White Woman Is Shamed For ‘Cultural Appropriation’ For Going To A Salon That Specializes In Black Hair
Anything can spark a political controversy, even the blunt choices people make every day. This time, we’re diving into the internet’s dilemma that came from a 30-year-old woman who recently shared the tricky situation she got into on the r/AITA subreddit.
“I have always struggled with my hair,” the author recounted and added that the family she was adopted into did little to properly care for her hair, “leading to huge knots and my hair massacred by scissors to make it short.”
It changed when the author got into university, where she met her best friend, who was black. “She showed me hair products from brands intended for black people that really helped with my hair quality and even took me to the salon she went to that catered for black hair types.”
From that point, the author realized that black hair salons were the only place that could really take care of her hair, and she hasn’t looked back ever since. But now that she’s been accused of appropriating black culture by a white friend, the author seeks to find out whether it’s really okay to go to black hair salons.
The 30 y.o. white woman with thick, curly hair says she’s always struggled with her hair, but now that she’s found salons that specialize in black hair, she couldn’t be happier
Image credits: ljubaphoto (not the actual photo)
But she recently got accused of appropriating black culture, so she shared the incident on r/AITA to find out whether she’s wrong to go to black hair salons
Image credits: throwawayamitastoty
The term ‘cultural appropriation’ refers to the adoption of an element or elements of one culture or identity by members of another culture or identity. This becomes controversial when members of a dominant culture appropriate from minority cultures. These elements may include but are not limited to fashion, styles, trends, iconography, artifacts, ideas, speech and so on.
Some of the most talked-about examples of cultural appropriation have been Myley Cyrus twerking, white girls wearing cornrows, Kim Kardashian wearing ‘Om’ earrings, and Selena Gomez wearing Bindi. While many white offenders received huge backlash for appropriating other cultures, others claim it’s an inevitable process, something that’s part of globalization.
The critics of those who take cultural appropriation as an offense claim that guarding cultures and subcultures is essentially counterproductive, and that’s not how culture and creativity work. The exchange of ideas, styles, and traditions is one of the tenets and joys of a modern, multicultural society.
In most cases, cultural appropriation depends on a particular situation and context, thus no general rules of do’s and don’ts can be made. While some cases of cultural appropriation appear to be clearly unethical and exploitative of culture, others fall under the blurred line of what we call an act of appropriated culture.
And this is what people had to comment on this whole situation
Some people are so anti racist that they become racist
It's a weird segregation they preach. "Only use products invented by, meant for, your cultural/ethnic type".
that is about 95% of woke people. You should see how black people react to some of those white wokesters being real racists. Ignore the channel this video is from, but just see the video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yW2LpFkVfYk
If you liked Dave P.'s comment, you are a racist. I know that's hard to swallow, but it's true. Spend some time researching racism and how your own biases are causing your anti-black beliefs.
This comment is hidden. Click here to view.
Oh look, a racist dog whistle. By "woke" what Dave P. actually means is "black." "Woke" is a term with African American vernacular origins. A large percentage of the people actually fighting voter suppression laws ARE BLACK PEOPLE. No, I'm not going to "ignore the channel." You're a white supremacist dirtbag.
Hating people because of he racial origins IS racist. You calling any body a "white supremacist dirtbag' is every bit as unpleasant as someone calling you "a bit of black trash". It works both ways and in generally maintained by both sides of the divide.
No. It doesn't "work both ways" sweetheart. White people weren't oppressed during the majority of the existence of the U.S. Pretending otherwise is deeply racist. Maybe you should spend some time educating yourself about racism instead of rushing to the support of white supremacists on social media.
lmao that's not how that works, evelyn
Yeah. Not to mention "white supremacist dirtbag" indicates insulting due to a belief whereas "a bit of black trash" is just insulting because of race so they are quite different.
They are not anti-racist. They are racist. There is a huge difference. Anti-Racist is more how you vote, are you voting people in that will have a better chance of trying to close the wage gap or work for equal justice. These people are just racist. Anyone who is truly Anti-racist, would actually take the time to understand what cultural appropriation is.
They make a full 360
Exactly!
That’s not what cultural appropriation means.
You're correct it is not
appropriate": "To take credit or lay claim to origin of item, ritual, affects, or similar from another group as your own" most people need a dictionary, most of what people use the term for is, not the term
I agree Si, this is taking it too far.
Exactly! And even if it was White People don't get to make that call!
If the salon and her hairdresser don't want a white woman's money, they're totally free to ask her to take her business elsewhere. But if they don't, then this is what you call "supporting black-owned businesses".
Uhm.. I'm sorry, I'm not from the US, but here it would be unimaginable and utterly against the law to refuse business based on race. As it should be. Asking someone to take their business elsewhere because they're white just seems morally wrong to me.
In the US, there's a whole field of law devoted to defining what is discrimination in business and what is keeping out troublemakers. I won't go into that as I'm no lawyer, but the bottom line is... if the salon didn't want this woman's business the customer would know it. Therefore what we have here is a white woman supporting a black-owned business, and a well-intentioned person who don't understand what "cultural appropriation" really is, thoughtlessly trying to deprive the business of some income.
Yeah no one actually says its about race but they don't have appointments, or otherwise make the experience as difficult or as unpleasant as possible or only show a range of ethnically approved products. Real Estate agents do this all the time showing black families properties only in Black neighborhoods.
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It is, but it is only racist if whites do it.
Racism is hatred against a race. All races can be racist against other races. Not just whites. Sit down and shut up.
Racism is NOT hatred against a race. Racism is making laws, rules and exclisions based on race. it works both ways! My niece who is of part Africa descent went to the US and proudly walked into a 'black' bar, She was told to "get out whitey" despite her tan skin and black hair, based solely on their assumptions of her racial orgin.
You don't provide service along racial lines, at least in the US anymore. That is illegal.
Sure it is but its real easy to do. Just say you have no appointments or something.
In this case, salon's got nothing to do with this thread: it's her own "friend" who is questioning the use of a specific salon. And yes: it's a ridiculous debate.
That would be discrimination.
Some people are so anti racist that they become racist
It's a weird segregation they preach. "Only use products invented by, meant for, your cultural/ethnic type".
that is about 95% of woke people. You should see how black people react to some of those white wokesters being real racists. Ignore the channel this video is from, but just see the video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yW2LpFkVfYk
If you liked Dave P.'s comment, you are a racist. I know that's hard to swallow, but it's true. Spend some time researching racism and how your own biases are causing your anti-black beliefs.
This comment is hidden. Click here to view.
Oh look, a racist dog whistle. By "woke" what Dave P. actually means is "black." "Woke" is a term with African American vernacular origins. A large percentage of the people actually fighting voter suppression laws ARE BLACK PEOPLE. No, I'm not going to "ignore the channel." You're a white supremacist dirtbag.
Hating people because of he racial origins IS racist. You calling any body a "white supremacist dirtbag' is every bit as unpleasant as someone calling you "a bit of black trash". It works both ways and in generally maintained by both sides of the divide.
No. It doesn't "work both ways" sweetheart. White people weren't oppressed during the majority of the existence of the U.S. Pretending otherwise is deeply racist. Maybe you should spend some time educating yourself about racism instead of rushing to the support of white supremacists on social media.
lmao that's not how that works, evelyn
Yeah. Not to mention "white supremacist dirtbag" indicates insulting due to a belief whereas "a bit of black trash" is just insulting because of race so they are quite different.
They are not anti-racist. They are racist. There is a huge difference. Anti-Racist is more how you vote, are you voting people in that will have a better chance of trying to close the wage gap or work for equal justice. These people are just racist. Anyone who is truly Anti-racist, would actually take the time to understand what cultural appropriation is.
They make a full 360
Exactly!
That’s not what cultural appropriation means.
You're correct it is not
appropriate": "To take credit or lay claim to origin of item, ritual, affects, or similar from another group as your own" most people need a dictionary, most of what people use the term for is, not the term
I agree Si, this is taking it too far.
Exactly! And even if it was White People don't get to make that call!
If the salon and her hairdresser don't want a white woman's money, they're totally free to ask her to take her business elsewhere. But if they don't, then this is what you call "supporting black-owned businesses".
Uhm.. I'm sorry, I'm not from the US, but here it would be unimaginable and utterly against the law to refuse business based on race. As it should be. Asking someone to take their business elsewhere because they're white just seems morally wrong to me.
In the US, there's a whole field of law devoted to defining what is discrimination in business and what is keeping out troublemakers. I won't go into that as I'm no lawyer, but the bottom line is... if the salon didn't want this woman's business the customer would know it. Therefore what we have here is a white woman supporting a black-owned business, and a well-intentioned person who don't understand what "cultural appropriation" really is, thoughtlessly trying to deprive the business of some income.
Yeah no one actually says its about race but they don't have appointments, or otherwise make the experience as difficult or as unpleasant as possible or only show a range of ethnically approved products. Real Estate agents do this all the time showing black families properties only in Black neighborhoods.
This comment is hidden. Click here to view.
It is, but it is only racist if whites do it.
Racism is hatred against a race. All races can be racist against other races. Not just whites. Sit down and shut up.
Racism is NOT hatred against a race. Racism is making laws, rules and exclisions based on race. it works both ways! My niece who is of part Africa descent went to the US and proudly walked into a 'black' bar, She was told to "get out whitey" despite her tan skin and black hair, based solely on their assumptions of her racial orgin.
You don't provide service along racial lines, at least in the US anymore. That is illegal.
Sure it is but its real easy to do. Just say you have no appointments or something.
In this case, salon's got nothing to do with this thread: it's her own "friend" who is questioning the use of a specific salon. And yes: it's a ridiculous debate.
That would be discrimination.