Adele’s hair-raising row
BRITISH pop singer Adele took to social media over the weekend to issue greetings to her home city of London and unveil a radical new look. From the reaction of some, she might wish she hadn’t bothered.
What’s the background?
With more than 120 million album sales to her name it’s no surprise Adele has a sizeable number of followers on the social media platform Instagram (well north of 38 million the last time The Herald logged on for a peek). So when the singer posts a picture – highlighting her recent weight loss, for example, or celebrating the life of the late Aretha Franklin – it tends to make ripples.
And ripples are what she has been making?
Yes, though it was more of a single massive splash, actually. Accompanied by the words “Happy what would be Notting Hill Carnival my beloved London”, her most recently posted picture showed her in a bikini top emblazoned with the Jamaican flag and with her hair in Bantu knots. Cue mayhem of the “You broke the internet and now the red tops are having a field day” variety.
Bantu knots?
Intricately coiled buns of hair, a style traditional to West Africa but worn by black women the world over. Adele, who is white and blonde-ish and hails from Tottenham, generally wears her hair long. Which is what has caused the fuss.
Has the phrase cultural appropriation been mentioned? Funnily enough, it has.
Adele’s picture has four million likes but there has been criticism too and it very much runs along those lines.
“[B]lack folks are tired,” wrote one poster. “We just want to be left alone and not see Bantu knots in hair that has no need to be Bantu knotted. If y’all spent as much time eradicating racism as you did stealing from us, my God, this wouldn’t even be a conversation.”
Four million likes is a lot of likes though …
Indeed it is, and plenty have weighed in on Adele’s side, many pointing out that what may feel like cultural appropriation to American eyes – that “y’all” is a bit of a giveaway – doesn’t necessarily look the same on this side of the Pond. Pointing out how much of Britain’s musical culture is a blend of white and Afrocaribbean styles, one poster wrote: “White working class people have taken part in celebrating black culture for years in London. We did not have formal segregation so for us this is seen as celebration and appreciation, not appropriation. America I’m sorry, but you don’t have to bulldoze in on things that aren’t your business. Didn’t y’all learn your lesson with Iraq?”
Is that what’s known as a zinger?
It is, and there’s more. “This is what we do at carnival!! Celebrate Caribbean culture,” another pro-adele poster wrote. “Black, white, asian, alien. Adele! Tottenham gyal! You look amazing! Keep celebrating!”
Did this overshadow the Notting Hill Carnival itself?
Yes and no. Carnival was cancelled, so it went digital instead.