Cultural appropriation and the Hoax of freedom – Whether it is Hailey Bieber rocking a dark lipstick liner, Adele rocking Bantu knots, or Kim Kardashian rocking on braids the red carpet; these cases have seen a series of reactions trailing them, some extreme enough to call for the ‘defaulters’ to be cancelled, or they are bullied to the point of apologising.
Some people would never comprehend what is the problem here. I for one fell into the category until I understand what was perceived as the problem in this case. Looking at the problem is one thing; finding out if it warrants a problem and the true problem it creates is another thing. Let us take that one step at a time.
Cultural appropriation is the adoption or sampling of the cultural element of another ethnic group or race in a manner that is degrading or disrespectful, without acknowledgement. It gets worse if the person adopting is a member of a larger ethnic group than the other.
The fear that comes with cultural appropriation is the fact that the minorities who have suffered enough vile treatment as a result of their status, deserve to be treated with respect about anything that relates to their identity, hence any form of adoption should be done only when they have been rightfully acknowledged.
This goes to show why a lot of people from minorities are unsettled about these types of actions. It brings back memories of a time when people from the majority used the cultural elements of the minority either to degrade or disrespect them (the minority) or to use them to their benefit while claiming them to be theirs, thereby robbing the minority of these precious elements of their culture.
While those days may have been long gone, people of the minority who have become much more relevant than they were are now on the lookout for any such cases of cultural appropriation, to root it out instantly. While this vigilance plays a good role in the preservation of our unique identities, it may become overstated based on certain scenarios.
To start with, while we may still have some form of traumatic experiences from a past filled with negativity occasioned by cultural appropriation, we should understand that those days are long gone. There should be no problem if a white woman wants to rock braids. Or Adele wanting to rock Bantu knots; or in the most recent case, Hailey Bieber wanting to rock black lipstick liners.
The continued enforcement of this ‘vigilance’ and the ‘punishment’ meted out to those involved in this act of cultural appropriation creates a hoax about the freedom of people to express themselves. On the other way round, we could consider it as a form of advertisement when people of other races rock cultural elements from the minorities or as a means of identifying with the people who own such cultural elements.
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