Battle of the cultural aproppiation: pop girls edition

[gothicdream 39,589]

Oh noooo I did not remember the Can't Hold Us Down video  

[Knife 6,888]

21 minutes ago, Dulo Peep said:

I am reading that her father is Puerto Rican right? Thats not the imagery i see in stripped / hold us dow. She is in the bronx surrounded by poc with full woman of color look. Not in a latin, puerto rican or even mix neighborhood. 

 

14 minutes ago, papergangstas said:

that's correct. for the music video itself, she used women (and men) of all colors. Black, Hispanic and caucasian. Due to the fact it features lil kim, it wouldn't make sense singing a song about female empowerement in a "latin, puerto rican" neighbourhood, when lil kim isn't hispanic, and christina actually did grow up in New York. When talking about the album Stripped itself, I can't see any "cultural appropriaton" in the songs she's singing (which vary from rnb to rock to latin-pop), nor in her other music videos. She just changed her physical image drastically, which stood out.

???

Christina Aguilera isn't Puerto Rican. Also, there's literally two Puerto Rican flags featured in the "Can't Hold Us Down" MV.

 

[vyniildisk 12,689]

Just now, Knife said:

 

???

Christina Aguilera isn't Puerto Rican. There's literally two Puerto Rican flags featured in the "Can't Hold Us Down" MV.

 

 

 

 

Isn't her dad puerto rican? Thats make her half latina too? 

[StrawberryBlond 14,881]

I really don't see the problem with any of these apart from Miley and Gwen using those Japanese women as props was the only problematic bit of her LAMB era for me, everything else felt like appreciation. Where I think cultural appropriation is an issue is when the person doesn't understand the culture, is mocking it, is stereotyping it, is just using it to be cool and relevant, claiming you invented it and/or are actively trying to appear of that race (maybe even going as far as to darken their skin or alter their accent). But if they're genuinely into the culture and are indulging in it correctly, what's the issue? Everyone knows where this culture comes from, no one's claiming these white artists invented it, so it's not like anyone's going to call them original or groundbreaking. It's no different from indulging in any other form of art that you wouldn't usually.

And here's some other examples which you might have missed:

This is probably the biggest example of appropriation but she's also done it elsewhere:

Apologise for the poor quality but this was the official video. She danced with Japanese back-up dancers live too:

I don't think her intentions were bad and she knows the culture but still...

Trying to find videos that actually made me uncomfortable is the key to working out if it's appropriation or not. I'm surprised no one's mentioned Iggy Azalea but I feel all the times that she did do it was in a cultural appreciation way and she didn't even so much as tan herself and kept her hair blonde so she never tried to give the appearance of being black either. When Ariana did her Side To Side video, she was tanned the same colour as Nicki, they look like sisters in that video, it's very creepy.

Also, @Dulo Peep do you believe POC can culturally appropriate too? If so, there's a wealth of material concerning that out there. Hip hop artists have frequently used Asian culture in their work for years and no one says a thing.

[papergangstas 1,364]

7 minutes ago, Dulo Peep said:

Great! Plus that was long ago! If she did it today it would be more shocking because we are more aware.

Of course. I'm all for people dressing/behaving how they feel like, but I do think that it's unacceptable for people to abuse any type of ethical/racial styles or motives IF people feel offended or uncomfortable. especially with the unbelievable racism that we're still dealing with in 2020 

[papergangstas 1,364]

4 minutes ago, Knife said:

 

???

Christina Aguilera isn't Puerto Rican. Also, there's literally two Puerto Rican flags featured in the "Can't Hold Us Down" MV.

 

Her dad is indeed full Puerto Rican. 

[vyniildisk 12,689]

3 minutes ago, StrawberryBlond said:

I really don't see the problem with any of these apart from Miley and Gwen using those Japanese women as props was the only problematic bit of her LAMB era for me, everything else felt like appreciation. Where I think cultural appropriation is an issue is when the person doesn't understand the culture, is mocking it, is stereotyping it, is just using it to be cool and relevant, claiming you invented it and/or are actively trying to appear of that race (maybe even going as far as to darken their skin or alter their accent). But if they're genuinely into the culture and are indulging in it correctly, what's the issue? Everyone knows where this culture comes from, no one's claiming these white artists invented it, so it's not like anyone's going to call them original or groundbreaking. It's no different from indulging in any other form of art that you wouldn't usually.

And here's some other examples which you might have missed:

This is probably the biggest example of appropriation but she's also done it elsewhere:

Apologise for the poor quality but this was the official video. She danced with Japanese back-up dancers live too:

I don't think her intentions were bad and she knows the culture but still...

Trying to find videos that actually made me uncomfortable is the key to working out if it's appropriation or not. I'm surprised no one's mentioned Iggy Azalea but I feel all the times that she did do it was in a cultural appreciation way and she didn't even so much as tan herself and kept her hair blonde so she never tried to give the appearance of being black either. When Ariana did her Side To Side video, she was tanned the same colour as Nicki, they look like sisters in that video, it's very creepy.

Also, @Dulo Peep do you believe POC can culturally appropriate too? If so, there's a wealth of material concerning that out there. Hip hop artists have frequently used Asian culture in their work for years and no one says a thing.

Thats why this is the pop girls edition. More editions will keep coming next. 

[Knife 6,888]

5 minutes ago, papergangstas said:

Her dad is indeed full Puerto Rican. 

Multiple sources say that her father is Ecuadorian, though.

Christina Aguilera Returns to Her Roots On Ecuador Hunger Relief Trip

"Aguilera's father is from Ecuador. The trip marked the first time the 34-year-old singer, who was born in New York, had visited the country."

Either way, my problem with Christina Aguilera's embracing of being latina was basically that it was just a stereotypical "sexy" portrayal. Presenting as a blonde/blue-eyed white girl wasn't working, so she played up latina stereotypes to stand out.

[papergangstas 1,364]

12 minutes ago, Knife said:

Multiple sources say that her father is Ecuadorian, though.

Christina Aguilera Returns to Her Roots On Ecuador Hunger Relief Trip

"Aguilera's father is from Ecuador. The trip marked the first time the 34-year-old singer, who was born in New York, had visited the country."

Either way, my problem with Christina Aguilera's embracing of being latina was basically that it was just a stereotypical "sexy" portrayal. Presenting as a blonde/blue-eyed white girl wasn't working, so she played up latina stereotypes to stand out.

She also didn't want to get compared to Britney Spears at that, who was also this "blonde, innocent" pop persona. She actually started her stripped era as a blonde/with black strains in her hair, and later on evolved with a more "latina" look. She actually got more hate during her "Mi Reflejo" album which was released 2 years before stripped, due to the fact that she was called a "wannabe" latina, so she didn't get her more latin-driven image over night, she just changed her appearance a lot in 2003 (black hair, tan, hoop earrings, piercings)