What Makes Skin White Wet And Mushy

An image of Kylie Jenner taking a selfie with cornrows. An arrow points to her head saying "nope."

Source: Everyday Feminism

Got questions about why people become mad when white folks wear traditionally Black hairstyles? Well, you've come to the right identify – I'm one of those people who'south riled up about it, and I've got answers.

Many people are wondering about this topic after the most recent public case of Black pilus cribbing: Kylie Jenner's cornrows.

So maybe your first question is this: Why the hell exercise I care about what some teenager does with her hair?

Here's your answer: This chat isn't just about hair. And it'due south non just about Kylie Jenner. Her latest iteration of cultural cribbing is only a drib in the saucepan that's been filling up for centuries.

So if this seems to y'all like a lilliputian outcome, don't worry – nosotros're going to get to why it really matters.

But since this incident started this current conversation, here's what's going on with Kylie:

The white, younger sister of Kim Kardashian posted a photo of herself wearing cornrows.

Then, 16-twelvemonth-erstwhile Amandla Stenberg (best known for playing Rue on The Hunger Games before becoming best known for inspiring widespread awe with her summary of cultural appropriation) made me applaud my computer screen once over again. She pointed out exactly what's wrong with this picture:

Jenner's using her fame to phone call attending to her hair, which mimics Black culture, but not to the racist violence taking Blackness lives.

Then Justin Bieber defended Jenner – and the approving squeals of fangirls rang out 'round the globe. Now, the public is weighing in.

I can't believe I'yard almost to say this, just the Biebs has a betoken here. I don't agree that Jenner should exist gratis from responsibility for her wrongdoing, merely he's correct when he says that she's just ane girl who made a error – and at that place'southward a bigger picture we need to pay attention to here.

We can start by talking about her pilus, simply if that's all we talk nearly, we'll miss the take chances to larn something valuable about how mundane actions, like the style you wear your pilus, can make a huge statement about whether or non you value people of color who are struggling with the atrocities of oppression every day.

And you'll still be left with questions, like why was this such a large bargain? Let's answer your questions.

This is what the uproar over appropriation of Black women'due south hair is really all nigh.

ane. "Why Tin can't We All Only Be Equals and Share Our Cultures?"

I go it. I say I'chiliad all virtually equality, but y'all think I'one thousand pulling for the contrary – stating that simply certain people should wear sure hairstyles based on skin color.

But there'southward 1 major item y'all have to think almost when it comes to equality: the reality we alive in.

It'south true that we're "all man, whether we're black, white, light-green, or purple."

I've heard it all before, and information technology sounds pretty bully – all existence treated so equally that you tin habiliment whatever hairstyle you want without harming anyone.

In a truly equal earth, you wouldn't have to think well-nigh if you take power and privilege over the people you're borrowing culture from.

Unfortunately, that'due south non the globe nosotros live in. In our world, systems of oppression create power dynamics between dissimilar groups of people.

In the United States, for example, white people get the unearned benefits of having the dominant culture.

And all of us – but peculiarly women – deal with a dominant epitome of dazzler that's completely unrealistic. None of us are gratuitous from beingness torso-shamed about all of the reasons our pilus, body, teeth, or peel are not what someone else says they should be.

Only for women of color, that unrealistic beauty platonic is even further out of reach.

The popularity of Eurocentric images says that being beautiful means being white, and that "normal" hair is fine and silky – nothing similar my kinky natural African hair.

That type of hair is considered such a norm that mainstream stores don't have products for me unless they're selling the chance to modify – to permanently alter my hair'south texture with straightening chemicals.

And institutional barriers discourage me from wearing my hair as it grows out of my head – I'yard more likely to discover and keep jobs if I meet standards of professionalism that frequently ban Blackness women's natural hairstyles.

White women confront sexism, and they may be oppressed in other ways, besides – through ableism, classism, or fatphobia, for example. But when it comes to race, white women accept more than institutional power than Blackness women.

So while nosotros should be treated every bit equals, we're not . A white woman is free to take on and have off the same hairstyle that a Black woman would be ostracized for.

Until nosotros correct that imbalance, then when Kylie Jenner wears cornrows, she's acting on privilege and exploiting Black culture. She'due south participating in a toxic norm that says Black people aren't valuable, simply our hair is cool – as long as white folks are wearing it.

That's non okay. If she really thinks Blackness folks are cool and wants to honor our culture, she should assistance eradicate the inequality between us instead.

ii. "What About When Black Women Straighten Their Hair?"

Since social club treats white women as more valuable, Black women don't take the aforementioned context when they make their pilus expect more like the dominant norm.

In the US, people have a variety of reasons for straightening their pilus, but for many Blackness women, it'due south a matter of survival, not just preference.

When yous can't detect work unless you do it, you lot take to take such action to get by.

I can attest to how differently people treat Black women depending on the style of our hair. In one case from a lifetime of microaggressions, a high school teacher said my straightened hair looked "so much amend than those knots" I commonly wore.

I'd straightened information technology temporarily, for a schoolhouse trip the light fantastic. My xv-year-old cocky was filled with the dreadful reminder that I'd be considered less cute when I returned to my twists – the "knots" he'd sneered virtually – after the fashion done out in a couple days.

When a marginalized group takes on elements from the ascendant culture in order to survive, that'due south called assimilation.

It's different from appropriation, when the dominant grouping takes from an oppressed group without respect for the culture they're taking from.

I didn't always know the word "assimilation," but I've always felt the pressure of it. Like many other Black girls, I grew upward with that pressure even within my ain family, from my female parent, aunts, and grandmother, who were harshly ridiculed for kinky hair.

In our family, the protective beloved women showed girls looked like education us that our own pilus was ugly and unkept.

Fifty-fifty now, things are slowly changing from how it was for them and I've establish work spaces open to my natural hair. But I couldn't tell my aunties that – if I ever end up lone in a room with one of them, they're jump to endeavor to accept a straightening comb to my caput for what they believe is my own proficient.

That'due south the lasting impact of the pressure to survive by fitting in with white civilization.

A white woman who wears dreadlocks is acting on her privilege to take that hairstyle and still get by, and even to get positive attention for her hair.

Meanwhile, a Black woman with dreads gets treated like she's junior merely because her hair doesn't await like a white person's. So she'southward more likely to straighten it merely to survive.

3. "Why Are You Trying to Limit Freedom?"

Maybe you're stuck on the idea that if you're a white person, you lot "can't" vesture your hair a certain style.

That hinders your freedom. And as big fan of liberation, I get why that feels fucked up. Information technology's your hair and yous should be able to do whatever you want with information technology.

A lot of people think avoiding cultural appropriation means policing self-expression.

They say I'm calling for locking people up simply for hurting feelings.

First, can I request that we ease up on the hyperbole when we talk about this? Considering I'thousand not out to outlaw hairstyles, and we tin refer to enough of real-life consequences of cultural cribbing without exaggeration.

Cultural appropriation is never equally simple as maxim, "White people aren't allowed to practice 10, flow." Information technology's about saying information technology'south ethical to consider the context of what you're doing.

That includes learning about and giving credit to the true meaning of what you're borrowing, instead of doing what Iggy Azalea does and gaining fame and fortune by imitating someone else.

It ways recognizing where it came from, instead of doing what Elle U.k. just did and calling babe hair "a new trend" when Black women have been wearing it for decades.

Information technology also means leaving something solitary if you larn that it's not possible to borrow it in a respectful manner, like blogger HaifischGeweint did when they researched dreadlocks and decided not to wear them.

Membership Body 2

When people object to cultural appropriation, nosotros're not lament for nothing – and it'southward insulting to say that we are. Because we're letting you know that even if you have harmless intentions, your touch on is causing harm.

Every bit the people who take to suffer through that harm, Black folks know what we're talking about when we say that appropriating our hairstyles is fucked upwards. There'southward a lot more than at stake than limiting your "free voice communication" when you're really contributing to other people'due south oppression.

iv. "Where Do Yous Describe the Line? Why Are You Trying to Segregate People?"

One of the trickiest parts of cultural appropriation is knowing where to describe the line. People argue that we share betwixt cultures all the time, which helps us grow as people.

And believe me, I know Black hair is gorgeous, so I appreciate that you lot want to capeesh it.

That's why at that place's a difference between cultural commutation – when people freely share appreciation for i some other'southward cultures – and cultural appropriation.

If people can share equally and benefit without impairment, that's fantastic.

But then some people start to wonder why we should draw lines betwixt cultures – after all, we're striving to be equal, right?

I'm not trying to divide united states of america. But once again, permit'due south consider reality: when it comes to things similar who gets more than positive representation in the media, and who's less likely to get killed by police, and who's more likely to discover employment, in that location's a articulate divergence betwixt me and a white woman.

The differences betwixt us also include things that should be historic. Being Blackness comes with disadvantages in this society, like beingness profiled and stereotyped, simply information technology too comes with things I love. I'm proud of my Blackness.

So when someone takes a piece of what my Blackness means to me, and puts it on like my identity is a costume, I experience like that's all I am to them. Some minstrel show, some character, some two-dimensional stereotype of a person yous tin can both mock and steal grade.

Information technology's the ultimate course of objectification.

If you care for my look like something yous can infringe when it brings yous value and discard when it becomes useless, so you trivialize both my struggles and the beautiful things about what being Black means to me.

Think of it this manner: It's not segregation, but celebration. The problem is the unjust means club treats our differences – not the fact that our differences exist.

5. "Are Yous Proverb I'k a Bad Person If I Accept One of These Hairstyles?"

Information technology's hard to swallow the thought that y'all could be causing damage when you don't desire to.

That's why I'yard not saying yous're a bad person, even if you're guilty of appropriating some other culture'south traditional hairstyle. I don't know you or your intentions, and judging your character is not the point of pointing out how white supremacy shows upwards. In short, it'due south not just about you.

Just like this conversation isn't just about Kylie Jenner's hair, cultural appropriation isn't about maxim any ane private person is evil. The point is to be aware of how systems of oppression show upwards in our everyday lives.

White supremacy is an example of a system. The media is an example of a structure that supports white supremacy, by showing positive images of white people and negative stereotypes of people of color. And y'all are one individual who consumes media, and acts on the ways they influence your view of the world.

And then if you've ever idea a white girl with braids looked "quirky" and a Black girl with braids looked "ghetto," that'due south not a sign that you're the 1 True Source of All Of White Supremacy.

But it is an example of how white people every bit individuals can participate in the arrangement of white supremacy, and of how Black people can go hurt.

That's why irresolute our everyday actions is a big part of creating change on a societal level.

6. "What If My Blackness Friend Says It's Okay?"

Sorry, since cultural appropriation isn't about i individual beingness a bad person, it's as well not about one individual person giving you a pass to do it.

Let'due south be clear: Talking to marginalized people about their experiences with oppression is a practiced way to get perspective on issues they're dealing with.

That's not to say information technology's a costless-for-all for asking strangers questions and demanding answers. Nobody'due south obligated to educate yous, but it'south bully if yous take a friend who'southward willing to to talk to you when you approach them in a respectful way.

Only it withal doesn't mean their discussion stands for their entire culture.

No community is a monolith, and you could find a Blackness person who would say that appropriating our hair isn't not a trouble. They could honestly feel that mode, or they could be feeling the pressure to agree with the dominant culture.

I wish I could give yous the magical formula for what makes something offensive: Add the number of studies published on it + your number of Black friends, dissever by the number of centuries this argue has raged on, sprinkle your intentions on top, and there you accept information technology! Anything over 6 is wildly offensive.

It'due south only not that easy. If 1 Black person says it's okay, you have ane person'due south stance, and that's a first. But if you really want your answer, you also have to heed to other perspectives, learn most being an ally Blackness folks, and acknowledge your own privilege.

Once you commit to that process, y'all'll empathise a lot more most anti-Black racism – and you'll know what'south at pale for Black folks if you appropriate our hairstyles.

7. "I Don't Support Racism, And then Why Is It a Trouble If I Clothing a Traditionally Black Hairstyle?"

This is ofttimes accompanied by "Don't you have more important things to worry most?"

Okay, I can already hear people trying to call bullshit on my last point – it's "just hair," and then what's actually at stake?

Well, let'southward review the touch of some of the examples I've mentioned and so far. When a white adult female wears a traditionally Black hairstyle, she:

Ignores the inequality of systematic racism, letting it remain invisible
Distracts from the existent upshot of racism by leaving information technology up to people of colour to point out the problem – and so it'southward about our "oversensitivity," rather than institutional oppression
Adds to the Eurocentric standard of dazzler that says that Black women'southward features are adequate only on white women
Claims turn a profit, credit, and/or praise instead of the people of the culture she borrowed from
Trivializes the struggles of the people who identify with that hairstyle
Erases cultural differences that should be historic
Perpetuates the system of white supremacy by reinforcing false ideas of Black women's inferiority

That's no minor affect from one individual.

And when you think about lots of people believing cultural appropriation is okay, yous can understand how this adds up to equal major problems.

Yep, nosotros do have things more important than pilus to worry about. I've touched on several of the important issues for Blackness women already – employment discrimination, lack of visibility in the media, police brutality – not to mention things like healthcare, reproductive justice, and intimate partner violence.

So if you lot're wondering why I'd take any time away from these pressing issues to worry near pilus, the answer is that you've just stumbled upon i of the realities of Black women's everyday existence in the Usa.

Nosotros're suffering and invisible. There are feminists who fight for women only won't fifty-fifty acknowledge that our issues are worth fighting for. In that location are Black people speaking out against police brutality who don't speak the names of Blackness women killed by police.

Nosotros're told that nosotros're not cute, especially not when we look almost like ourselves. Oftentimes, the same people who appropriate elements of our culture are completely absent when we need support.

And then we find a treasure that helps usa claiming those abusive narratives, helps us recognize our value and exist proud of our heritage, even later on a lifetime of degradation. Fifty-fifty after being violently disconnected from our ancestors and having our history erased, sometimes directly through suppression of our natural appearance.

And that treasure is our own pilus, which becomes more than just hair – nosotros grow to understand that it'south one of the precious tools we can wield to help united states affirm our worth and embrace our roots.

Even if you don't contribute to these struggles, the fact is that Blackness women wrestle these conditions every day. If you agree that nosotros deserve better, then respect the states enough to let us decide for ourselves what we need.

Your everyday actions don't exist in a vacuum separate from anti-Black racism, so if you don't acknowledge the problem, then you're part of it.

***

I hope this information clears up any defoliation you lot had – not just about what Kylie Jenner'southward done wrong, only about the bigger flick of why cribbing of traditionally Black hairstyles is harmful.

You lot'll accept more questions nearly how all of this applies to particular situations. Just now you lot've got the fundamental: applying context.

If you're a white person cleaning your house and you toss your pilus into braids to keep it out of your face, of class nobody's going to arrest you for appropriating cornrows.

But if you happen to catch a glimpse of yourself looking quirky in the mirror and decide you'll tell the world you invented braids to proceeds profit, endeavor re-reading this article before calling your agent.

And if you're thinking that technically the Norse, or technically the Vikings, or technically some stake-skinned ruler in 2000 BCE had dreadlocks first – over again, consider the context. Who, in this society, gets the brunt of negative stereotypes about dreadlocks?

With what you know about why Blackness women'south hair matters, you can apply context to other situations of possible appropriation to figure out if what'southward respectful and what'southward oppressive.

In that location are no easy answers, but with some thoughtfulness and care, y'all can assist ameliorate the abhorrent means our society treats Black women – instead of being part of the problem of making our lives more of a struggle just and so you tin can have your fun.

Maisha Z. Johnson is the Digital Content Acquaintance and Staff Writer of Everyday Feminism. Yous tin can detect her writing at the intersections and shamelessly indulging in her obsession with pop culture effectually the spider web. Maisha's past work includes Community United Against Violence (CUAV), the nation's oldest LGBTQ anti-violence organisation, and Fired Up!, a program of California Coalition for Women Prisoners. Through her own projection, Inkblot Arts,Maisha taps into the creative arts and digital media to dilate the voices of those often silenced. Like her on Facebook or follow her on Twitter @mzjwords.