At McClatchy High School, no student is oblivious to a trend that emerged last year and is now (hopefully) trickling to an end. White people doing cornrows. Rather it is while in the halls or while scrolling through Instagram, I have witnessed Caucasians "rocking" cornrows, a hairstyle that is traditional to African cultures. For that reason, white people with the hairstyle easily fits the description of cultural appropriation, which is when a dominant culture adopts elements of a minority culture without consent, often times without an understanding or respect of the culture.
To be perfectly honest, when I first saw people wearing cornrows who were not African American, I didn't see a problem with it. I mean, its just braids, right? But after listening to my friends and reading some opinion articles online and in the Prospector, I understood why they can be offensive. I realized that the hairstyle does not represent just braids in the same way that a white girl wearing a Native American headdress on Halloween is not just a costume.
I think that part of the reason that I did not fully understand cultural appropriation the first time I remember witnessing it is because of the media's influence on my perception of what is offensive and what is trendy. Dozens of celebrities and supermodels have appropriated certain cultures, mainly African and Native American cultures. In turn, pictures of it-girls, such as Kylie Jenner, Kim Kardashian, Paris Hilton, Gwen Stefani, and Heidi Klum, have surfaced on Instagram, Twitter, and in magazines, as they are hailed as fashion icons and trendsetters. This type of media exposure writes-off cornrows as a simple hairstyle for everyone, when in fact, it is historically linked to African cultures and can be seen as offensive.
Do you think that white people doing cornrows is culturally insensitive? Or that the media has influenced you to view cornrows a certain way?
I think this is a very important issue. Justifying that Caucasians can take anything they want from other cultures and claim it as there own is very racist. I also was exposed to the problems of cultural appropriation very late in life, and as a white person, I feel like I should have known about it earlier. People not knowing about the implications of cultural appropriation is the reason people are insensitive about it. Any ideas on how to change this?
ReplyDeleteI think that we get all of our fashion influence through two sources: the media and our peers. For example, one might see a cute eye shadow trend on either social media or on their friend from school, making them want to mimic the trend and try it out for themselves. However, most often times, our peers also get the majority of the influence via a media outlet, so it is safe to say that the media is the source of almost all trends and fashion influence. Cornrows, being one of these trends, has appeared in the media: on the runway, in magazines, and celebrities' social accounts. White celebrities and models wearing cornrows has been met with a lot of positive feedback in the media, which in turn influences other Caucasians to wear cornrows, without understanding how it is offensive. I think that a possible solution to this specific type of cultural appropriation would be if whites wearing cornrows were not praised, but criticized and educated on the issue. This type of media exposure about the hairstyle would influence consumers to see why it is offensive and is more than just braids.
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