Justin Bieber accused of cultural appropriation over hairstyle

[Economy 50,094]

6 hours ago, dit said:

For me, we have to listen to the black community. Of course they are not a monolith so many will say it is ok but if the overwhelming majority say no it is not ok as people who are not black we need to respect their opinion because this is directly impacting them as a people and directly involving their heritage and culture.

I am one of those people who usually loves mixing of different cultures, trying new things of different cultures, learning language, jokes, sayings etc...of other nations and peoples BUT if that culture says there are some things that are HANDS OFF then we as outsiders must always respect that. Always. 

I dont know if its really the overwelming majority of black community saying this tho. I consistently have noticed that the opinions u see online dont represent what most of the general population in real life think

 

I think ppl online are just the loudest and it gives u a perception of a majority when in fact its not

 

Like on the one hand im not one to start conflict and if someone is gonna get triggered by something i wear fine, id rather just not then offend someone

 

But on the otherhand i find ppl online are a little extra with how much they look into everything and they are somehow setting the standards for everyone else all the the time....

 

Like its hair... yes theres origins you can look at if you want to instead of just looking at it as a stlye today... but then if thats ur reasoning half the stuff we do or enjoy today at some point had a questionable origin or dark history if u do your research. U cant even accept half of medical science because so much was rooted in cruel human experiments. If its about origins, i find ppl cherry pick a lot what they pay attention to and dont. 

[holy scheisse 22,299]

4 hours ago, Meruk Holland said:

Well, there comes a certain issue with calling out cultural appropriation for the sake of starting a conversation. At this point, almost all of us have an opinion on cultural appropriation so you have to really question what does the conversation and the call out intend to do. Are we trying to show that if one does commit cultural appropriation like this celebrity does, that they will be shamed for it? That it doesn't matter of your appreciation of the culture in question, some things are not okay to do? If your privilege is so high that your career won't be hurt for wearing a hairstyle of another's culture that would hurt their career, you aren't allowed to wear it because that's only fair? If it's not for those reasons, then I think that's a bad approach, because that's what I assume is the purpose of the conversation. I think it fails because it shames people for the appropriation, but also shames those that don't see the issue with it. Shame puts people on the defensive, and defensive people don't want to convert to the opposing side of the conversation. 

It's not like this is a new idea - as I said, I think we're all aware of what cultural appropriation is. I mean, I remember this conversation from back when Gaga did those ARTPOP promo pictures with the blonde dreads. So bringing awareness to people isn't the point of the conversation. So, am I missing something to this approach? Is call out culture actually effective for a reason I'm not considering?

Black americans are not responsible for the emotional reactions of white americans not understanding the microaggressicve harm their actions may cause (yes I know bieber is canadian but he lives in the US). It seems you suggest minority americans should stfu and not express the anger and frustration caused by the privileged majority. Its not tit for tat either when one group has been oppressed since the dawn of this country's inception to this date. This is why reverse racism, heterophoria, and so on are not a thing. Power dynamics come into play with issues like this.

There's's too many hypothetical Q's in this post to answer every one, but if it comes down to safeguarding people from feeling shame for their actions, I don't think that's a good enough reason to not call them out. and clearly American racism continues on despite "everybody knowing" about the issue with cultural appropriation. 

 

The question remains, what do those against calling out cultural appropriation propose should be done about it instead? If you made a mistake and are called on it, learn from the shame. If you're blind to understanding the harm of your actions, then this continues to be an issue.

 

[RenegAde 19,473]

 Dreads are one of the earliest hairstyles, and was in almost every culture to have ever existed in history. African ,Greek ,Asian etc

No one owns dreads.

[username9384747 201]

 

[Guest]

7 hours ago, holy scheisse said:

Does discussing the implications of his cultural appropriation not elevate the conversation louder and therefore address  "oppression and discrimination" tho? Bieber is a high profile household name... a good conversation starter.

That is a good point. 

[Bambino 24,290]

Of course, nowadays you can't do/say anything without someone accusing you of cultural appropriation or being racist. Everyone's being so overly sensitive it's getting ridiculous.

[MonsterofFame 1,786]

The concept of "cultural appropriation" has been totally misconstrued from its original meaning. There should be NOTHING wrong with wearing and celebrating other cultures styles and traditions, as long as it is done respectfully. How can we celebrate and embrace "diversity" if almost no one is allowed to participate?

Where do we draw the line? Shall we say that a black or asian person who dyes their hair blonde is appropriating european culture?

Here's some examples of ACTUAL cultural appropriation:

1.) Rihanna recently posted a topless photo with a suggestive caption, wearing a buddha and other Hindu symbols. She is sexualizing a religion and its image in a way that has nothing to do with the meanings behind it.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CLUzcxMnm4A

2.) No Doubt's Looking Hot music video portrayed Gwen as this sexy Native American princess who was captured and put on display. The video used so many harmful stereotypes and symbols that are sacred to their culture and religion.

3.) Just about every rap/hip-hop video that wears a CROSS of Jesus Christ, while singing about sex, cheating, banging b****es, violence, guns, drugs, and just about every other thing that goes against what Jesus actually taught.

 

But yes, let's all get our panties twisted because Justin wants to embrace another culture's style!!! And in the process, totally harm actual cases of cultural appropriation by watering down the term's ACTUAL MEANING.

[ItWasntLaauv 6,392]

I’m saying this as someone who enjoys ethnic and gender studies, cultural appropriation is a fuzzy topic in my opinion, expect for the times when it’s clearly not.

In relation to this topic, I personally don’t agree with the accusation of cultural appropriation here. Also I don’t agree with the way Cohen is going about talking about it. People say they want a positive or neutral connotation seeing someone in locs, but then create a negative stigma to people they don’t want to see wearing locs. It contradicts its own mission of positivity and acceptance.

In my opinion, it’s not productive, it goes deeper than non-black people wearing locs, there’s a way to deconstruct negative societal structures by changing people’s perspectives on locs and teaching people the history of this hairstyle rather stigmatizing it more and making the topic more convoluted.

[ItWasntLaauv 6,392]

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[UnknownUser71 2,878]

1 hour ago, MonsterofFame said:

The concept of "cultural appropriation" has been totally misconstrued from its original meaning. There should be NOTHING wrong with wearing and celebrating other cultures styles and traditions, as long as it is done respectfully. How can we celebrate and embrace "diversity" if almost no one is allowed to participate?

Where do we draw the line? Shall we say that a black or asian person who dyes their hair blonde is appropriating european culture?

[Economy 50,094]

20 hours ago, ALGAYDO said:

Tell that to all the POC who get mocked/shamed/fired for using that same hair style that they originated.  

I dont get ur point here about shamed or fired. If anything normalizing it among general population instead of only 1 culture would only help with this issue ur talking about. U make it sound like it would be a negative influence

 

What ur talking about is prejudice & racism. Were talking about whether or not this would be appropriation. They may overlap a little but ur bringing up something different

[Alvaro Moreno Ullrich 1,554]

A culture is basically people copying each other so whats the deal bish

[NCgaga 4,324]

People can wear their hair however they want to. No one owns a hair style. If you want to fight discrimination by appearance, then fight it- attacking the hair style and the person wearing it doesn’t do anything. Anyone should wear their hair however they want to. No one should be fired or discriminated by their hair choices unless it’s not hygenic. Period. The outrage on this sight is always pointed in the wrong direction. 

[NCgaga 4,324]

4 minutes ago, Alvaro Moreno Ullrich said:

A culture is basically people copying each other so whats the deal bish

This. This is the purest truth about “culture”. This outrage over borrowed style, from a borrowed style, from a borrowed style, is rediculous. 

[Chlorine 47,976]

I knew this would happen lol.

Anyway, my issue with white dreads is that they look like grinch fingers. 

I didn't make that up I saw it on IG.