Cultural Appropriation

Cultural appropriation involves a dominant cultural group borrowing from minority groups and exploiting their culture usually through fashion, music, dance, and movies. It is not uncommon these days to find fashion brands looking for inspirations from every culture and churning out new clothing lines, Caucasian singers imitating African/American singers in rapping, hip-hop and soul music.

When these dominant group culturally appropriate, they're seen as creative, edgy and stylish while the groups where the style originated from are being shamed for it. One excellent example is cornrows. When a Caucasian person does cornrows in their hair, they're praised for looking cool and chic however when a black person does it, they are discriminated and referred to as 'ghetto'. "Ghetto" is a derogatory term used towards individuals who lack the standards of manners and ethics.

(Why Minorities Hate Cultural Appropriation, 2017)

Cornrow Braiding originated from Africa, The intricate braiding of the hair indicated the tribe you belonged to. When African slaves were brought to America for slavery, the slaves that worked inside the plantation houses were required to present a neat and tidy appearance, so men and women often wore tight braids, plaits, and cornrows. Cornrows has became a reminder of their ancestors who worked tirelessly in fields and factories. It is not a trend, it is not a style. It is part of their history, their culture.

References

Avins, J. (2015). The Dos and Don'ts of Cultural Appropriation. [online] The Atlantic. Available at: https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2015/10/the-dos-and-donts-of-cultural-appropriation/411292/ [Accessed 10 Jun. 2017].

Csdt.rpi.edu. (n.d.). History of Cornrow Braiding. [online] Available at: http://csdt.rpi.edu/african/cornrow_curves/culture/african.origins.htm [Accessed 10 Jun. 2017].

Gabbara, P. (2017). The History of Cornrows - EBONY. [online] EBONY. Available at: http://www.ebony.com/style/history-of-cornrows#axzz4jzBfyfH4 [Accessed 10 Jun. 2017].

Quora. (n.d.). What was the first use of the term "cultural appropriation"?. [online] Available at: https://www.quora.com/What-was-the-first-use-of-the-term-cultural-appropriation [Accessed 10 Jun. 2017].

Why Minorities Hate Cultural Appropriation. (2017). [video] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0b33twnpqvE [Accessed 11 Jun. 2017].

Young, C. (2015). To the new culture cops, everything is appropriation. [online] Washington Post. Available at: https://www.washingtonpost.com/posteverything/wp/2015/08/21/to-the-new-culture-cops-everything-is-appropriation/?utm_term=.ae06d25894b1 [Accessed 10 Jun. 2017].