S5 E7: The month of heroines: HEADWRAPS, AN AFRICAN EPIC!
YOUR WRAP, YOUR STYLE, YOUR IDENTITY
My African cliché of the day is question to you: do you think that if a White American white lady chooses to wear a headwrap, it is cultural appropriation? Is it paying tribute? Is it respect? Is it free advert for that culture?
Cultural appropriation refers to when a dominant culture appropriates the codes of a dominated culture, either the colonized peoples or the oppressed minorities.
- Is it respect when it’s done for fun, and money, while erasing the cultural side of it? Like wearing a Palestinian keffiyeh patterns without ever mentioning the pain of the people?
- Is it tribute when it’s all about everything but the burden, when it is like entering and leaving a culture without bearing the burden and using the codes without suffering while retaining one’s privileges?
- Isn’t a stealing when big brands use those cultures materials and symbols to produce gadgets and goodies to enrich themselves and their advertising icons?