Cultural appropriation: the “adoption” of aspects of one culture by a member of another culture. Cultural appropriation is the abuse of a socially constructed power dynamic that condemns one group for dressing, acting, or living one way while praising another for the same thing. Dreadlocks, sagging pants, headdresses, bindis, the qipao, black vernacular, the hijab, dashikis, dream-catchers, and other forms of cultural art are all exploited for the pleasure of white people. Black women in dreadlocks are “trashy;” white women in dreadlocks are “trendy” and “edgy.” Headdresses on Native Americans, “primitive;” headdresses on white models, a “great prop.” Black vernacular, “uneducated” when the speakers are my black cousins, but “dope” when used by white guys in my school. The current state of racial tension transforms the sharing of culture into cultural appropriation. While a person may be unaware of their appropriation, much of society will still view what a white person does as commendable while it simultaneously deems what a person of color does condemnable.
Cultural appropriation is a product of the power hierarchy created by and for white people. With white people at the top and other racial groups beneath them, a damaging power dynamic between the different races is created. Minorities cannot be accused of cultural appropriation of white culture in the same way because trying to fit in with the norm is not appropriation. Black women wearing weaves, getting their hair permed, or using a variety of products is not appropriating white culture, but rather a desperate attempt at assimilation with the Eurocentric conceptions of beauty pervading from western culture. Straight hair is always thought of as beautiful no matter how light or dark the person’s complexion is, but natural black hair, kinky and curly, is constantly labeled unprofessional, unkempt, ugly, and undesirable. The European concept of beauty puts enormous pressure on Asian and black or African women to look white by using products to bleach their skin (for more on this see “A Call to Black Beauty and Melanin Magic”). White culture has been the dominant and oppressive force throughout history, therefore whiteness has positive associations, and the fairer the complexion the better.
