This is something @ShanniiWrites talked about a bunch back in the Episode cultural appropriation debate days.
The historical relevance of Vikings and dreads or braids is vague at best, in my experience, but that isn’t the point from what I know, the point is simply knowing the history and being respectful of it
I think this is the fine line in terms of cultural appreciation and cultural mixing. Knowledge is always good, history is always fascinating. But there’s no reason why you shouldn’t be able to wear or style yourself in any way.
You aren’t a slave owner, you aren’t a member of the KKK. The only reason I can see for a PoC being against white people having dreads while staying aware and respectful is - and I hate to say it - racism
Yeah I really see no point in gate-keeping hairstyles.
I genuinely understand their concern in the historical point of view and maybe the argument of hair strength (how the hair would be able to handle the type of hairstyles) but I just don’t see the reason in wasting your energy to give that much of a f!ck.
I believe the same with clothes. Like it’s to the point where there isn’t really any original fashion styles or clothing so people will mix stuff they see into something that looks good. It’s not their intent to appropriate other cultures just by naming them something different and a lot of people make it seem like that was their cause in the first place.
I think people that are apart of a culture can take this gate-keeping thing too far.
My mom is Greek, my dad was Mexican, and I was raised in the US, which is why English is my first language. I started learning and speaking Spanish at a very young age, but didn’t learn Greek until I was a teenager and went to Greece to live for a few years.
I have a cousin who is married to a Lebanese man. She learned to cook his family’s traditional recipes, and has even worn cultural Lebanese clothing in ads for their restaurant. In this case, it wouldn’t be cultural appropriation because that would be when someone doesn’t recognize the culture and tries to pass it off as just “something fashionable”. (Like in the case of the dashiki being worn as a Halloween costume).
A lot of the time it is white Americans who are unfortunately very insecure in their heritage. For obvious reasons. What is American heritage? Besides being from a bunch of European countries and, well, you know. Genocide. It’s a strange thing to get accustomed to I imagine, so they overcompensate. Then people from those cultures often don’t see the issue and feel patronised.
There’s a middle ground with all of it
I’m so lucky to be a white american but also have the Mexican culture to be apart of so I don’t have to worry about that lolol.
And it’s pretty hard to agree that there is a heritage but if you look at it objectively, it’s possible to have “white culture” even if they take ideas from others. Because I’m pretty sure I also learned that that’s what Japanese culture, black culture had done in the very beginning? Obviously there is more defined answers but I think sometimes it’s best to just let it all go.
Even though I have a culture to include myself in I just see it all as people using things in their life to give meaning or make it something it doesn’t always have to be, so when someone makes a different term for it or craft something else out of the original idea (so saying culture mixing or whatever) it’s like I can’t seem any other reason to be mad but only because someone is using your symbol you’ve grown accustomed to as something other than how you see it. Which in my case I just, I can’t find a reason to attach emotions and feelings to this “appropriating” and mixing or whatever.
But when the person is ignorant about the whole thing and doesn’t even respect the so said culture when they use or wear something related to it, that’s where the issue lies.
When it comes to culture, I love speaking about it! I’m British. My mum is Indian. My dad is Jamaican. My step mum is Hungarian. My step dad is Irish. My best friends are Greek Cypriot and Slovak. I’m just surrounded by other cultures and I appreciate every moment of it!
Oh and my half brothers are half Mauritian, but their mum grew up in Paris
I’ll just say this, there definitely isn’t “white culture” 
That’s a straight-up modern nazi thing. With their white ethnostate nonsense
I actually don’t believe there is either, I think it’s too late for one to form. But I see where there can be some right logic to use when people are arguing that white culture exists.
And since it’s all just an emotional background sort of thing, I don’t usually attend these discussions or open my mouth. Like, at most I respect it, the average of my opinion is that I see no point in caring that much.
Now this is a good example of cultural appropriation.
Question…
If a white (or non-Black) person wears cornrows/braids as a way to pay homage to a famous Black person they admire, and they credit the person, would it be appropriation or appreciation?
This is still an intriguing discussion, does anyone have anything else to add or any questions to ask?
Oh god…
I’m still curious about this, even though I don’t remember asking that question
Umm… I’m not sure… (thinking) …interesting question though.
Closed due to inactivity