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okay, we’re getting on the racism discourse.
as a lot of you probably know, i teach uni-level sociology in one of my day jobs, so i would like to hope that lends what i say some credence.
as a lot of you probably know, i teach uni-level sociology in one of my day jobs, so i would like to hope that lends what i say some credence.
equally, i am a white person from the uk and while i have awesome POC to thank for educating me on this, i am not a person who lives these experiences on a racial perspective. there are some wonderful POC in the ESC fandom and beyond also talking about this. listen to them.
a starting point:
“cultural appropriation” is a neutral term. it is simple a descriptor of the process by which elements of one culture become adopted by or assimilated into another culture.
not all cultural appropriation is bad or harmful.
“cultural appropriation” is a neutral term. it is simple a descriptor of the process by which elements of one culture become adopted by or assimilated into another culture.
not all cultural appropriation is bad or harmful.
HOWEVER: cultural appropriation can be bad or harmful when it is adopted by a historically dominant, powerful or oppressive culture in a way that is used to mock, sanitise or erase the culture that is historically oppressed.
it’s been practised ever since colonialism has been a thing, and is a feature of a lot of colonial regimes. for example, aboriginal tribal and sacred art used to be sold for massively inflated prices in the uk as exotic curiosities.
so, to braids. hairstyles and braiding can be seen in different ways across a multitude of cultures. Black braids are both a decorative and protective hairstyle, and are different in both purpose and technique to other braid styles (eg. Slavic, Nordic, South Asian)
braids were also significant for Black people during enslavement, as they were used as messaging systems to support escapes to freedom. however, once emancipation was achieved, Blackness was still seen as inferior, and traditionally Black hairstyles were looked down upon.
Black people began treating their hair with chemicals which were massively damaging in an attempt to seem more socially acceptable in a society still mainly controlled by white peoples. Black hair and hairstyles were seen as ugly, dirty, unprofessional.
the impact of this is still seen today, with prohibitive dress code policies limiting the ability of Black people to wear traditional hair styles, braids included, and wider aspects of discrimination.
so the problem is the double standard. why is it okay for a white person to wear significant Black hairstyles when they have no need to (from a protective standpoint) and no recognition of their history (from a decorative standpoint) when Black people are still discriminated
against for wearing them? the problem with braids isn’t the appropriation - it’s the erasure of history and the double standard which contributes to the oppression of the Black community.
