why calling afro puffs/ other black hair styles white washed names and erasing black culture is inherently racist: a thread.

first lets start with this. black hair styles are used to help the black community manage their hair and keep it healthy. this is important because black hair is especially dry, and the natural oil their skin makes in the scalp keeps it hydrated, thus meaning they do not

have to wash their hair all the time, and which is why most forms of box braids, puffs, and other hair styles are convenient and helpful for black hair.

now, i am not saying that white people cannot use these hair styles, what i am saying is, white people have to call them what

they are in order for them to appreciate the culture the hair styles are coming from.

we have seen this happen with plenty of celebrities including kim kardashian and the jenners, while kim has also already had an issue with asian cultural appropriation when she released her

shape wear with the original name “kimonos” which later turned to skim.

regardless, there have been many times where people have changed the name of a black hair style. including changing the name of box braids and cornrows into the name of “boxer braids”

teen vogue posted this article in 2016, talking about the importance of the appropriation kim kardashian committed when she wore box braids, insisting she made them popular, thus erasing the idea of black culture and white washing it https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.teenvogue.com/story/boxer-braids-hairstyle-history/amp

the reason this is inherently racist is because of the fact that white people can wear these hairstyles while being seen as “fashionable and trendy” whereas black people lose jobs over these hairstyles and ultimately are seen as less professional and sometimes even “dirty”

now, cultural appropriation is something we see thrown around often, however it is important to know the actual definition of cultural appropriation.

Cultural appropriation can be defined as, “the adoption or co-opting, usually without acknowledgment, of cultural identity markers associated with or originating in minority communities by people or communities with relatively privileged status” (the actual dictionary def)

this article on anti racism daily explains why white washing these names is inherently racist: https://www.antiracismdaily.com/archives/respect-the-roots-of-black-hair-anti-racism-daily

now, in animal crossing it was said that these hair styles would be added in order to add more people of color representation: meaning that they were made for black people to have more hair that looks like theirs. https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.polygon.com/platform/amp/2020/11/17/21571242/acnh-animal-crossing-new-horizons-winter-turkey-toy-hair-options-update-nintendo-switch

when fifi/faye/edie used this hair style calling it “space buns” it inherently erased the black culture that comes with the hair.

she is more than allowed to use it, the black community isnt “gatekeeping” hair, we just want our culture to be acknowledged

she was educated and given the opportunity to change the tweet and correct herself but instead she made it worse and has harmed many poc and others in the process.

this thread is also very important i encourage you to read it ♡ https://twitter.com/kurtacuit/status/1334984717012250624