nOT just A hAirsTyle

Youth of color explain the impacts of cultural appropriation

ARTICLE & PHOTOS BY AKHILA AYYADEVARA • DESIGN BY HAYLIE YEE

Junior Fanna Kahassai fondly recalls getting her hair done as a child.

“There were a lot of family members around and me and my sister were getting our hair done,” she said. “It was just very fun and energetic; everybody was just laughing.”

Kahassai personally defines cultural appropriation as using a culture that is not one’s own without an understanding of that culture.

“As a Black person, you are going to go through struggles and you have [your culture] with it, but other people, if [they] appropriate Black culture, don’t have to [deal] with the problems that come with it,” Kahassai said. “So they only have the pros, but not the cons.”

Senior Sriya Kantipudi observes that Indian practices are often commodified in the West and are not appreciated—for example, yoga.

Kantipudi has practiced yoga for eight years, and the type of yoga she practices is rooted in spirituality, tracing back generations. However, she finds that Western yoga is devalued of its authentic practices, and yoga is instead turned into a gimmick, referencing classes like goat yoga.

“It’s the spirituality and the origin has been erased from natural practice,” she said. “That spirituality where you’re really focusing on the Indian caucuses, Indian values—a lot of that has been taken away.”

Though Kantipudi has nothing against non-Indian people who practice yoga, she said that the practice is not fully appreciated.

“A lot of yoga studio owners are white, and they’re profiting from the whole practice of yoga,” she said. “I wish there was some sort of credit that was given to Indian practice.”

Kantipudi puts emphasis on giving recognition to other cultures when wearing something from a different culture.

“If you’re going to borrow that culture, and you’re going to wear a henna tattoo, know what it means, know where it comes from, who actually wears it and how it was created,” she said.

Senior Tiffany Tran believes that aspects of East Asian culture are appropriated mostly in media.

“I see a lot of Asian people getting their inspiration from Black people and a lot of Black people getting their inspiration from Asian people,” she said. “But it’s not always well-executed, like Nicki Minaj and Chun Li.”

In rapper Nicki Minaj’s music video for Chun Li, Minaj wears a Qipoa, a traditional Chinese dress, but in a sexualized manner. Tran also notes that both Qipoas and Ao Dai, a traditional Vietnamese garment, are sold on fast fashion sites and are altered to be more revealing.

“It’s a traditional garment, and it’s meant to be conservative,” Tran said. “But if it’s a miniskirt that’s about to show off your a--, I wouldn’t consider that very conservative, and I wouldn’t consider that respecting the idea of the garment.”

When Tran sees these altered garments worn in public, she is often shocked.

“I’m just like, ‘Do you know how stupid you look right now?’” she said. “Because if you genuinely wanted to embrace the culture, you would put at least an ounce of research into it and see that it’s not meant to be worn casually.”

Sophomore Salma Rivera Almanza cites seeing people dress up in stereotypes of Mexican culture as a common form of cultural appropriation.

“I choose not to comment about it, even though sometimes it bothers me,” Almanza said. “When they choose to dress up like Cholos—one of the most common stereotypes about Mexicans is that we are all like that, so it is uncomfortable.” Cholos are a subculture in Mexican American culture, stemming from the Chicano Movement. The Chicano Move -

They only have the pros, but not the cons.

—Fanna Kahassai

Senior Tiffany Tran wears an áo dài cách tân, the short version of the áo dài, that is usally worn on special occasions like weddings and Lunar New Year.

ment was a social and political movement amongst young Mexican Americans in the 1940s and 50s, and was inspired by the Black Power movement.

Cholos or cholas are Mexican Americans who identify with this subculture. Along with this subculture there is an associated way of dress; one that is often appropriated in Halloween costumes.

Although Almanza chooses not to make comments about cultural appropriation she witnesses, she questions appropriators’ reasoning.

“It’s like ‘why?’ It is disrespect towards the culture, and it is disrespect towards the people and they have no reason to be doing that,” she said, “Because, easily, someone could do it about their culture.”

She said that the best way to appreciate Mexican culture is to participate in festivals and observe days like Cinco De Mayo or Dia De Los Muertos.

“It’s important to make sure each of our cultures are respected. If you’re going to do something, make sure to think about it and make sure you don’t do it disrespectfully,” Almanza said. “Even if you think it’s silly, don’t make a comment about it.”

Cultural appropriation does not stop at Mexican culture. Historically, Black people are discriminated against on the basis of the way they look and talk. African American Vernacular English (AAVE), a dialect of English pioneered in the United States, is historically spoken in African American communities. Words and phrases that are AAVE, such as “go off,” “ pressed,” “finna” and “tea,” have slowly been adopted on TikTok and mislabeled as “Gen-Z slang.”

Kahassai argues that non–Black people hear AAVE and think that it is trendy, only using it when they see fit and not in their daily lives.

“People have used a lot of AAVE, and you can tell that it’s really forced,” Kahassai said. “It kind of sounds like a mockery, when I do not know if they mean to; it just does not sound right.”

As well as AAVE, another common form of appropriation is the use of protective styles, such as locs, cornrows and box braids. During the Trans-Atlantic Sophomore Amanda Mussa wears a Habesha Kemis sent from her uncle in Ethiopia. It is typically worn to celebrations.

Slave Trade, Black women would braid rice into their hair as a means for survival while transported. These styles date back to 30,000 BC and are found commonly in West Africa.

Kahassai said that nonBlack people who wear protective styles do not understand their history, and it can often be difficult to educate them since she finds people often do not listen.

“If your hair is too thin, then it’s just gonna fall out,” she said. “And then, whenever people try to warn them, and they say that, ‘Oh, you’re just gatekeeping your culture,’ and it’s like, ‘No, we’re trying to help you.’”

Senior Na-

hum Hintsa

said that Black people, and specifically Black Continued on next page Pictured on the first page left to right: Junior Mahima Bhella, who is a Punjabi Sikh, wears a salwar kameez, which consist of an embroidered tunics with slits up the side and palazzo-style pants. Junior Mishal Damji, a Pakistani Muslim, wears a lengha, a two piece set comprised of a shorter tunic or cropped blouse with an embroidered maxi skirt. Junior Reya Yeddula, Hindu Indian, sports a lengha voni, which is a lengha wrapped in the style of a sari, another traditional South Indian garment.

women, set modern trends— leading Black culture to influence these trends.

“When Black people wear it, a lot of people want to follow because they think it’s cool and trendy and want to get the approval of the internet,” Hintsa said.

Hinsta believes that Black women have the greatest influence on modern trends.

“You can see a lot of Black women wear and make that thing look amazing, beautiful and popular, and that’s what gets non-Black people, non-Black women or white women onto [trends],” Hinsta said.

This commodification of Black culture by non-white people is nothing new.

In 1979 celebrity Bo Derek wore cornrows in the movie “10,” making the hairstyle boom. Later in 1981, Renee Rogers wore cornrows to work, and her employer, American Airlines, deemed her hairstyle unprofessional. She sued them, stating that cornrows were a cultural style, but the airline rebutted this, citing Derek’s popularization of the style. They claimed that cornrows were “not the product of natural hair growth but of artifice.” Rogers lost her case.

“It makes me mad because Black people have been wearing [protective styles] since I can’t remember how long,” Hintsa said. “So when you see a celebrity of that high power, especially a white woman, do it, it becomes trendy and unprofessional for Black people.”

Kahassai said that white and white- passing women like Kim Kardashian use

Freshmen Gurpreet Manotra is outfitted in traditional Punjabi clothing. Her head piece, known as a tikka, and her bellshaped earring, jhumkas, are traditional Indian accessories. Black culture for profit and influence people to further appropriate. “I feel like she’s just romanticizing it and she’s an influential person,” Kahassai said. “She knows people are going to follow after her.” Hintsa notes that there can be a difference in the connotation between a non-Black person of color appropriating Black culture versus a white person appropriating Black culture. “It is different, but in a way it has to be different,” Hintsa said. “Because, obviously, if you go back to the basics, white people back in the day oppressed colored people.” Kahassai agrees, saying that the power imbalance between people of color (POC) and white people can make appropriation by other POC viewed as less offensive. “The difference is white people are above everyone systematically, so if you are not white, you are on some degree oppressed,” Kahassai said. She often does not know how to feel when she sees people appropriating Black culture. “We all know that it’s wrong, nobody’s gonna force you to stop but we’re gonna try to tell you, educate you,” she said. “But it’s nobody’s job to educate you; you have the resources.” Kantipudi believes that celebrities might appropriate, not out of malicious intent, but to show that they are more cultured and accepting. She said that no matter what a person’s race is, cultural appropriation has the same impact. “It shouldn’t be ‘Oh, you’re white, you’re appropriating,’” she said. “ I think it should be more like, you are someone who’s appropriating someone else’s culture and you should be giving respect to it in a way that the other community would be happy that you’re representing their culture.” Tran mentions that seeing celebrities appropriate her culture hurts because she was often looked down upon for expressing her own culture. “It’s just so annoying when the same thing that you’re made fun of in elementary school is the same thing that everyone’s trying to get nowadays,” Tran said.

Tran thinks that most appropriation in the Bay Area happens in more subtle ways. “Specifically, like the whole rise of the swagga-pinos,” Tran said. “And also like ABGs [Asian Baby Girls] and stuff—‘Kevin Nguyens’ and they use so much AAVE and so many influences from African American culture as well, like long acrylic nails and the fake lashes.”

The line between appreciation and appropriation is drawn between whether or not things are done with education and the right intention, Tran said.

“If you put your thought into it and research into it, and you actually consult with people of that culture and like you were on the right occasions, that’s appreciation,” Tran said. “If your friend was like, ‘Oh, I can let you borrow an Ao Dai’ for Lunar New Year’s — I love seeing that.”

Kahassai believes that education around cultures will help people to appreciate rather than appropriate.

“People only see the influencers that they want to see, and if they see people doing it, they’re gonna do what they want to do,” she said, “but if you educate them and be like, ‘well, that person’s not right, it’s just spreading awareness.”

Appreciation can be demonstrated by wearing cultural clothing and eating cultural foods in a respectful way, Hintsa said.

“I have no hate against other people wearing other types of clothing,” he said. “That makes me feel proud.”

It’s nobody’s job to educate you; you have the resources.