For a few years now, the worst “movie awards show” to cover is the MTV Movie Awards. Even the Critics Choice Awards are better than the MTVMAs! I remember when the MTV Movie Awards were actually cool, and they got major celebrities to show up and give speeches and do cool bits. Not so much anymore, although who even knows – this year’s MTV Movie Awards was pretaped this weekend, and it airs tonight. I’m just judging the lack-of-coolness on the red carpet. When Kim Kardashian and Kris Jenner are your big “gets” then you might have a problem.
Kim wore Versace and I couldn’t even believe this was from Versace – it’s so basic! Also basic: Kim’s still out here doing braids even though black women have been telling her for years that it’s cultural appropriation. At this point, she’s just doing it so everyone will yell at her. She’s still stuck in that “must be controversial, must get people talking” frame of mind.
Zendaya in August Getty. I’m not going to pretend that this is my taste at all – I dislike this shade of brown, I dislike the too-stiff structure of the “bell” skirt, and overall, I just would have put her in something different. All that being said, she’s working the sh-t out of this. Not my taste, but she looks amazing.
Kristen Bell in Julien MacDonald. This is sort of cute and sort of dated. It feels very 2002 to me.
Michael B Jordan in DSQUARED2. OMG. He looks amazing. I love his pants. I would love him without pants too.
Tessa Thompson in Rosie Assoulin. I love Tessa and I respect that she has her own fashion eye, but this whole look feels very Zoe Kravitz to me. She looks beautiful, of course, but she’s also swimming in all that excess fabric.
Photos courtesy of WENN.
Why is her braiding her hair such a big deal?
It’s not IMO
I’ll give Kim a pass. Perhaps her children wanted to see their mom in braids. I don’t think it’s appropriation, but appreciation and letting her daughter know its okay to wear her own hair in ethnic styles to important events.
And yup, I’m black. Parents are from the Caribbean (T&T), but I’m Canadian born.
To me, hair is hair. Real hair, wigs, weaves, braids, extentions,etc are all just hair and hairstyles
I don’t see anything offensive with her braiding her hair. That is just looking to be offended, IMO. How are braids and wigs a “culture?” Besides, since SO many nations throughout history have traditionally worn braids and wigs (the Founding Fathers of the U.S. wore wigs, too!) who is to say who they “belong” to? Almost everything else, however, about Kim is offensive to me.
Agree.
I don’t think its the braiding per se – but the context around it. Black women have been wearing braids, wigs etc forever and I am fairly certain that Kim and her sisters have claimed that they made braids and wigs “cool” basically once again feeding into the idea that features, styles etc that have been worn by (and have been used against) women of colour get appropriated by celebrity white women who claim to have “made them hip” and get celebrated for it.
I’m sure someone can explain it much better than I can..but along these lines.
OriginalLala…you said it PERFECTLY! But that group of women have used Black culture to build an empire…so…you know…whatever….
I’m a black woman. Not offended in the least.
I only did similar braiding to that when I was on my teens but just until my hair dried. Then I would undo all of them for a full pre-raphaelite hair effect.
Wasn’t it a magazine that claimed they made it look cool, not the Kardashians/Jenners themselves? Having the hairstyle in the first place notwithstanding, just saying the cultural insensitivity of that particular statement came from someone else.
I wanna add one thing to this. Not all black women have to feel the same. Not all black women have the same lives, same experiences,… I do see that Kardashians like to play black, but that doesn’t mean that every black woman will agree.
..
I also just don’t get it and I’m black btw. Will I be called out for cultural appropriation if I style my hair “white”?? It is just a hairstyle for goodness sake!
When black women stop getting discriminated against for wearing their hair in natural styles, then we can all agree that it’s “ just a hairstyle, what’s the big deal.” The issue is that white women can wear braids, etc. and it’s considered stylish and okay, but black women have lost their jobs or been suspended from school over wearing the same hairstyle. How is that fair?
http://www.newsweek.com/wearing-braids-sends-black-girls-detention-malden-charter-school-608303
http://time.com/4909898/black-hair-discrimination-ignorance/
http://prospect.org/article/black-beautiful-hair-still-political
Nana, what would you consider styling your hair white?
@NANA
What do you means style your hair as white ? You do realize that we as black people come with many types of hair textures and colors right? Whole African tribes with blond hair, my mother was born with hair as red as a brick , I was born with hair so black it looked purple and straight.
For the love of god people please stop saying it’s just hair when young AA males with dreads are racially profiled every day. When white people with dreads are seen as harmless, free loving stoners, but black people are seen as dangerous. We have all lived long enough to know that “it’s just hair” statement is invalid, just say you don’t care and move along.
Whole Kartrashin klan is garbage with the exceptions of the babies.
@Onemoretime, I think Nana Akua was just trying to say that certain hair colours, types and styles are more associated with white people, although white people, like POC, come with all colours and textures too (some more common than others, and that’s why lots of people feel something looks black, white, whatever).
I’m guessing none of you are black? The problem is cultural appropriation, the problem is that when black women (like myself) wear our hair like this we get a lot crap for it, we’re called ghetto and many times we’re not even allowed to wear our hair this way in schools and workplaces. But when white women do this they’re called trendsetters, cool etc…They even change the name, it’s now Kardashian braids.
I know I didn’t explain this well, I’m too tired today. But please google braids and cultural appropriation to learn why it’s problematic.
I really appreciate you mentioning this Kaiser, I feel like the Kardashian/Jenners constantly get away with this and it’s frustrating.
I really love braids, I think they are beautiful, (not on the K’s…nothing looks good on those a-holes), I’ve never thought braids were ghetto and this is coming from a mid-west big haired white girl. I hate that people suck.
Thank you. Not that long ago zendaya was mocked for wearing dreadlocks. Then, right after that kendall had some for a fashion show and it was all the rage. That’s the problem.
Does this apply to all countries? I do understand that it is inappropriate for a white women to wear braids in a setting where a block woman is not allowed or is called names for the same hairstyle.
But in the setting of my university and my company in Europe, braids are the normal style for the black women working here. Maybe because we have to wear a hairstyle that can be tied back and covered in lab and in the production area. Its ponytail, bun or braids, no open hair allowed. Also no wigs, hairpieces, accessorizes except hair tie ect..
Also the systemic discrimination here is stronger toward Muslims, especially women wearing headscarves (Not because people are more tolerant, but rather because black people are a too small minority here to be considered a thread to white privilege).
My question is, are braids always a nogo for white women or does it depends on the surrounding?
I’m black, I have read all about CA and I still do not have a problem with it. I wear my the way I like, Kim can do the same. The only time it rankled me was when I went to the Bahamas and saw a lot of white women getting their hair braided who more than likely wouldn’t wear braids in their day to
day lives. It smacked of wanting the black experience but not really wanting to live the black life. I don’t care what society thinks of me, be it my skin or hair, so again, I’m not offended by Kim and I don’t feel shamed, bullied, or whatever the buzzword of the day is either.
@JennyJazzhands:
Indeed!
The vilification of braids or locks on darker people is ubiquitous.
– In fantasy films, the bad guys are always dark with some dreadlock style.
– Edgy/criminal characters (white and black) is drama films also wear locks a lot
– celebs who are darker and wearing locks or braids are accused of ‘smelling’ or other racist microaggressions
– fashion mags’ erasure of black culture by calling braids the new rage or cool thanks to (insert white model/it-girl of the moment)
….so many examples, too little time. It’s never just a hairstyles.
I get the struggles black people go through (or at least I try to), but do you honestly think that a white person with dreadlocks or cornrows will be gladly offered a job?? really?? this hairstyle is considered to be “unprofessional” on ANYONE. Kim K is not a corporate lawyer for the love of god, she wouldn’t be able to find a “normal” job looking like this
Why is that Kim’s fault though??If she wore a kimono would you still be “outraged”?
Back in the late 70s I remember my (white) dad being upset that there was a new office rule in his workplace (government agency) saying that black women couldn’t wear cornrows to work, that it was unprofessional. He was upset because a woman co-worker/friend of his was black and he cared enough to listen to why this upset her-no one was telling white women what the hell to do with their hair. I remember him actually taking this higher and fighting the stupidity of the policy. I don’t remember what happened with the rule because I was very young, but I do remember the friend, who hung out with my parents.
@Lila Why are dreads (locs) unprofessional? Is it because you associate them with weed use? Not that a wide selection of people wear them… you know doctors, Lawyers, business professionals… etc. Do you truly believe that that hairstyle is automatically unprofessional? This is exactly the problem. I think maybe you should question why you feel this way. My hair and the way I choose to style it does not negate my education or experience…. Except to those who look down upon my textured hair and see it as something that should be “tamed”, erased, or something I should be ashamed of.
@lboogi
She never said she thinks this way. She said they are considered unprofessional. Which is true.
@lila “this hairstyle is considered unprofessional on ANYONE”. Yikes, girl. Where do you live? That’s a classic example of showing your unconscious bias. And I disagree with your assessment, to boot.
What I want to know is….who tf is calling a black person unkempt, dirty, etc. because of how they wear their hair???!! Who discriminates bc of the dead cells growing from your scalp?! People need to re-evaluate their lives if someone’s presence/hair is offending them.
The problem isn’t the braids. The problem is that we still live in a society where African Americans are discriminated against for their appearance, including traditional textured hairstyles, Kim will undo her braids later and get to walk around as a white woman, receiving white female privilege. Black women can’t take off their skin and hair texture. That’s the issue. The insult is in the ability to “test the waters” of black cultural association without having to suffer any of the prejudice.
what’s the privilege here? being named “cool” by some trashy magazine like us weekly?
@ Lila:
” but do you honestly think that a white person with dreadlocks or cornrows will be gladly offered a job?? really?? this hairstyle is considered to be “unprofessional” on ANYONE.”
Are you serious? I just don’t get people and I think I need to walk away before I say something ugly. Please don’t say you “try to understand”. I have heard people like you and I don’t think you even want to understand. And I’m white.
@wildflower, you didn’t say anything substantial or anything that would change my mind and I’m super open to a conversation…
have you seen lots of people who work in conservative areas (banking, law, government) with mohawks, cornrows? of any color?
@Lila The problem here s that you think it is our job to change your mind.
IT ISN”T.
People have expressed themselves to the best of their abilities. You refuse to take in what they are saying. Move on. You don’t care about their feelings. That is abundantly clear from every response you have given.
Stop trying to claim black women’s time to explain to you why they are offended. There are long-form explanations on the internet about this issue that you can read. If you still don’t get it, move on. No black woman owes you any more time to explain our existence or why we find this frustrating and disgusting.
The arrogance of it all.
It was only in 2014 when the US military started to allow braids, cornrows and twists to be worn by military members.
The privilege is in not having to deal with the racist assumptions that come attached to the appearance of blackness on an everyday basis. White privilege is not about getting something special. It’s about having the right to be considered human without the caveat of stereotypes in ways that non-whites are not.
As for how the hair is professional…who says it’s unprofessional? Why is it unprofessional to have dreadlocks or cornrows? Who decided that? These things are not decided in a vacuum. They are culturally indoctrinated principles that serve a purpose. You need to start thinking about how cultural norms are decided by whom and for what reasons.
For the record, mohawks are not comparable to cornrows and dreadlocks, which are styles that have cultural backing and pragmatic purpose for textured hair. The style arises from punk movements, in which case the hairstyle is a legitimate statement against sociocultural norms and intentionally outrageous so that it is distinctly *not* professional. Cornrows and dreadlocks do not have the same social coding. We decided they were unprofessional because they don’t fit typical white cultural standards.
@lila. To answer your question honestly, yes – I have. Maybe you live in a conservative community or something, but your experience does not necessarily reflect that of others so don’t assume your perspective on it is a “truth”. Making blankets statements like you did just serves to illustrate your limited perspective. And listen, I’m not trying to be an ass or a troll. And really, I make no claim to being an expert on the topic, but I call it as I see it. Maybe it’s a case of you don’t know what you don’t know.
It’s not. It’s a big deal because it’s Kim Kardashian and she once said it was a homage to Bo Derek instead of recognizing the significance of braids to black culture. But wearing braids is not cultural appropiation, unless you are purposefully rejecting the culture they come from and pretending it’s something from your own.
I was thinking the same thing!! I don’t really see it as an issue? I braid my hair all the time just because I like how it looks on me, should I no longer do this? Don’t get where it crosses the line from liking a certain hairstyle to cultural appropriation.
It’s not. Humans from many cultures and many ethnicities have dreaded and braided their hair throughout human history. It’s not the province of any one culture or ethnicity.
I agree. The United States is a country with people from many different cultures. I believe that if you simulate something from a different cultures and you do it because you truly like and respect that something from another culture, it’s okay. However, if you do it to mock or make fun of that culture or in a disrespectful way, it’s not okay.
How is the wife of a black icon and the mother of three (?) bi-racial kids appropriating black culture by braiding her hair? I think she looks gorgeous. My sister is black and I am white, and she has put my hair in all manner of “appropriative” hairstyles because we like to dress alike. It isn’t any different than her straightening her hair or wearing blonde wigs. This is such a bizarre conversation.
She does this because it gets her attention. At this point, all I can do it roll my eyes.
Michaela Coel has a great tweet about this, she is doing this to rile up black women and get their attention. Don’t give it to her.
I’ve come to the same conclusion. When I see it, I roll my eyes and move on-I have things to do.
Also she looks so stupid! Not even an attractive look!
Agreed!
@ccc888, I think Fulani braids are cute, just not on her 😉
Hate what Zendaya is wearing (leather lampshade, anyone?) but she looks awesome.
I love her.
I’m trying to imagine how to sit in a skirt like that. Did she stand the whole night? Is she wearing some cute little bloomers under there?
I love her though. Just a beautiful person, inside and out
Yup. Same goes for Zoe.
Such pretty women in awful clothes…
That skirt, though.
I love what Zendaya is wearing. She always kills it on the carpet. Amazing for someone so young to push fashion boundaries and to know herself so well. She always commits to the look and she wears it, it never wears her. Friggin’ love her. Everyone else to me looks like a hot mess but it is the MTV awards – expectations are pretty low.
Why did celebrities stop attending the MTV movie awards??
And with Kim, SMH. I guess she thinks being married to her Uncle Tom of a husband gives her license to appropriate from Black culture. Ugh. That family.
Oh she totally does. I remember when she first got married to him she posted a photo of her cooking him a “soul food” meal. After everyone clowned her for how dry looking everything was she did it again and this time invited more black friends of his so they could show everyone how she “improved.”
That family fetishizes everything black soooooooooooo much and treats it like a costume I’m amazed more people don’t see it. Then I become less amazed, because I realized most people don’t want to see it 😪
You guys need to make up your minds.
The entire family have never stopped culturally appropriating but two weeks ago she was everyone’s new woke queen social justice warrior and it was okay to overlook everything she does like this because gosh, her heart is in the right place.
She’s smirking at the camera for a reason.
I’ll never validate her ‘good work’. It’s too dangerous when it’s public knowledge that Kanye wants to run for president and KK would enable this:
That’s why Kanye loves him,” she said. “It’s the idea that anything can happen.
It’s too dangerous considering KK has political connections via Ivanka Trump. It’s too dangerous when in this current time; there is a president that came from popculture/reality TV. There’s too many red flags around the K family and too much evidence that they aspire to move into all these different circles that gives them too much power.
KK is not harmless. Her look is emulated by millions of young girls. Her type of fame is sought out by them as well. She does influence a new generation of women and it’s scary. So the minute she shows a good side of her and people start caping for her, I get scared. Because people know this woman and her family and they’re still caping for her.
All I gotta say about this woman is that she deserves the hairline she’s got!
Thank you!!
The interview with Van Johnson was gross, but about what you’d expect from the man who said 45 became presidential the first time he managed to stay on script for more than 5 seconds. This is all playacting to her and that interview put that into perfect clarity. And few images are more infuriating than the thought of this trick sitting on her throne while desperate people line up hoping some of her “benevolence” will be directed their way. She gets off on it the way 45 does.
This isn’t the last time we’l see her at the White House – she’ll get attention and validation any way she can and she doesn’t care who it comes from or how it legitimizes 45. It’s a big joke to her.
Who said this? I personally don’t care for her or any other member of her family. They’re all vapid idiots doing whatever it takes to stay relevant.
This exactly. She’s so “woke” that she accused Rhymefest of “over leveraging” Kanye’s name after Kanye allegedly said “f*ck the youth of Chicago”. She’s always been fake and I’ve never understood why people continuously give her the benefit of the doubt.
I made up my mind long ago. She’s a dumb dipsh*t.
Only opinion a K thread should ever have!
I cannot stand her or any of her family, children aside. Never liked them. Never will.
Tessa’a is my favorite look. I consider myself “art teacher chic” and this is definitely giving me a glam version of that vibe.
Bingo!
Beyonce just dropped an album she had to get attention some where.
You’re so right, she SWF’s Beyonce and it’s so obvious.
OMG SHE DID AND ITS ON SPOTIFY THIS TIME 🙌🏾🙌🏾🙌🏾
Isn’t the whole existence of the Kardashian’s to cultural appropriate black culture. I mean what’s new?
This! I don’t even feel like getting upset because she’s done this before and will continue to do it regardless of what black women tell her. She wants attention. The whole family does.
If you have hair, yours or someone else’s, on your head and you want to braid it, go ahead. She’s not wearing any head gear that belongs to other cultures, it’s her own (?) hair. I have long hair and sometime wear one or two braids. I’m 1/2 native and the women in my nation would traditionally wear one or two braids depending on marital status. I don’t mind when I see non natives with braided hair. My culture doesn’t own the style, I feel the same goes for multiple braids.
Her braids here actually look nice. I can’t say that too often about Kim since she got with Kanye.
What I can’t understand is the Kardashian habit of taking all the time to have such braids put in and then the next day – the braids have vanished! Besides the good look, an appealing factor of such braids is that they are easy to care for and comfortable. Why not keep them in for a good while?!?
But definitely all the problems getting such braids accepted at work, school, the military etc. are racist to the core and have nothing to do with the hairstyle not being “professional”. It’s very neat and very professional and can be easily tied back safely out of the way as needed, making it easier to deal with than some other long hair styles. If the only people wearing that style were pale Dutch or pale Norwegian, there would be no problem with it.
As with all things, the only cure is for people to just keep pushing the issue. That’s really the only way change occurs. It has to be continually driven home that the style suits the purpose and is actually beneficial for the kind of hair texture associated with most people of African descent. Some of the objections are at least partially due to ignorance, since it is simply unfamiliar if such groups have been kept out of various work environments before or if they have felt pressured to straighten their hair. So education is clearly needed. But definitely skin color is a major factor regardless.
Let her braid her hair, people should worry about actual cultural appropriation.
I’m confused on what that is. Could you give some examples please?
“When Kim Kardashian and Kris Jenner are your big “gets” then you might have a problem.” – sadly not anymore, she is legit and we have Anna Wintour to “thank” for that.
In terms of MTV overall and their awards in particular, I think that they simply struggled and did not find their way in the new 21 century cultural situation. I think that they were ahead on the curve in the ninties, challanging strereotypes on sexuality and gender but like with Sex and the City, it was progressive at the time butlooking back there also stuff that seems like such racist and insensitive to say the least in this moment. Add to that the rise of youtube and new music consumptio ways and I am not sure if MTV has a place in the current world. Or maybe I am wrong because I berely watched any MTV in the last 10 years.
Oh and Zendaya’s dress makes me think of some kind of mushroom. Maybe it’s the colour and thr form.
As usual people stay being tone deaf, clueless and obtuse. Black women have been telling people for decades that NO it’s not just an haircut, but why listen to us. Anyway, I’m out of this nonsense.
She could possibly say that she is honoring Bo Derek’s look from the movie “10”.
Jane – Kim has apparently referenced Bo Derek as the source for such a hair style, which is peculiar because actually Bo Derek got it from people of African heritage in this country at least. At the time of the movie 10, it was not common for people of other ethnicities to wear that hair style and that’s why it was startling to see it on her, and she got a lot of attention for it. She looked “different”.
Now Bo Derek might have been the first one with the hair style to penetrate the Kardashian collective brain, but it’s still odd because they have so many black friends and family. You would think they would know more hair history. Actually, since Kim herself has three children of African heritage, you would think she would especially know.
If other sources are the ones who initially made the incorrect cultural attribution, nothing prevented the Kardashians from pointing out the true origin of the style in American culture. But I don’t recall them ever doing so. Teachable moment missed.
For the people who don’t understand, this specific braid pattern where two braids on either side are braided towards the front is associated with the Fulani ethnic group from West Africa. You can look it up for more info. Now we will have mainstream outlets raving about Kim’s “creative” new braid style and I will scream.
Hm. I think braids are universal. Look up Celtic women in braids. Any woman should be able to braid her hair without facing criticism. So petty.
Tell that the the employers and school administrators who punish and admonish black women and girls for wearing such hairstyles. Get your head out of the sand and wake up ffs.
Punishing a black woman or a girl for wearing such an hairstyle is a legit discrimination. Not everybody who comments on here is from the US. It would have never come to my mind that a teacher would think of yet even get away with punishing a black girl for this beautiful hairstyle.
Because again it is discrimination and one can get sued for such an act.
I love braids too but I wouldn’t do this style on my own hair because it seems to be quite strictly braided and I am afraid to get a major headache from it. It also feels quite strange that as a white woman one cannot even try out this hairstyle even though one might like it. But this is one of the very first harmless steps in the direction of cultural acception and I am not really convinced that stopping white women from even liking this hairstyle is going to make it acceptable to racists that black women are wearing their hair like this.
A second thought of mine, Kim Kardashian is married to a black man, she has a daughter. Is her daughter now also not allowed to wear her hair like this because sh’e only half black? Daughters and mothers sometimes do bond about having the same hairstyle. It might mean something to her child that her mom wears the same hairstyle.
To my mind it would be a good thing if all women could wear different hairstyles without being teared down for it. What about all the black women who do straighten their hair or do color it blonde? And the thing with public appearances of celebrities is that they can have an impact on public perception. So if people are getting used to see such an hairstyle in public than public perception slowly changes too.
– For your second thought: with all the body issues North’s mother has and her black fetishism, her mixed daughter will never be able to enjoy her blackness. North’s curls have already been texturised for a while for one and two she’ll definitely prefer straight hair going by her birthday pictures of a few day’s ago. Black women aren’t allowed to express and celebrate their blackness/black features the way white women copy it and get praised for. And that’s the problem. Not the hairstyle itself.
Watch North’s brother Saint rocking a ‘fro in a few years while we’ve already seen KK slicking the hell out of North’s hair in public. The girl’s edges will be gone by age 12 at this rate. As for North’s father, he’s a black man hating on black women, slating black women by openly saying he would still reject them to go for a ‘Stormy Daniels’ and glorifying mixed children because they are more beautiful. In other words, a lost cause. So you tell me where North can find her beauty and confidence in her blackness with those two horrid examples of parents? A racist white woman using black features because of a fetish and a self-hating black man.
– Tanesha just told you black women get discriminated against for their hairstyle so why ask the question why black people want to experiment with Western styles? Also black people can have straight hair naturally so not technically a ‘white style’. As for the colour blonde: google ‘solomon islands people’.
– the cultural meaning of braids is something that eludes most Western people who are hellbent on proving they too can wear it without giving one thought about the actual meaning of it. This is why I’m not going to bother explaining it because it’s a waste of my time.
Why so aggressive?
We’re talking about a white American woman in a white-dominated American culture, so that argument doesn’t gel. It doesn’t matter what’s acceptable elsewhere in the world if we’re discussing the specific social mechanics of the United States. African Americans are discriminated against in America for their appearance and cultural behaviors. The polarizing nature of that sociopolitical context has only been exacerbated by the actions of the current administration. America is racist. America is a country where black people get shot by police for reaching for their license at a traffic stop. America is a place where white women call the police on a black family barbecuing in a public park.
Black women using hair relaxers and bleach to mimic Caucasian styles is not even remotely the same thing because reverse racism doesn’t exist. Black women are encouraged, even pressured, to emulate white beauty standards. They are constantly attacked for their looks, behaviors, their sexuality. Mimicking white culture isn’t appropriation for blacks because they live in a white dominated society – that’s about *survival.* When your minority culture is viewed as inferior or problematic, the ability to thrive in a majority culture depends on your ability to conform to those standards.
North and Saint wearing traditional textured hair styles is not the same thing as Kim wearing braids because they are mixed race and obviously black in heritage. Their Caucasian heritage doesn’t matter. It doesn’t matter because American culture will make it not matter. They will encounter racism and prejudice throughout their lives, even coming from a background of wealth and celebrity, because of the darker skin tone, the mixed features. They can’t take off the characteristics of blackness that their mother wears like a hat.
I do know this train of thought because one of my history profs worked in Canada and the US and he’d loved to stay there and to work on global history themes with the scientists there, The direction was entangeled and shared history.
No chance, because he got literally blocked because he as a white had no right to work with native or african-american scientists on “their causes” . He wasn’t into taking anything over, he was into a professional collaboration which is actually standard in international science.
This segregative approach on all levels is not going to help anybody it is just dividing people left and right even more. Which is a very sad developement.
I am sad how black lives matter just seemed to vanish somehow. If every black person in the US would have stopped to appear to work at the height of the movement – like a general strike – I think it would have made an impact because of the major economic damage.
And imagine, what numbers the movement could have gotten if all the white people who wanted to had shown their support too.
Do you really think the segregative approach is going to help? It needs black and white people who are working, living and loving each other to achieve some sort of impact.
.
What you’re saying puts the responsibility of fixing racism and prejudice on the people who are sufferings its effects, though. If every black person in the United States had marched with BLM, it might have made a difference – but it would have, too, if every white “ally” had shown up and done their work, as well. White people still hold the demographic majority. We are the ones who systemically benefit from racism, so the burden should really be on us to make those changes.
Racial segregation exists in the Americas because white people created it. Point blank. We are the ones who put those systems into place. We are not the ones who get to complain about all the problems it causes. If your friend was frustrated to be locked out of those fields, maybe he should consider why those parameters exist. Why would blacks and Native Americans – two groups who have suffered horrifically under Western colonialism – want to give whites any more control over their historical and cultural retelling? How can they be assured that the privileges your friend has as a white man won’t interfere with the analysis of those people’s lives? If your friend really wants to respect people from those backgrounds, maybe he should consider empathizing more with why that animosity exists in the first place.
You’re right, Jennifer. The issue is that kk has been taking bits of black culture and profiting off it for years, wothout having to face the racial consequences. Regular white woman braids her hair like that? Sure, no problem. KK does it, and she’s making a profit off things that black women have been historically punished for. It really is apples and oranges. Hope that helps.
Good Lord, my mother used to braid my hair like that in the 70s. I blame Bo Derek!
No black woman can complain about Kim anymore and we all know why
I think you’re on to something here…
why?
Did Kim get a bit of “refreshing” on her face? She looks different. Maybe that’s why she chose that hairstyle, takes attention from her face
This is what I came here to say. Her face looks yet again very different. Her eyes are sort of wonky? She looks like a totally different person.
I normally just see pictures of her, but ‘in-motion’ sightings unnerve me. The changes and tweaks are much more noticeable when she attempts to move her face.
Can it be because the hair is pulled so tight on her head?
I truly believe Kim believes by being married to a black man, it makes her black by extension
Not the same thing I know but I’m married to a German guy and am so obviously not ethnically German that I considered buying a shirt that said “german by injection” to wear at various german cultural festivals we attend. I enjoy shue plattling and polka music and sauerkraut. I have a kid that won the Hummel look alike contest a couple times. I’ve learned to be super punctual and developed a strong aversion to being unproductive, I also have a pretty strong nihilistic streak but am not opposed to socialism. In short, I kind of feel German sometimes.
this has nothing to do with you. at all.
Well considering I’m a mixed race WOC I think I have a little experience with racism and cultural appropriation. So please don’t lecture me on what I speak about.
No one said you couldn’t speak on the subject but your comment literally has no relevance in this situation at all.
Gosh, you guys are being rude. You’re upset because she brought in a side story? Wow. I think that t-shirt would be cute
Who considers kim a fashion icon? I’m dying to know. She literally wears the exact same outfit in varying shades of white, beige, brown and black until even she gets sick of it.
This. +1
Can’t get enough of Michael B. Jordan. I have loved that guy since he was on Friday Night Lights and Parenthood. So glad to see him doing such big things. 🙂
Kim is still ugh. Will always be ugh. But she’s not leaving our screens anytime soon. Ugh. and Bleh.
Little black girls are getting kicked out of schools for wearing braids. But, of course, it perfectly ok for white women.
Here’e why I roll my eyes at KK with this. She COULD use this as a “I wear braids because I think they’re great and little black girls should not be getting kicked out of school for wearing their natural hair.” She does have a daughter who is not white, and this would actually benefit young black girls in the US, but she doesn’t care about that, she just wants to get attention.
Some of y’all need to open Google in another tab and read up on cultural appropriation, and specifically how the Kar****ians profit off of black culture. While your at it, stop diminishing the opinions and feelings of black women on this site because you don’t get it. It’s not a good look and some of y’all are looking ignorant as hell right now.
+1
First of all, why is she even there? Was she in a movie? It’s the movie awards, yet they show up to every reward show just to be seen. They’re desperation is pathetic. Anything to keep us talking
Secondly, where I live if a black woman wears braids, they don’t get shamed or put down. I kind of live in an area where black:white is about 50/50 though so you can’t really say something racist without facing huge consequences. Raleigh, where I live, is very diverse and we have an assortment of races here so we see all sorts of hairstyles and hair colors. Personally I think black women look beautiful and classy when they braid their hair, but beauty is subjective. As for white people wearing braids, I don’t see the big deal, but I guess it depends on the situation. I have long thick hair and many times a few black girls have volunteered to braid my hair. For their practice and I just have the hair for it. I would wear the style proudly and even brag who did it to affirm their skill. Perhaps I did it wrong. I didn’t mean any harm if I did. Kim though. She does it for attention. She does it to appropriate black culture. Their fetishsizing black men and black culture is how she got famous. It’s sad it’s lasted this long honestly. What’s more sad is that she actually has black fans. I don’t see how. She has gone so out of the way to cancel the white side of her that if you didn’t know her you would question her race because she tries so hard to not look white.
Discrimination against African Americans for wearing their hair in a traditional style associated with black culture is rarely overt in my experience. The problem is more in how it insidiously informs people’s prejudices – i.e. somebody with dreadlocks or braids could be viewed as “hood,” with the suggestion that they are less professional or even shady. My mother used to work with a black man who wore his hair in tight braids – dressed in typical Western business apparel, otherwise. She would tell me that management gave him shit CONSTANTLY about it, telling them they found it unprofessional. Likewise, I used to work with a black woman who would occasionally wear her hair up and tightly bound with a headscarf. Nothing was ever said to the white woman in the workplace wearing messy buns or hair clips or headbands, but for some reason, this headscarf was something the manager felt the need to comment on.
My hair is also naturally curly/wavy/frizzy. In this southern humidity the frizzy is extra. I’m not alone. Plenty of ladies have frizzy hair because of the weather and that looks 100x more worse/unprofessional than braids any day.
I mean…same. There’s a reason I spend most of summer with my hair tightly wrapped in a bun or braid, but it’s been known to frizz out of even that. Disdain for textured hair is purely a result of racial and ethnic animosity.
I can’t even talk about Kim K anymore, I wish she would just disappear from the media.
Speaking of cultural appropriation, why media is silent about Nicki Minaj and her “Chun Li” video and live performance? she’s wearing lots of national symbolics. Or this is not a cultural appropriation because she’s a WOC? Or because Asian and Black people have never been racist to each other for ages? (sense the skepticism)
Lila, I think people talked about nicki and cultural appropriation. I know I did. But, the song/video didn’t get as much attention because nicki doesn’t get as much attention as she used to. I’m not even sure the song is still on the charts.
^^^. I feel if that video had been on Anaconda level there would be a lot more thinkpiecies about the appropriation she was doing. As it is now I’m not sure the writers of the video are even aware Nicki dropped a video for the song.
I posed a similar question,would there be this level of outrage had kim wore a kimono or something along those lines…Girl is just posing,at times in America it seems as if black & white are the only racial colors “noticed”…
I think it’s not as big of a deal because the US doesn’t have with asian culture the history they have with african americans in terms of racism and slavery. Not to mention, only some american asians would have a problem with Nicki (or anyone) wearing their traditional clothes, those kind of things only bother people that have been raised in the United States (and maybe some places in Europe), most other cultures are eager for foreigners to (respectfully, of course) get in touch with their traditions and spread them.
I think it’s dfferent depending on where the white woman wearing them comes from: USA is discirminating on basis of braids. US has a problem with BLM. White people
from US should refrain from using this style.
But, for example, Celtic people-from pregistory until today, wore braids. Slavic people wore thick, big braids-it’s part of their folklore (but they do look completely different). In theory, I see no problem with European women wearing their hair in braids.
But then again, I’m European, I don’t have any kond of connection with slavery or racism-and I wouldn’t wear them in tight, sl, numerous braids of AA hairstyle. I just wouldn’t feel right, I’d feel like puttong on a cosrune that I have no right to have.
But Slavic braids, going all around the head? Yes, I’d wear that with no problem.
On one hand, it seems silly at first-wha do braids have with anything, right? But the tight, thin, numerous braids really ARE a distinctive African hairstyle (white hair can’t take all the damage-it’s not a style made for white hair!) and no matter how you spin it or where you saw it(Bo Derek, your mom in the 70ies, my mom in the 70ies) they all come from African origin. And that why it is a cultural appropriation in. a way other styles (thick braids, braod-buns, braids all around the head) don’t have to be/aren’t.
“I’m European, I don’t have any kond of connection with slavery or racism”
Ha, Geekychick, you’re joking, right? Europeans invented chattel slavery. And if you think Europe doesn’t have a racism problem, then you need some education.
Hi! Maybe, try reading my comment again. I can’t see where have I said that Europe doesn’t have a problem with racism.
But, I’m Croatian and I can honest to God proudly say that all connection to the slavery we had is presumed selling of Slavic slaves grom enemy tribes in the times before historic sources even wrote about us-and that is presumable, considering the fact that slaves were sold in Europe from antiquity, espwcially between Romans and barbarians. So, that’s that. I can, really and proudly say that I don’t have any kond of connection to black slavery. To racism, not personally, but in terms of Europe going more and more right, I’m afraid in this day and age, we all have a connection with discrimination and racism…
but please don’t forget that Europe isn’t US: we are not all the same, not one big country, not a monoloth. There are different people, different histories and different discriminations qll over Europe.
“I’m European, I don’t have any kond of connection with slavery or racism”
Ha, Geekychick, you’re joking, right? Europeans invented chattel slavery. And if you think Europe doesn’t have a racism problem, then you need some education.
“But then again, I’m European, I don’t have any kind of connection with slavery or racism”
Oh Jeez, really? Lack of self awareness, top of the class you go.
Yes, I should have wrote racism against African Americans, I obviously don’t think that Europe isn’t racist.
But, I do come from a country that didn’t participate in colonization, was opressed by other European countries for the last 1000 years and no, did not have any kind of connection with African slavery trade.
As I’ve stated, in antiquity, before anno domini, slave trade was regularly done by barbarians, who were selling other tribes to Romans: so all people of European descent (as is also true for all people of South American First Nations, who did the same) have an “original sin” kind of connection to slavery. But I refuse to be put under the same hat as the colonizators like UK or Spain or such…. Europe is not a monolith and you can’t look at us as such.
Even Zendaya can’t pull off that dress. The rest (minus Donald) are varying stages of tragedy as well.
Not for one millisecond do I believe that anyone in this family does anything without motive or calculation. She wore the braids because it will get her attention and get people talking among other reasons I don’t even know. She didn’t just wear braids because she wanted to and cannot pretend she doesn’t understand why people care. She calculated this move just as she breathes.
I remember when I had intense Paris Hilton fatigue, maybe 2006 or 7. I thought the pain of seeing her stupid facial expressions, ugly fake hair and tacky outfits would never stop. But it did. F’ing Kylie extended the Kardashian assault but hopefully their reign too shall pass. Can we start by ignoring Kim from now on? I don’t care about her braids and spandex bike short cries for attention. Make it stop.
I used to think that hair is just hair and styles are just fun for everyone. I live in UK. I also used to think ‘well why then do WOC bleach and straighten their hair? It must be ok for white girls having braids etc.’ Thanks to all the guys commenting on here I can now see the difference. I can now see why it is wrong. I even used to think that because I came from a rough area of London that I couldn’t possibly say or do anything racist as the majority of my neighbours were black….what a douch!! I really enjoy reading the comments here because I believe they have educated me to think differently. I would NOT want to be a POC in the USA! You guys have it bad. In the UK things are slightly different, however, what do I know? I am not black. I don’t see micro aggression and racism, as I doesn’t directly affect me. I have to rely on others to tell me what is happening. If you are white, it is almost impossible to say ‘in our country its not like this’…with respect, most white people do not have a clue! Thank you everyone for opening my eyes to your huge struggles. I have nothing but respect. Apols though if I am not coming across well, hopefully you can see what I mean. Love and respect to everyone xx.
Now ya’ll knew Kim was going to do something to garner attention after Bey/JayZ dropped their album. This was her weak ass attempt. Just be glad she’s clothed and not doing a nude spread in the braids.
Being nude doesn’t get her attention anymore.
Exactly. We’ve all seen that, over and over.
Have not read a single reply. And I cannot stand Kim.
BUT wtf? white people wear cornrows.
They look AWFUL usually. lol. But, as far as I know, it’s allowed.
Why is this such a big deal!? Black women colour their hair blonde and straighten it and white people don”t freak out that its cultural appropriation
You really should research the difference between assimilation and appropriation otherwise you risk sounding extremely ignorant and privileged like the majority of the non POC commenters on this thread.
Please educate yourself before coming on here to comment loud and wrong.
Yes black women have braided their hair for 100s of years.
So have little Dutch girls.
C’mon. It’s just hair. And braids.
Get the eff out of here with overthinking it.
We have much bigger problems.
This right here is absolutely infuriating. Stop minimizing, stop deflecting, stop with the false analogies and just for a second try to be sympathetic and understanding
Infuriating, upsetting and completely disrespectful.
I’m sorry but completely unsurprisd that the comments went this way. As white women, it’s our responsibility to educate ourselves (no one is paying WOC for lessons on history and culture on the internet) and to listen when WOC, especially black women, say that something is racist or cultural appropriation.
End of story.
Cornrows and braids are present in most cultures, not only African. Just look at the Vikings or Celts. Plus, as a white woman, should I be insulted if a black girl dyes her hair blond?
Braids yes cornrows specifically, no. Just read the comments above and try to gain understanding because we’re tired of having to explain it to people who don’t get it and obviously don’t want to.
Celina: There are literally over 100 comments above yours explaining this issue… please educate yourself.
Honestly, who cares? How Kim K decided to wear her hair one night is not a big deal. So much bigger things to worry about. She is not like Rachel Dolezal just because she put her hair in Bo Derek braids again.
Besides, her daughter is half black her husband is black so she does have ties to the culture and it’s just a hair style.
No culture has the monopoly on braids.
I had no idea they still did the movie awards. I’m surprised anyone even cares anymore. MTV is not what it used to be as far as being a celeb draw.
Honestly…Kim looks good in those braids. I think the main issue is that she’s acting like Bo Derek created the look, which she didn’t. Give credit where credit is due.