If this post is a bit rambling then that would be why. Also, these are my views. I don't claim to speak for PoC, Woc, hell, I don't speak for anyone but me. You may not agree with me, hell, I don't agree with myself sometimes but please, if you have to disagree, just don't be a dick about it.
It is all I ask.
So, what is cultural appropriation?
This has become a problematic question in itself really. When is wearing a bindi acceptable? Should I be allowed to wear flip flops/dreadlocks/chinese tattoos/black face/yellow face/sari/chi pao/native American headdress?
Can I twerk without being racist?
I am not going to say yes or no to any of these things. I am just going to give my opinion and hope that it leads to the conversation carrying on.
TWERKING.
Do I find white women twerking inherently racist? No, I don't. No more than I find black women dancing ballet racist. Do I think it is culturally insensitive? Not sure. However, I do find myself thinking the following.
When I dance, when my sisters (both familial and not) dance we do what has become known as twerking. (Thank you so much white folks, what comes naturally to us was crying out for a name *rolls eyes*) I have only ever thought of it as dancing. It is the dancing I do because I cannot do any other kind of dance when I hear the beat and riddim to mek me wine up me waist and grine up me hips.
It is instinctual, it is tribal it is just what I do.
Now compare that to Miley Cyrus wiggling her behind at a bloke singing 'I know you want it.' It becomes not about feeling the music, but about a peacock display of sexuality designed to attract a man.
Am I overly comfortable about what this says about the hyper sexualisation of black women and how they are viewed by white people? No. Am I gonna lose sleep over a bit of twerking. Also no. Despite being told I should by a white woman.
She told me twerking was racist. I told her I didn't think it was and asked her for her reasoning. Her answer was, I shit you not, 'well, I went on Google and there were a bunch of black people saying it was.'
Hate to break it to you but lumping people of colour in all together as one homogeneous lump and expecting us to all think and feel the same about anything... Bit racist. Just saying.
TATTOOS
Gonna admit now that I have two Chinese tattoos. One says 'Lucky' and the other says 'Vow'. I know this to be the case as I properly checked them. I am not someone who has the character for 'Woman' and who sees this reproduced atop the door of all the female toilets when they go to China.
I had them done as my first two tattoos (I now have had ten) and they are personal to me. Why did I get them in Chinese? I hate to admit it but I thought it looked more exotic than if I had them done in English. Yep, I was that dickhead.
Did it make me think that I was now Chinese and as one with the people? No. I wasn't and still am not (hopefully) that much of a dickhead. I am kinda amused at myself now that I have grown up a bit and would not have a different language inked on me again.
Was it appropriative? Yes. I think it was.
Not sure whether to believe me? Picture this photo below as an actual tattoo on a Chinese person.
Now imagine they are showing it off to all their friends. Oh how wise and trendy they must look. 'But what does it mean?' ask their dewy eyed friends.
'It means to keep breathing as the water rises all around you.'
Get my point now?
CHI PAO
Do not get me wrong, I do not see this as serious as say, having worn a chi pao (which I do wear because they are one of the very few dresses that suit me) and doing yourself up in yellow face *cough* Katy Perry *cough*. And while I am at it actually, why oh why is it that we are rightly up in arms about anyone in black face (there is a bloke who tried to get served on Bar Boulevard at Glasto who will NEVER do it again) but we don't as a society really talk about the fetishising of Asian women?
Black and white minstrel show? Barbaric. The Mikado? Traditional.
Fuck off.
We have appropriated the Chi Pao so much that most of you won't even know what I am talking about until I say Suzy Wong dress.
If you are going to wear one (and I have no intention of giving them up) at least refer to them by their proper name. Don't be a dick about it.
BINDIS
I like them. I think they are beautiful and spiritually they work like a wand when I wear one on my brow chakra. I like how women look when they are wearing them. Actually this is kind of my sticking point on the whole subject. Can I wear one without disrespecting the culture they come from? I bloody hope so as I do love them.
NATIVE AMERICAN HEADDRESSES
Just no. I am deeply offended when I see anyone who isn't Native American wearing one. There is no reason to ever wear something that was symbolic of being a warrior at one with nature. No reason at all. Every time I see someone wearing one I want to punch the fucking shit out of them for trivialising the oppression and near destruction of a people. I am glad that Glasto have banned them for next year. I would expect them to do the same to people who were wearing a yellow star of David or slave manacles and garb as 'fancy dress' too.
CORN ROWS/DREADLOCKS
On the very rare occasions I have cornrows I feel the fingers of all the women down the ages on my dad's side of the family doing my hair. It is a powerful thing for me as I have very little that links me to them other than the family curry recipe handed to me by my Aunt Veronica. I don't have a problem with something this intricate and beautiful being fashionable, but for the love of all that is both holy and unholy, IF YOU ONLY USE WHITE MODELS THEN THIS IS NOT BLOODY OK. OK?
Then I have a problem. Then it is appropriation. It is stealing something and ignoring its nappy haired heritage.
Oh, and white people with dreadlocks...
If you MUST have them then at least do them properly. Do not have that stinking, matted clump of weetabix looking shit on the back of your head and think you are at one with Ja. It irritates me. Do them properly and for fuck's sake keep them clean. Especially if you use public transport.
So much more I could talk about but like I said, this is the start of the conversation, not the end and I am actually really keen to hear your thoughts.
Just, much like cultural appropriation, don't be a dick about it.
Ok this is my second attempt at writing this. hope it works.
ReplyDeleteI do not think someone of a different race using or promoting something of another race is racist or insensitive. However, it is insensitive when the origin is not recognised.
I actually applaud when I see a person of another race doing something from black culture really well. For example Justin Timberlake is a great singer and dancer and is obviously heavily influenced by MJ. I like him because although he does black music he isn't all of a sudden 'Black' or 'Hood'.
Miley Cyrus is a jackass, one minute shes a country girl the next she's down with the black peeps. Now following on from Miley....I hate that people think Miley invented twerking. Noooo...it is something that black women have been doing for hundreds maybe even thousands of years. Shes an ass because not only does she twerk she thinks it's cool to show her crotch on stage and dry hump herself with objects. Therefore giving the impression that black women do this also.
As soon as her market dries up she will be back to singing country songs. She is using black culture to make money.
Things like locs and tattoos are ok as long as they are done right, like you said.
I also love to wear bindis. I even asked a few of my Indian friends beforehand to see what they thought. Obviously they were cool with it.
I also did a bit of research on them and found that a certain colour means you are widowed. Red or black I think. So out of RESPECT I wouldn't wear that colour.
A few years ago I went to the leading afro hairdressers in my area. The owner is a Thai man.
I will admit that at first I was a bit nervous. But I'm telling you, he's one of the best I've ever had and you see many black women going there to get their hair done. He's also received multiple awards for afro hair. Another example of someone doing it right.
Some people don't give a shit and just do something because they think it’s cool and don't give a crap if it offends.
Once a white woman told me that smoking weed is a 'black girl thing' which is bull because apart from Rastas, I come across more white people doing it. Well that's my opinion. So this is a blatant stereo type. Which is another issue.
Going back to origin...Rock n Roll was hijacked from African Americans and only now it is being recognised. That was a major disRESPECT.
I also have this argument with black people also...so it's not just an everyone stealing black culture thing. Many black west indians do not accept the fact that curry is from Asia and was brought over by Indian immigrants to the caribbean. Curry just didn't magically appear on the Islands.
So to conclude. I think it's great when we all mix and experience each other’s cultures but you should respect and recognise the origins.
*stands up and applauds* bloody well said x
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