Cultural Appreciation or Appropriation?
Aztec pattern sweaters, moccasins, henna tattoos, lip fillers, tiki themed products, do these trends sound familiar? These have become some of the most popular trends over the past ten years, unfortunately they are all forms of cultural appropriation. One of the most popular controversies to face this generation is the point where cultural appreciation becomes cultural appropriation. The definition of cultural appropriation is “the adoption or use of elements of one culture by members of a different culture” although the definition is loose since it could also be used to define cultural appreciation. Both the fashion and makeup industries are known for exhibiting and promoting constant cultural appropriation, …show more content…
While Kylie Jenner’s ethnicity is English, she has constantly been incorrectly referred to as a Latina woman because of her thick lip fillers and dark spray tans. She was photographed with a black light shining on her, making her skin appear darker, then posted the photo on Instagram, captioning it “What I wish I looked like all the time…” (Cantu, Marcelo). After a massive uproar by her fans, she changed the caption to “This is a black light and neon lights people lets all calm down”. Kylie’s lip fillers were a major controversy when she first got them because black women believed that she was trying to look like them, without realizing the racist baggage that typically comes with having big lips. When Kylie Jenner, a privileged white female, has big lips it’s deemed as “cool” or “trendy” but when black women are born with naturally big lips, they are immediately stereotyped and …show more content…
Those industries are all about keeping up with the latest trends, even when those trends are taken from other cultures without proper or correct recognition. Valentino’s Spring/Summer 2016 collection was introduced as being “African-inspired”, featuring numerous white models in cornrows and dreadlocks walking down the runway. With around 90 different looks, only 10 of them were modeled by black women. Victoria’s Secret put on a fashion show in 2012 where model Karlie Kloss was sent down the runway wearing a Native American headdress, a leopard print bikini, and turquoise Navajo jewelry. This ensemble is not only an extremely offensive instance of cultural appropriation but also exceedingly inaccurate. Native American and more specifically Navajos didn’t hunt leopards, for the extremely obvious reason: there were no leopards in North America. Victoria’s Secret blatantly disregarded Native American culture, grouping together completely different cultures and pretending like they’re inclusive of all heritages and
Aztec pattern sweaters, moccasins, henna tattoos, lip fillers, tiki themed products, do these trends sound familiar? These have become some of the most popular trends over the past ten years, unfortunately they are all forms of cultural appropriation. One of the most popular controversies to face this generation is the point where cultural appreciation becomes cultural appropriation. The definition of cultural appropriation is “the adoption or use of elements of one culture by members of a different culture” although the definition is loose since it could also be used to define cultural appreciation. Both the fashion and makeup industries are known for exhibiting and promoting constant cultural appropriation, …show more content…
While Kylie Jenner’s ethnicity is English, she has constantly been incorrectly referred to as a Latina woman because of her thick lip fillers and dark spray tans. She was photographed with a black light shining on her, making her skin appear darker, then posted the photo on Instagram, captioning it “What I wish I looked like all the time…” (Cantu, Marcelo). After a massive uproar by her fans, she changed the caption to “This is a black light and neon lights people lets all calm down”. Kylie’s lip fillers were a major controversy when she first got them because black women believed that she was trying to look like them, without realizing the racist baggage that typically comes with having big lips. When Kylie Jenner, a privileged white female, has big lips it’s deemed as “cool” or “trendy” but when black women are born with naturally big lips, they are immediately stereotyped and …show more content…
Those industries are all about keeping up with the latest trends, even when those trends are taken from other cultures without proper or correct recognition. Valentino’s Spring/Summer 2016 collection was introduced as being “African-inspired”, featuring numerous white models in cornrows and dreadlocks walking down the runway. With around 90 different looks, only 10 of them were modeled by black women. Victoria’s Secret put on a fashion show in 2012 where model Karlie Kloss was sent down the runway wearing a Native American headdress, a leopard print bikini, and turquoise Navajo jewelry. This ensemble is not only an extremely offensive instance of cultural appropriation but also exceedingly inaccurate. Native American and more specifically Navajos didn’t hunt leopards, for the extremely obvious reason: there were no leopards in North America. Victoria’s Secret blatantly disregarded Native American culture, grouping together completely different cultures and pretending like they’re inclusive of all heritages and