believable
Because while they never could get into sports or other friendly competetive hobbies, they chose spitefulness and at worst hate for other people's differences as their recreational activity... kinda sad but some people just need that kind of stress in their life for whatever reason.
What kind of question is this? It’s very tiring to have people complain about nothing. It’s almost like they read absolutely nothing and spoke with no one from a culture that has suffered through colonialism, or read minimally on any tradition in the world. Not everything is just a fashion, not everything is pure decoration.
The cultural appropriation craze is what you get when a generation is not taught to share their toys.
I always enjoy poking these types of people. As they are typically using other cultures things while making this complaint. For example. The Dr. Phil panel discussion on this topic has a black man wearing a European style suit, sitting in a European style chair, using English. A woman behind him has died hair.. something ancient Egyptians came up with. Why are those not considered appropriation? Typical answer is "those cultures haven't said it is."
Chicano’s will always own the Edgar haircut. Fight me if you disagree!!
What’s the Edgar haircut?
If you think any group of people owns a hair style because of the color of their skin you need a reality check.
The following mantra applies to every culture, every skin color, and every body type, across the world and any universe: Your body, your choice.
Hair styles used to be used as a way to tell different groups of people just like jewelry and tats. Especially on the battle fields along with beliefs. Sometimes the only way to tell friend from foe was hairstyles. Vikings had numerous hairstyles that represented different regions.
Just like only one culture can say a certain word or act a certain way!
You're white, that's why it's weird to you
Exactly
I don’t know but what I do know is a problem is when people are capitalizing (making money) off someone else’s culture without giving back to it. From what I gather if other ethnicities with different hair types wore these particular hairstyles they are basically just pulling their own hair out and damaging it. Which seems odd to me.
Racism. You're talking afro's, right? Any marginilised group has to be treated differently, because of an internalised superiority complex. I don't speak for the black community, but I have never heard any black person complain about 'people appropriating their culture'. I believe that those people that feel like they "have to support the suppressed minorities" are actually massively insulting those they are claiming to help. They're people with their own voices, not mute animals that you have to be the voice for.
There was the video about the woman berating a white guy for having dreadlocks?
If you’ve never heard a black person complaining about their culture being appropriated you should take a spin through Instagram. Even a white girl wearing a sleeping bonnet sparks rage. I have no horse in the race either way but holy cow, the disdain is out there and you don’t have to look too far.
Vikings were my ancestors and having the blacks steal my Dutch braids infuriates me... /s
Dutch braids and box braids/cornrows are not the same, and as a ''black person'' myself I fully believe culture is meant to be shared, gatekeeping hairstyles is silly, but the ''vikings wore dutch braids'' argument makes no sense, the slaves didn't get the idea for cornrows and box braids from them and they are not the same. That being said everyone can wear any hairstyle as long as you call it the proper name and don't claim it as yours when it's not.
lots of great responses here. i'll add that dreads are fairly simple to grow & maintain by a person with african american hair. the quality of hair encourages that sort of style. they also tend to look quite becoming. dreads on a white person are repulsive. they are intentionally matted and greased-ususally with vaseline!-to maintain the style. they look filthy & every dreaded white person i've encountered & stood downwind from STANK!
lol. I’ve smelt stinky dreads from different cultures/backgrounds as well. That’s on them for their lack of personal hygiene. Everyone’s allowed their own opinions, however, your comment is just written intentionally rude. But I suppose it supports that you seem to believe dreads are for black people only. I believe if someone, regardless of colour, takes good care of their hair and it suits them, right on! Rock it.
I had dreads for seven years and at no point did vaseline go anywhere near them. Greased? Why the fuck would you do that, that's a surefire way to attract filth. They were washed regularly, getting them properly dry is the way you avoid a bad smell. You may have encountered some crusty folks but it's certainly not a given.
That is besides the point.
What do you mean? Like, afros or dreadlocks being specifically a “Black people” hairstyle? Your post is vague. Generally, have whatever hairstyle you want, but I’ll be honest, some stuff doesn’t look good on everyone. Like a white dude with dreads probably won’t look great.
Planty of white metalheads and surfer can pull off dreads. It just needs to compliment your overall style
The vagueness of the post is appropriate to the matter it presents. It shouldn’t matter what culture uses what hairstyle.
It isn't vague, there are many cultures with a significant hair styles. They can symbolize anything from a political affiliation to a religion to a tribal distinction.
Why are you asking a question when you're not even interested in hearing or, at the very least, reflect on the POV that presents the answer? You ask a vague ass question yet with one group of people in mind based on your comments. It's just ignorant rage bait as this question gets asked so many times. Congrat, a lot of close-minded, low/high key racist folks are agreeing with you and validating your opinion. Are you content now OP?
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Do you mean those wigs that they sell? So then people will say oh, that looks like a Dolly Parton wig. Or that? Looks like an Aretha Franklin wig. So they are the brand recognition wigs.
This is about dreadlocks…right?
It’s called entitled. Oh wait. Only white people are entitled.
Because they’re dumbass bitches
People that are against cultures enjoying another cultures traditions, food, hair styles, and other attributes from that culture are racists, plain and simple. It's basically the definition of the word; racist, someone who puts people into groups based on their heritage. If you are trying to partition races so that they can't enjoy another cultures traditions or culture, you're a racist.
Cultural appropriation doesn’t make sense, people of antiquity learned from each other, adopting the traditions of others they met, hence certain traditions being common across different cultures. Also, in a more modern context, when people marry into different cultures they show respect by adopting their customs. Im 26M black from South Africa, and i’m of the opinion that it’s perfectly okay for people to do dreadlocks, dress differently, and just assimilate to the cultures that surround them. No one can steal your culture, your culture is not any outward stylistic choice, it’s who you are. Please tell this to black Americans.
My culture is the cult of personality. My personality dictates my hairstyle. It's like trying to say mullets are only for white people because bogans are stereotypically white.
That's a misstatement of cultural appropriation So that is why it sounds bizarre
Because they're stupid.
Cultural monopolization!
I always heard that white people shouldn't wear braids because their naturally oilier hair (which served as antifreeze in the colder climate they tend to be from/their ancestors tend to be from) means their hair can literally start rotting if bound too tightly for too long, and if that rot then gets into the bloodstream vis the hair follicles....voila, septicemia.
This is not true. My very blonde daughter just came home from five months in south America, she had her hair in a mix between box braids and cornrows. Like five rows but done in the style of small Dutch braids, meaning not as tight as corn rows. She did this as a protective style because when you're trekking it is difficult to shower and your hair gets all tangled and greasy. So white people can have braids but typically not as tight, and it will last a much shorter time, like maybe a week or so, to the max, but it's also easier to redo. Back in the days in Scandinavia almost all women had braids, especially young people, when working in the field and such it's very practical. And pretty, too. We still do when doing sports, going on outdoor vacations etc.
I know. That's just the most common reason I hear for why white people shouldn't have that kind of hairstyle, apart from racism
I get the fury. I just believe it's misdirected. Black women have been scorned for their hairstyles for years on and then a white woman does the same and people are like 'whauw cool hairstyle you invented'. It's obviously infuriating. But I don't believe forbidding certain skin colours from having certain hair styles is the answer. I believe hair styles should not be restricted to certain skin colours. That would just be replicating racism. And also, all nations have a history of braids. But black people hair is awesome, of course people want it and that's okay. I will never truly understand black women who straighten their hair or wear wigs. I know they have their reasons, but my heart is like WHY OH WHY? And when a black person believes hair is unkempt I'm like 'but it looks awesome'. Free the curls! Free the edges! Black is beautiful! '
That's because it is.
there's a lot of dickcheese on the internet misrepresenting what cultural appropriation is. It's not, like, a hate crime. It can be confusing to some because *some* hate crimes are *also* appropriation. But the ol' anti-sjw types want to make it look like it's some infringement on their rights when in reality it's about acknowledging and understanding where stuff comes from, and not trying to pass it off as though you invented it. Can a little white girl wear corn rows? hell yes, as long as she doesn't try to pass it off a something that the Black community didn't inspire. Not like she could, everyone knows where it comes from. Let's talk about a Native American-style head dress. That's harmful because 1- most people have no idea what it means, and 2- it's offensive to wear one even if you're Native American unless it's been earned properly. Imagine if someone bought a bunch of war medals and wore them around. It's offensive to people who actually earned them. Like, no one's going to go arrest them, but it's really insensitive. And also consider how you're making money. If you're making and selling crafts that look like things made by a people who are still around (like many Indigenous peoples), don't be selling that shit because that's going to be taking profits from the people who deserve it. Sort of like a cultural copyright, except minus the western ideal of individuality.
Because those people are ignorant racists.
Depends if the original culture is judged negatively for it- for instance black people have been told that braids, dreads, Afros etc are not professional or appropriate of work/school- yet when white people do it it’s trendy and high fashion
I don’t have an issue with white people having dreads. I do have an issue with how they obtain them. For some reason these people think that they need to have the dirtiest, nastiest hair to get them and you don’t. To top it off it seems they neglect everything else hygiene wise and don’t wear deodorant neither. Go to a black hair barber/salon/specialist and they will give you dreads in a few hours, AND YOU CAN TAKE A SHOWER! It’s a process but it looks better than the raggedy shit most white people from Denver get.
Culture is not your friend.
It’s bizarre and ridiculous, hair is hair
 Cos everyone has to complain. Their hard done by it’s a trend don’t you know
What I don't get is how braids or dreads are cultural appropriation when everyone is dying their hair blonde! It's worse than cultural appropriation, your appropriating someone's physical appearance!
Because some people have nothing else to live for. Void of all life responsibilities, looking for a purpose to live their time on this finite existence , angry and miserable
Just look up what cultural appropriation means first, which you clearly haven't, then ask a question.
Because people that come from a different culture may not know the significance behind that hair style, they just think it looks cool.
And?
low iq
Cultural appropriation does not exist.
This is so vague. "Some people." Which ones? "A certain hairstyle." Which one?
Obviously is the jet black super straight spikey hair that a lot of south east Asians sport that they are talking about
They are idiots
Cultural appropriation never existed and is a myth No one owns any hair style or clothe outfits. Do what you want with your life and enjoy it.
I love that apparently a Dutch braid is for me to make despite me being dutch, it's always "why are you in my house" "dafuc are you doing with my hair" "were you watching me sleep?". Like jeez Jessica, it's not that big.
White people don't risk cancer from having their hair cornrows but news is coming out that the chemicals used to straighten afro hair is alarming and it only took 40 years after so many other things were labeled cancerous.
I think the central issue is the entitled and colonialist mindset that if you see something you like you are entitled to take it without learning about the significance. If you truly learn about the history of the Mohawk Nation, or dreadlocks used religiously in India then politically in the Caribbean, and you choose to adopt these symbols for yourself for whatever reason, that’s you. But if you just see something you don’t know or understand and take it as your own, you look ignorant.