Is it okay to borrow from someone else's culture ?

Cultural appropriation

Is it OK to borrow from someone else’s culture?

Watch the videos then summarize them

Youtube : “Watch This Documentary on Braids and Appropriation in America | ELLE”

This video is a documentary about the origin of braids and the controversy around them. We can see that some black people tell us their stories about this hairstyle and the way that it is a part of their cultural luggage and why other ethnic groups should not imitate it. Hairstylists, actresses, rapper’s and author’s talked about it.

Firstly, they talk about their childhood. Several people remember getting their hair “braided” by others or by themselves and braiding people’s hair. After, we can learn that a statue from 500 before Christ was found and her hair was cornrowed and also during that time in the West par of Africa, different hairstyles used materials to make a difference between societies and them.

It is also said that a new hair culture was created after slavery because slaves did not have many resources to take care of their hair. During the Sunday, it was considered “grooming day” and after became a routine for them. During this period of time, the main hairstyles were cornrows and head rags.

During the Great Migration, which is consisted on people leaving the South to move in the Northern cities, braids were considered as “has been” so women straightened it to fit in the Northern standards.

Then for black people,  taking care of  their hair became like gave them a sense of community.   However, hair salons were created because black women used to have difficulties getting hired in other areas.

Moreover, one of the first time a non-black women was seen with cornrows, it stirred debate because it became so trendy. Bo Derek a white woman wore cornrows in a film that she starred in (Bo braids). She was given credit for something that she not invent. As a consequence, white women started to get braids as well and were charged hundreds of dollars only for the hairstyle to last a couple of days because this hair texture was not appropriate.

Then, black hairstyles were really developed in the seventies and the fact that black women on started wearing them on television helped black girls feel more represented (and for their self esteem and they became more popular with the hip-hop and the basketball).

At the end, we learn about the controversy it has caused; they are seen as “ghetto” in the professional way, causing some people to get fired. Lastly, they are often called boxer braids because some female boxers wear them as well even though they did not invented it.

To conclude, we have several opinion on it: in the first time, some said that it would not bother them if they came of an African owned hair salon and learned about the cultural luggage. But in the second time, many people that were interrogated felt that it was offensive for white people to wear braids and say that is their own hairstyle when there is not.

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