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  • Essay / Cultural Appropriation in America

    According to Oxford Dictionaries, cultural appropriation is the unacknowledged or inappropriate adoption of the customs, practices, or ideas of a people or society by members of another people or another society, generally more dominant. . Cultural appropriation has been a huge and controversial topic, especially in the Age of Reason, prompting individuals like Amandla Stenberg to speak out, saying, "When you appropriate black characteristics and culture but that you are not using your position of power to help black Americans by directing attention to your wigs instead of police brutality or racism #whitegirlsmustbetter. regarding a post from Kylie Jenner a few months ago. In today's society, we have witnessed aspects of black culture being used and abused, without giving credit to the cultural context in which it took place, in order to benefit white people. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why violent video games should not be banned”?Get the original essayCultural appropriation is not something that has just started. This has been going on for many years and it all started with jealousy. In the early 1700s, white women often wore what was called a bustle in order to accentuate their figures, due to the simple fact that the full, figured lower half was always an attractive silhouette for a woman; that’s except when it came to black women. During this time, black women with “abnormally” large buttocks like Sarah Baartman were considered freaks of nature and were put on display for white people to enjoy. White women were jealous of Baartman's naturally curvy figure and for this reason she was ridiculed and speculated upon. As this jealousy manifested itself, white women began to embrace the big butt look. In recent times, they have opted for surgery to get that beautiful round shape of their butts. Cultural appropriation can be seen in all types of media, with magazines and Instagram being the most common. A few months ago, on Instagram, Kylie Jenner posted photos of herself with a new hairstyle; this photo eventually blew up with the name of the hairstyle she was sporting being boxer braids. As an African American woman, I understand that this type of hairstyle has been around for many years and is not new. These “Boxer braids” actually date back to ancient Africa and are called cornrows or simply braids. While Kylie may not have stated that these braids were her own creation, she didn't give credit to the African culture where "boxer braids" originated. Of course, we all know that she didn't create this hairstyle, but as I mentioned before, these hairstyles have been around for many years and haven't received as much praise as before Kylie Jenner decides to wear these so-called. , “braised boxer”. Country music idol, Taylor Swift even plays on the idea of ​​cultural appropriation. In her video for her song Wildest Dreams, she attempts to portray African life and culture using an all-white cast to do so. This has undermined the lives of black men and women, the majority in Africa. This all-white cast romanticized colonialism in an African country, meaning they tried to convey colonialism as something big despite its true meaning. The bottom line is that she presented “African” culture in a way that took away the heart and soul of Africa in order to profit from it, even though she knew little about the culture itself. The Kardashians are known for adopting.