Mini buns vs. Bantu knots. Boxer Braids vs. Goddess braids.
Lately, no one seems to know the actual names for styles these days, so new ones are created, but are they a form a cultural appropriation? I think it goes without saying that hairstyles vary throughout the decades and across cultures. There is absolutely nothing wrong if a non-black person decides that they want to wear bantu knots, box braids, dreads, or a fro, but being respectful of a hairstyle's culture is a simple sign of respect.
You shouldn't grab a hairstyle and then once you post a picture of it on social media use words like "ghetto" or "hood". Some even have the audacity to say they look better than the race that created the style. No one cares if Becky with The Good Hair went and got her hair braided for an extremely expensive price for the mediocre work she got done, but as soon as Becky decides to call herself "ghetto fabulous", people will not be pleased and just let it go.
Big companies like Marc Jacobs and Vogue continue to promote styles already created by people of color and white wash them into oblivion. In 2014, Marc Jacobs had a show where his white models wore what were referred to as "twisted mini buns", people did not take to this happily, they were clearly tweaked Bantu knots. Bantu knots are a protective style that originates from West African tribes, they spread across the continent and in the last few years have become popular again with Black culture. Bantu knots are not "Crazy Eyes" from Orange Is The New Black hair. Its thinking like that, that continues to cause issues amongst people of different backgrounds. Taking someone else's culture and promoting it as some new trend is not only inappropriate but extremely disheartening. Wearing a dashiki or a hijab or a bindi should not just be bought from Urban Outfitters for a steep price because its "in".
Do your research on a style and wear it because you like it and appreciate what it means when worn appropriately. The argument that we should mix cultures like a melting pot is only valid when applied in the right context with the right motives. We should all be able to mix cultural features and backgrounds respectably, especially in this Melting Pot known as America. We all come from so many different places with various religions, ethnicities, and cultural styles. It's amazing that America is a country full of so many different types of people, but when people continue to mock others and downgrade another's cultural background, the cycle of hatred and prejudice towards people who differ from you just continues over and over.
