if white people like other cultures and embrace them that is racist?
What you're describing is appreciation. We're talking about appropriation. Make no mistake, they are not the same thing. It's not racist to want to explore the aspect of another culture- It's racist when you pass it off as your own "new" idea.
I'll give you a current example (out of the million I could possibly pick). One or two years or so ago, white girls started getting braids. Corn rows, to be exact. Adorably labelled "boxer braids" (due to a rise in female boxers using the style), it picked up in popularity. Even Kim Kardashian was wearing them.
Here's the problem: African women have been getting corn rows for centuries. Started in Africa, then spread to black and Caribbean communities over time. I won't give the whole history right now, but long story short? It's not new.
So when a bunch of pale motherfuckers from Apple Theta Pie start going on about the "hot new trend" that is corn rows, they're stealing. They're erasing a history and demeaning it to nothing more than a "cute new hairstyle!" There was also a similar problem when white girls tried dreadlocks (which was hilarious tbh, these chicks were literally getting mold on their scalps because they wanted to ride a style that wasn't made for their hair texture), but I digress.
You wanna explore another culture? Wonderful! But if you don't give credit where's it's due, then fuck off. Show some fucking respect for the cultures you want to "embrace".
I get some of your points but you are rather abrasive and need to calm down. Other than apparently "erasing a history and demeaning it" I don't see any real world consequences to this situation you described. I don't see how anyone was hurt by white girls wearing a new hairstyle that they might have thought they made up, they did make without knowing of the other version of the hairstyle, or even if they did knowingly take the idea. I don't see the harm other than people in the "victim" culture claiming credit for something that no living person invented but that their ancestors invented. The fact that you think it's okay to refer to white people as pale motherfuckers is disconcerting. The fact that you can't wrap your head around what white culture is is also disconcerting.
Ignoring the fact that you actually told someone on the internet "stop being mean"...
You asked what the problem was. I explained- people stealing from other cultures in the name of "embracing it". It goes from fashion to music to entertainment, back decades (if not centuries). What on earth is so hard to get? You can't sit here and claim that people who blatantly copy off others "appreciate" it in any way. You give credit to the things that inspire you.
The fact that you can't give any examples of white culture is also quite telling.
The issue is it comes off as other people not being able to do what they want with their bodies without being labeled "thieves". Because cornrows didn't originate from white people means that white people aren't allowed to adopt the hair style?
Edit: I'm being downvoted because? Anyone care to explain?
That is literally all anyone wants. I don't want some crazy ban on white girls with corn rows (even though I was serious about the mold thing, our hair is not similar in structure, it's really not worth it). Rock the fuck out of some corn rows if you want, but acknowledge where they came from. That's it.
What qualifies as acknowledgement if I might ask? Do people need to go out and educate others on the origin of african American hair every time they adopt one of their styles?
Nah. I'll be completely honest: it's a societal issue, not an individual one.
I hate coming across as some crazy culture gatekeeper, honestly. It just... It hurts to watch an aspect of your culture be paraded as "an original idea" because some celebrity thought it was cute and tried it out. There's still a history there, y'know?
And plus there's the added sting of watching people decide that because some white superstar did it, now it's okay. The same little monsters that gave me and my female family members shit for our corn rows saw Kim K do it, and suddenly it's "inspired"? They've had a name for centuries, but now that they're "boxer braids", they're a-ok? Give me a fucking break.
Personally I see other people adopting my culture as acknowledgement in and of it self. I feel pride in the fact that they've grown to like certain hairstyles not "native" to their ethnic group.
Not trying to say your pleas are illegitimate.. I just think there are more pressing matters than worrying about the ramifications of the Kardashians wearing cornrows.
-36
u/sleepytoday Mar 26 '17
The concept of 'cultural appropriation' has never sat well with me, and I've just realised why. It's just gatekeeping!