When a hairstyle becomes a teacher
An English teacher at St Mary’s School in Waverley, Johannesburg, tackles the tricky issue of cultural appropriation with some of her pupils
Afew weekends ago, a group of white girls attended a party dressed as Bob Marley with fake dreads, T-shirts bearing the Jamaican flag and beanies, and danced to reggae music. The party invitation stipulated that people should come dressed as a thing or person with the initials BM.
Snapchats and WhatsApp messages were sent around sharing the fun at the party. Upon a closer look at the pictures, one of the black girls in the group of friends pointed out that something was amiss — white girls dressed as Bob Marley looked like cultural appropriation.
A few days later, a white girl came to school with her hair in cornrows, courtesy of her roommate, a black girl. A few of the black girls spoke to her about wearing her hair in cornrows and the issue of cultural appropriation, and she decided to take the hairstyle out.
By the time I joined the conversation on the Monday morning, the girls had been having their own conversations about the incidents. Some girls had apologised for the outfits worn at the dress-up party, but others, not understanding cultural appropriation, wanted to dismiss the offence they had caused.
Feelings were hurt. Emotions were high. I wanted to dismiss cultural appropriation as an American concept, which is used in a different context. But we had a grade meeting at the school during which the girls watched the video made by Amandla Stenberg on YouTube, in which she discusses the question of cultural appropriation — in an American context.
I’m still mulling over this question: Is the term cultural appropriation relevant in a country where white people ought to be assimilating African culture after years of being told that African culture is inferior?
But the black girls keep pointing out: Who is telling the white girls these hairstyles are cool: Kylie Jenner? Kim Kardashian? Other white people who are seen as being cool when they don a black hairstyle — hairstyles that are seen as untidy or unprofessional when worn by a black woman?
The girls proceeded to have a conversation about cultural appropriation in general and, more importantly, what it means in a South African context. Superficially, it’s not easy to pinpoint what the issue is: Is it about the hairstyle, the dress-up party, white privilege or assimilation?
The responses of the girls — both black and white — indicate that young people in South Africa are grappling with difficult questions about identity and what integration means. Moreover, St Mary’s is creating a space for the girls to have these discussions
The conversation has also been illuminating in terms of addressing the stereotype about racial relations among privileged black girls who are seen as apolitical coconuts lost in a white world.
Black girls are making attempts to understand their heritage and identity and they are engaging their white peers about theirs. This is not an easy conversation to have but I have been moved by how the girls have been articulate and courageous in saying things that are often left unsaid.
These are some their thoughts, in their own words.
Sandile Parirenyatwa (17)
Ithink there are three levels when it comes to the subject of cultural appropriation: Level 1: Cultural appropriation This is when a person adopts or uses elements of a culture to which they do not belong. It is when symbols that have a huge meaning or incredible value are used with little or no regard for their true purpose. Cultural appropriation is someone going to a dressup party wearing “Jamaican colours’’ and a dreadlock wig and calling themselves Rastafarian.
Rastafarianism is an actual religion that many people follow. There is a specific reason why they wear dreadlocks, and using them as part of a dress-up is highly disrespectful. It is like a Jewish person going to a party as a priest and wearing all the religious symbols and attire just for “fun’’. It’s disrespectful. Level 2: Cultural appreciation Cultural appreciation occurs very rarely. In fact, most of the time when it does occur, even then it is just used as a cover-up.
This is when a person who does not belong to a certain culture uses elements of that culture for a specific purpose where the elements are rightfully used.
For example, if you are invited to a Hindu wedding and you wear traditional Hindi attire or a sari, this is appreciation because you are appreciating the bride and groom’s culture while celebrating their marriage.
But if as a non-Hindu person you go out to lunch or dinner in a traditional Hindi outfit or a sari just because you feel like it, that is not appreciating the culture because you are wearing the attire without fully encapsulating its true meaning. Level 3: Cultural assimilation This is when a person who does not belong to a specific culture uses elements of that culture to survive dayto-day life.
People generally confuse the fact that black women have weaves in their hair as cultural appropriation instead of cultural assimilation. For a very long time, black women were never taken seriously with their natural hair. It has been seen as “unprofessional’’ and “edgy’’ and today is even referred to as being “hip’’ when it’s worn naturally.
It is partly because of this that black women have turned to weaves and relaxers so they can look as similar as possible to the concept of white beauty.
But when a white woman wears cornrows in her hair, it is cultural appropriation because the hairstyle that black women are judged for wearing is being appropriated and sometimes is mocked by a person who is not judged in the same way.
Amy Codrington (17)
In post-apartheid South Africa, many issues surrounding race get tip-toed around as nobody wants to offend anyone else.
In my opinion, though, it is impossible even to begin to understand what offends other people if we don’t talk about these issues.
As a white person, I have lived with the “white guilt” of apartheid for many years and I am often afraid to express my opinions in the fear of them being seen as invalid in comparison to a black girl’s opinion, as my race was formerly associated with “the oppressor”.
Although things have changed, I don’t want to feel like this anymore. The dream in South Africa is of a “rainbow nation”. But I don’t think this is possible if nobody talks about issues surrounding all our different cultures.
Recently at St Mary’s we have been talking about cultural appropriation, with a specific focus on white girls wearing “black girls’ hairstyles”.
Before coming to a conclusion about my beliefs, I was challenged in a huge way. Initially I was irritated that other girls had approached my white friend for wearing cornrows. I felt that it was not fair to make her feel as though she was “appropriating” another person’s culture by wearing the hairstyle when actually she was trying to appreciate the hairstyle.
I believed that at St Mary’s we are all very accepting of each other’s cultures. But I wanted to learn why so many people had been offended by the incident, so I did some research about cultural appropriation and what it was in this particular context.
I found myself feeling slightly small, as I had never realised that the issue regarding hair was a touchy one for many black girls for many reasons.
It was very interesting for me to learn that, even though we go to St Mary’s, which I thought, as a school, was so accepting of natural black hair, there are many black girls who still feel as though they’re not appreciated and they want to feel confident in their natural hair before white people wear their hairstyles.
This made perfect sense to me because I know that the remnants of apartheid still linger in everyday life and I want the black girls in my school to feel completely comfortable in themselves and not as though white people are trying to impose on their culture.
Nonetheless, in the context of St Mary’s, I feel as though there needs to be an understanding and acceptance of the fact that many of the white girls, including myself, want to learn about different black cultures and to take part in cultural assimilation and exchange. I do not believe that the way to building the dream of a rainbow nation is to further divide ourselves.
I hope that black girls come to a place where they can help white girls to be respectful in participating in different cultures with each other and vice versa.
Xalati Mabuela (16)
The concept of cultural appropriation, to me, is a social barrier put in place to avoid the misuse of another’s culture and also to reestablish a certain level of respect for cultures outside of our own.
It is very complex, especially when one takes the history of the world into consideration. The notion is then a form of affirmative action. I believe that setting social boundaries and rules helps to overcome aspects of people’s culture that have been stigmatised when practised by those belonging to the particular culture, but are more acceptable when done by those who are not part of that culture.
There are many grey areas when it comes to identifying the difference between appropriation and appreciation. Personally, I believe that the distinction is how those pertaining to the culture react to how the culture is being referenced and the angle from which it is coming.
One needs to understand that the culture does not belong to them and, if one is received with acceptance by those who practise the culture, it can then be considered a form of appreciation.
The majority rules, although the opinions of the minority matter. For example, if one person thinks a person has appreciated their culture and two people think it is appropriation then I believe it is appropriation. The two people who have said it is appropriation have the responsibility to understand why the other person thinks it is appreciation and vice versa. One’s opinions need to be fluid.
If one’s opinion is questioned and cannot be validated, then it should change because everybody is working towards having opinions that are fair for all.
Cultural appropriation does not have a standard set of rules to abide by, but one can err on the side of caution and, if there is any doubt, just don’t do whatever it is that might cause a stir.