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White Woman Is Shamed For ‘Cultural Appropriation’ For Going To A Salon That Specializes In Black Hair
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White Woman Is Shamed For ‘Cultural Appropriation’ For Going To A Salon That Specializes In Black Hair

White Woman Is Accused Of Cultural Appropriation For Having Her Hair Done At Black SalonsWhite Woman Is Shamed For ‘Cultural Appropriation’ For Going To A Salon That Specializes In Black HairWhite Woman Gets Accused Of 'Cultural Appropriation' For Going To A Salon That Specializes In Black Hair Even Though Other Salons Have Butchered Her Hair BeforeWhite Woman With Thick And Curly Hair Goes To A Salon That Specializes In Black Hair, Gets ShamedWhite Woman With Thick And Curly Hair Says Only Black Hair Salons Know How To Make Her Hair Look Nice, Gets Accused Of ‘Cultural Appropriation’White Woman Gets Told She's Not Supposed To Go To Black Hair Salons Because It's White Woman Finds That Black Hair Salons Are The Best At Dealing With Her Hair - Gets Accused Of White Woman Finds The Best Hair Care In Black Salons - Others Tell Her She Shouldn't Go There Because It's Friends Accuse White Woman Of
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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.

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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

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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.

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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

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Liucija Adomaite

Liucija Adomaite

Writer, Community member

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Liucija Adomaite is a creative mind with years of experience in copywriting. She has a dynamic set of experiences from advertising, academia, and journalism. This time, she has set out on a journey to investigate the ways in which we communicate ideas on a large scale. Her current mission is to find a magic formula for how to make ideas, news, and other such things spread like a virus.

Read less »
Liucija Adomaite

Liucija Adomaite

Writer, Community member

Liucija Adomaite is a creative mind with years of experience in copywriting. She has a dynamic set of experiences from advertising, academia, and journalism. This time, she has set out on a journey to investigate the ways in which we communicate ideas on a large scale. Her current mission is to find a magic formula for how to make ideas, news, and other such things spread like a virus.

Justinas Keturka

Justinas Keturka

Author, BoredPanda staff

Read more »

I'm the Visual Editor at Bored Panda, responsible for ensuring that everything our audience sees is top-notch and well-researched. What I love most about my job? Discovering new things about the world and immersing myself in exceptional photography and art.

Read less »

Justinas Keturka

Justinas Keturka

Author, BoredPanda staff

I'm the Visual Editor at Bored Panda, responsible for ensuring that everything our audience sees is top-notch and well-researched. What I love most about my job? Discovering new things about the world and immersing myself in exceptional photography and art.

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Leo Domitrix
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

It's a weird segregation they preach. "Only use products invented by, meant for, your cultural/ethnic type".

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Si
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

That’s not what cultural appropriation means.

Otter
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

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".

Karin Jansen
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

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.

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Leo Domitrix
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

It's a weird segregation they preach. "Only use products invented by, meant for, your cultural/ethnic type".

Load More Replies...
Si
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

That’s not what cultural appropriation means.

Otter
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

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".

Karin Jansen
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

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.

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