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One thing to know about cultural appropriation—it’s a global phenomenon.
That’s why it isn’t terribly surprising that a hair salon in Brussels, Belgium, used the image of the culture vulture queen herself, Kim Kardashian, to promote “African hair style.”
Now, as the New York Post notes, Kim’s image was likely used in the ad without her permission, but seeing as Black people have been dragging Kardashians for years because they adopt Black aesthetic like white actresses adopt Black children, it’s still kind of her fault for having so many “I wanna be a sista’ so bad” photos out there in the first place.
From the Post:
The incident comes right on the heels of the mogul being accused of “blackfishing” in her recent Vogue cover shoot. The term is defined as”‘when a white person has purposely made themselves appear black on the internet.
The Instagram account Diet Prada posted the photo of the hair salon’s ad and pointed out in their Instagram Stories how Kardashian modeled traditional hairstyles in her Vogue shoot. In the salon advertisement, Kardashian was wearing Fulani braids, a style that is attributed to an ethnic group who hail from West Africa, where the hairdo is a popular look among women.
So, here’s the thing: White people virtually always respond to the cultural appropriation issue with the same silly questions and statements.
“What’s the big deal, we just like the hairstyle?”
“Africans aren’t the only ones who historically have worn braids and locks, ya’ know.”
“Isn’t imitation the highest form of flattery?”
And of course, we keep wasting our collective breath explaining that these styles are being worn now because Black women made them popular (so stop playing around in Black people’s faces talking about ancient Vikings or whoever the hell else wore dreds.). Black women are still regarded as “ghetto” or trashy for wearing these styles or for wearing their own hair the way it naturally grown from their scalps while white women can wear these same styles (or, you know, the fugly, used S.O.S. pad version of those styles) and not be met with the same stigma.
Besides, when white people start adopting styles, vernacular or anything that is culturally Black, the erasure of the people who originated those things is sure to soon follow.
You think I’m lying? Well, a Forbes article was published a few years ago that included the line, “What her half-sister Kim Kardashian West did for booty, (Kylie) Jenner has done for full lips.”
I rest my case.
Seriously, if a salon want to promote “African hairstyles,” why not use the images of—oh, I don’t know—African women?
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