Appropriate or Appropriation

There is a video being circulated on the internet in which a black model is being forced to perm her natural hair, producers of the show claimed that her hair was inappropriate for a high fashion event.

There is a video being circulated on the internet in which a black model is being forced to perm her natural hair. Producers of the show claimed that her hair was inappropriate for a high fashion event. However famous fashion magazine, vogue, found it quite appropriate to style their Caucasian model, Kendall Jenner, in an afro for a photo-shoot. Southern media constantly tries to make black hair seem inappropriate. Many of us can see through this ploy and know what is really happening. Black hair is not inappropriate it is just another aspect of black culture that southern media seeks to exploit for their own gains.” One such gain is power and another is revenue.

Southern media has fooled us into thinking that the hair of the black woman should look white while any hairstyle worn by the white woman is just right.

Cultural appropriation is defined by the Oxford dictionary as “A term used to describe the taking over of creative or artistic forms, themes, or practices by one cultural group from another”. It is in general used to describe Western appropriations of non‐Western or non‐white forms, and carries connotations of exploitation and dominance.

What southern media has done is in an attempt to gain the upper hand, is culture shame the black hair by calling it inappropriate. It is called inappropriate in the workplace, untidy in schools and even unfashionable on the runway. This power struggle becomes obvious when black individuals are marginalized for their natural hairstyles. The same hairstyles, that when mimicked by white individuals, all of a sudden becomes no longer inappropriate but cute or even trendy. This contrast in reactions just displays a double standard and highlights the racial inequality that exists. These reactions are often perpetuated through southern media’s advertisements that promote the ideal woman as having long silky hair or the television shows that associate true beauty with smooth long hair.

Apart from white individuals having the power to wear black hairstyles with no problem while black individuals can’t, they are also gaining popularity and profit from it. In 2014 Kylie Jenner struck again by posting a picture on her social media in which she is wearing a traditional half up half down braided hair style. Jenner described the hairstyle that has been commonly worn among black individuals as “new”. The social media personality received thousands of likes while receiving some comments about her lack of regard for the black culture from which the hairstyle originated. Many members of the black community are constantly faced with the problem of white individuals discriminating against their hair while others earn money and popularity from it.

An article written in Huffington post entitled “8 Times Black Hairstyles Have Been Culturally Appropriated” highlighted one of these many instances in which western media has exploited black hair for profits. Top selling magazine, Teen vogue, used a white model to showcase Senegalese twists as their trending new look. Senegalese twists are a protective hair style that has been commonly used by black women for years.

With all that being said it is fairly obvious that the ongoing malice towards black hair and it’s inappropriateness that is being promoted by western media is all a façade. All of this is in an attempt to gain power and revenue through appropriating black culture. The black community has to realize that despite what is shown by western media black hair in not inappropriate but appropriated.