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This was shocking given the latest eruptions of Mount America.
Yesterday whilst shopping we saw a GG who was most certainly caucasian wearing extremely dark makeup with corkscrew curled hair and “african” styled clothes that made her look like a woman of colour. She was beautiful and well styled, coiffed and made up.
Did this woman cross a line? Is there a line? Did she wander across or did she jump over to the dark side and is this OK right now?
What about a woman of colour doing the reverse?
Talk amongst yourselves….
HI Harietta,
IMO, it would be called cultural appropriation, and I suspect, frowned upon in the black community. But I recall a time back in the ’60s, when “Afro” hairdos were the rage, and were applauded. Those who want to be offended by such actions will be; the rest of us will probably ignore it.
“Going over to the dark side” – now there’s a electrically charged turn of phrase! I thought this discussion was going in another direction entirely. Very rich territory.
My second impulse was the question – What are the odds this woman you saw is not, in fact, mixed race? Donning the look and dress you describe would not then be an issue.
Cultural appropriation has become so loaded and tricky. I guess its also a question of degree – I tend to push the limits of my own appropriation of the feminine look – in part to try to erase the clues of my biology, but also in part to pay homage to those visual cues of femininity that I find most appealling. But there are those who go way further – huge boobs and hips, pounds of makeup, slutwear – that’s not really crossdressing – that’s fetishism – and it would not be surprising to find Cis Women (and trans women) insulted. The same would go for an obviously white person going “full ghetto” (remember Vanilla Ice?).
Lets face it, every part of western culture – from our music to the way we talk, the way we dress, the way we dance and sing – has been inspired by black culture somehow.
But as Ru Paul says – We are all born naked, and the rest is drag!
I now so much wish I could find it, but years ago (probably in the range of 20), there was a great cartoon in Playboy – it was a series of panels starting with some guy, average looking, but taking offense at something or other. The next panel was a woman taking offense at what the man just said, the next panel was someone of a different ethnic background taking offense at what was just said in the previous panel, and so on and so on, until it was insects or pets or inanimate objects. I forget the exact details, but to me anyway, it goes so much to what today seems to be like. People become offended at the least provocation it would seem.
Was she physically hurting you? Was she physically hurting herself? Was someone physically hurting her? (for the last two, may she need some assistance?) If the answers are no, and she answers no, well, that’s life, move on, nothing to see here.
Harietta, I think you asking the question is fine, that’s how we learn. It’s that we all seem to be forced to think about that question whether we like it or not, and then even asking it out loud brings up all sorts of unsettling discussions or issues.
I do so hope that before I die, this attitude of being upset because someone else isn’t following your ideas of appropriate behavior (and demanding that they change) goes away before my grandchildren have to deal with it all.
It just dawned on me that the word compromise has actually two almost distinct from each other meanings. To me, it means, settling a conflict by both sides mutually giving in a little. But as a verb it means accepting standards that are lower than desirable, or worse , bring into danger by foolish or reckless actions. I can’t possibly guess which definition (the noun or verb) is now the more current one, can you?
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