When I was a child, I was never particularly proud of my culture. When my mother wore her bindi to the grocery store, or spoke in her native tongue in public, I would lower my head in embarrassment and try to not draw any attention to myself.
As I got older, I asked myself why I was so ashamed of my own background. I then began to realize the beauty and meaning behind the bindi, the henna, the customs, and as I entered into high school, I would proudly tell people about my culture. Of course, some made fun of it. They were ignorant to the meaning and only saw “the weird red dot that people wear on their forehead.”
Around this time, I noticed something strange happening. Everywhere I looked, people were wearing henna and the bindi, but they weren’t wearing it like it was meant to be worn. They wore henna to things like music festivals *cough* Coachella *cough* and “crystals” on their forehead to raves. Videos on Youtube called “Festival Lookbook” or “Festival Fashion” would also feature them.
There were a number of other things people took from different cultures such as dreadlocks, head chains, and Native American head pieces. The people who made fun of these things before were the same people who wore them now. The problem with cultural appropriation is the fact that somebody who is completely ignorant to the background of the item is using it to look trendy.
Why is it that the very things people ridiculed as a part of a culture, were now so sought after in fashion? Stripping something entirely of its meaning, value, history and significance is wrong. Taking something that a group of people holds dear to their heart and disregarding those people in an attempt to be fashionable is wrong. Everything about cultural appropriation is wrong.
Some might say, “It isn’t cultural appropriation. It’s appreciating different cultures!” The issue with this is that it isn’t appreciative at all. If you actually admired the culture, you would get informed about the meaning behind it. You wouldn’t wear it as if you were mocking it, and you wouldn’t shame or judge others for wearing it as a part of their culture. So I say we should stand up against this. Let’s take back our culture and reclaim the beauty behind every part of it.
