How a Hairstyle can Affect Your Life
By Bethany Swan
Are people who appropriate black culture really innocent? Do they really mean that they “appreciate” us or that we “inspire” them? What is going through the minds of those who appropriate? Why do they think this is OK? Cultural appropriation is a serious matter. Cases of said issue has been happening a lot recently and something needs to change.
What exactly is cultural appropriation?
According to the Oxford dictionary, "Cultural appropriation is the unacknowledged or inappropriate adoption of the customs, practices, ideas, etc. of one people or society, by members of another, typically being the more dominant people of society." An example of cultural appropriation is when someone wants to wear or practice something out of their culture, without paying respect to the culture. In the case shows on the left, it happens when non African-Americans wear their hair in traditionally African-American styles.
Who does this usually effect?
Cultural appropriation happens to every ethnicity. Recently cultural appropriation has been effecting Native American, African American, and Asian culture. There are different forms of cultural appropriation. Some include music, dance , clothing , and hairstyles. This happens when outsiders of said ethnicity use a piece of a different culture and don't give credit to the culture they are borrowing from. This also happens when an outsider uses a piece of culture that is seen as exotic and then it becomes more mainstream, despite already existing in the culture it came from. Over the years, this conversation has been usually seen as white people appropriating the culture of multiple minorities. Hair styles are a way that non-black women appropriate from black women culture. When someone steals a hairstyle from the black community they are ignoring the reason and history behind the hairstyle.
History and burden
Box braids are a protective hairstyle used in the black community. It is typically used for a low maintenance hair style for a selected amount of months. This hairstyle is usually done on curly or coil like hair. People, like the Kardashians and Kylie Jenner, constantly take bits and pieces of black culture, like box braids. They then don't give credit and try to “remake” it. Hence calling them “boxer braids". These people are often referred to as “trend-setters,” when in reality are actually just stealing from black culture. To black people, this isn't a trend. This is a hairstyle that has been used for decades. It's hard to tell when the someone is actually appropriating black culture and appreciating it or are just blatantly disregarding that what they are doing is disrespectful. Although cultural appropriation does not physically harm people it hurts the image of the black women. Some argue that hair discrimination is a thing of the past, but in reality, even today students are getting banned from wearing box braids or even just wearing their natural hair. It is often seen that not having straight hair is not professional. Over the years, certain states had to ban race based hair discrimination. This shows that even today black women have been struggling for acceptance of their hair in a professional setting. When a non black person wears a hairstyle like box braids it isn't being viewed as the same way due to white privileged. This is part of cultural appropriation. The person who is appropriating doesn't go through the difficult parts of living as a different ethnicity and/or culture.
Why should you care?
There are many reasons why one should care about culture appropriation towards box braids. For example, there has been a lack of diversity in the business department. There aren't a lot of black CEOs, let alone black women CEOs. It is difficult for Black women to enter the business world for many discriminatory reasons and one is that their natural hair can be deemed as unprofessional. This also affects the confidence of African Americans who wear box braids because pop culture then fantasizes when non black people wear it and they tend to see it as "better looking." Cultural appropriation is when someone from a different culture/ ethnicity steals and discredit the origin of where said piece came from. It is like someone copying your homework and they get and A but you get a C.
How do we fix this problem?
The answer is quite simple: If you aren't black (meaning you have at least one Black biological parent) don't wear box braids.