Cultural appropriation or appreciation: The debate continues…

Francesca Onyina

So this week I have been seeing a lot of questionable news stories. The one that really had me rolling my eyes was German “model” Martina Adam who is currently transforming into a “black woman”. Now we all remember Rachel Dolezal and her antics with pretending to be a black women until her own parents called her out. But Martina seems to be taking the whole thing to another level of cultural appropriation. From the interviews i’ve watched of her it seems like she genuinely believes that she can become a black women by having tanning injections, breast implants and curling her hair. It is as if by doing all these things she will become like any other black women. Because of course all black women have massive breast and the source of our pigment comes from injections. Being a black women from birth has more meaning to it than just our outward appearance. We have history, struggle and our beautiful African heritage running through out blood stream. You can’t just pick and choice which parts of the black culture you want to embrace. Being black is not a trend that is going to fade out when people get tired of it. It is who we’ve been from the beginning of time and will continue to be.

Another story that found its way into my newsfeed was of Stella McCartney and the fact she was being accusing of cultural appropriation for using African print in her designs. In the fashion show’s program, McCartney described her collection’s aesthetic as “a joyful exploration of British style”. There are some real cute “auntie” pieces in her collection. The type of outfits your female family members have been wearing for years. But I’m sure the price tag is ten times as much. I’m not mad at the outfits because I’m glad she didn’t try to make the look all futurist but instead stuck to traditional designs. I just wish one of the thousands of talented aunties in Africa could have had the same opportunity to show off her work and get the same attention. The world needs to know that these styles are nothing new! I’m sure I saw very similar styles in Ghana when I went on holiday there for the first time over a decade ago. My issue isn’t with the outfit. My issue is with the designer. What frustrates me is that she hasn’t acknowledged the origins of the prints as well as only having only one women of colour on the runway.

Some may argue that she is not the first designer to do such as Burberry and Moschino have done so in the past. These same people could say she may have genuinely gained inspiration from the streets of Britain. Britain has become so multicultural, especially in London, that you most likely see people wearing their traditional clothing everyday. However if this is her argument I am disappointed because it shows that she did not do much research into the origins of these cultural clothing. By doing her research and acknowledging the source of her designs it would have shown some appreciation for the African culture. This could have been a perfect opportunity for some positive light to be shone on the African fashion industry. 

Cultural appropriation will never be seen as the right thing to do (well at least I hope not) but i’m all for cultural appreciation. Cultural appreciation when done right can open our eyes to see the beauty in different cultures. Cultural appreciation would give us greater understanding into what values and traditions encompass an individual . Maybe by understanding each others cultures it would allow us to be more accepting of one another. You never know you may find that we are not so different after all…

References: http://www.thisisinsider.com/stella-mccartney-accused-cultural-appropriation-2017-10 https://thegrapevine.theroot.com/german-white-woman-completes-her-transition-into-a-blac-1796362130