A white woman admires a Black woman’s hair. Whether it is intentional or not, popular and protective Black hairstyles are often appropriated and used for style instead of being properly acknowledged. “Recently, a different group wearing Black hairstyles has emerged – a group concerned with highlights rather than history, style rather than significance. This new group is culturally appropriating Black hair,” Viewpoints Staffer Gillian Williams wrote. Illustration by Sylvia Robinson
Cultural appropriation of Black hairstyles has a detrimental effect on women of color.
From knotless braids to afros and dreadlocks, various well-known Black hairstyles today have been worn since 2050 B.C., evolving throughout centuries.
According to the History Channel, many iconic hairstyles – like bantu knots and cornrows – can be traced back to Ancient Egypt through hieroglyphics, drawings and engravings.
At the turn of the 18th century, cornrows were worn during slavery to embrace ancestral roots and sometimes as a way to show routes on the Underground Railroad, which helped slaves escape the South.
In the 1960s and 1970s the Black Power Movement embraced Black people’s natural hair. The Civil Rights Movement, which sparked the Black is Beautiful movement, helped Black women embrace their natural hair and encouraged freedom of expression.
In modern times, Black hair has been styled in various ways that still connects to its rich history but continues to change as time progresses.
However, recently, a different group wearing Black hairstyles has emerged – a group concerned with highlights rather than history, style rather than significance. This new group is culturally appropriating Black hair.
The effect of cultural appropriation on these historical hairstyles made from and by Black people and the effect on Black women is one with irreversible damage.
According to the Cambridge Dictionary, cultural appropriation is “The act of taking or using things from a culture that is not your own, especially without showing that you understand or respect this culture.”
People who don’t understand, don’t appreciate, don’t embody the intertwined history and meaning of Black hair shouldn’t wear it. When they do, it reduces the value to nothing more than the locks themselves.
For example, media personality and socialite Kim Kardashian-West, who is not Black or African American, has repeatedly appropriated Black hair. In 2018, she was seen in cornrows, accrediting them after white actress Bo Derek. In a similar instance, Kardashian-West was wearing Fulani braids, a style of cornrows from West Africa known for their length and unique patterns, at the MTV Movie and TV awards in March 2020.
People who wear Black hair must educate themselves on the history and importance behind the hairstyles. Kardashian-West took a complicated symbol – one with roots in the Middle Passage and trans-Atlantic slave trade – and pared it down into a simple style.
“The line between appreciating and appropriating is paper thin, but the difference is important.”
For the people who understand the full meaning of Black Hair, the effect of cultural appropriation can be devastating.
According to a study performed by the Arizona State University Department of Psychology, being shamed, mocked, and feelings of hatred towards natural hair starts as early as preschool in Black female students.
Clarke Central High School senior Lyracle Long, who is Black and wears Black hairstyles like knotless boz braids and Afro puffs, believes there is nothing wrong with others wearing Black hair – as long as they educate themselves.
“(Others) want to try (Black hair) too, even though their hair is straighter than ours, so they’re not going to get the same exact look as ours,” Long said. “I feel like (understanding that is) important because they want to learn. They want to learn more about us, and that’s totally fine, but they’re not going to get everything that they want.”
The line between appreciating and appropriating is paper thin, but the difference is important.
When walking that line, people need to make sure they understand the history and culture behind the hair. Otherwise, they’re cutting into a history that runs deeper than simply hair.
