[You should be ashamed of yourself. But won't be.
There is no problem with anyone appropriating anyone else's culture, as long as they do not call it their own, as if they had originated it . Do you also have a problem with black women straightening their hair?]
Inspired by celebrities including
FKA twigs and
Zoe Kravitz, braids like Jenner’s are gaining popularity across ethnicities. They have been a festival favourite this year, with the back-from-the-forehead cornrow particularly popular. I’m white, and
I had my hair braided for the Guardian earlier this year by Keash, a braiding service set up by school friends Taiba Akhuetie, 25, and Jessy Linton, 24.
Akhuetie, whose mother is Nigerian, said she liked the idea of these styles going across races and ethnicities, despite some negative comments from black people. While she is frustrated that braiding might be seen as a trend, rather than something here to stay, she says: “If other people want to appropriate the style, I think that’s a good thing.” She compares white women braiding their hair to the now-commonplace fashion for black women to wear weaves to give the effect of straight, caucasian hair. “Now no one thinks about that,” she says. “Hair is political, definitely, but I hope we get to a point when there’s no segregation.”
Stenberg, who posted a video about cultural appropriation of hairstyles on YouTube earlier this year entitled Don’t Cash Crop
On My Cornrows, might have her work cut out campaigning against other non-black women having their hair braided. Kenya Hunt of Elle UK, who regularly writes about black beauty, praises Stenberg as a “really bright young voice”, but says: “I think when it comes to conversations about race and cultural appropriation, we need to pick our battles. We’re seeing people burn down black churches in America right now, people killing young black women and men because of the colour of their skin. Kylie Jenner’s cornrows that she wore for hours? That doesn’t strike me as the battle we need to have.”
(full article online)
When Kim Kardashian’s younger sister posted a picture of a new hairstyle, she had little idea of the cultural minefield she was entering
www.theguardian.com
