I found something upsetting

I agree. And those braids? Gorgeous.

Calliea said:

And thought I'd share.

I don't live in America, so these issues may be more distant to me, but what gives? Why are people getting mad about a 12 year old girl getting braids? I don't understand. I don't understand why anyone would ever be offended by someone else changing their hair or hairstyle. It was common here to have braids like this as kids, I'm shocked at this. And at people who think that blonde is white-exclusive as well? What?

http://www.lovebscott.com/news/12-y...-her-blonde-box-braids-on-social-media-photos

I wish everyone would just drop the hostility over such pointless issues

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Her hair looks nice and I'm not particularly bothered one way or another by it‚ but I onject to the issue being called pointless. Hair is a huge part of Black culture in general no matter the location‚ and for African Americans at least is one of the few things we can call our own in a culture that tends to see us as lesser. It got over blown‚ but people werent wrong to point it out and educate the kid. What they were wrong about was calling her a racist when she is just a kid that didnt know better.

I have no problem with people adopting little things from other cultures. No one lives in a vacuum. We all absorb language, style, and customs from different places. It's how the world evolves. In this case, the girl thought the braids were pretty, and wore them. Really, this shouldn't be an issue.

Unimportant said:

It kinda depends on whether the people in that culture see it as a 'little thing' or not. And one person's 'I'm not offended" does not negate another person's "This is appropriation of my culture and it really upsets me" feelings.

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Well, in this instance, it's not even an African-specific thing. Many cultures have worn braids. Like the tribes in northern Europe. Just the other day, I was reading how the vikings meticulously put their hair in many little braids, and about the many combs/instruments they used to do so.

I've viking and Apache in me. If I braid my hair in tiny braids or two braids, am I being culturally insensitive? Or am I getting in touch with my ancient roots?

Brutal Mustang said:

I have no problem with people adopting little things from other cultures. No one lives in a vacuum. We all absorb language, style, and customs from different places. It's how the world evolves. In this case, the girl thought the braids were pretty, and wore them. Really, this shouldn't be an issue.

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I'm sorry, but it isn't quite as "little" as you make it out to be, and I explained why it isn't seen as little by some already. That in no way translates as people living in a vaccume. Yes it may be little to you, but it is little things that make a culture what it is. Take away those things and the culture is gone. Which is why I stand by the fact that it wasn't wrong to gently teach the kid about appropriation and why it may bother people. The ones who cussed out a random person's child calling the kid racist and other nasty things were wrong, but the ones who treated her as the kid she is and respected that aren't.

Her head, her hair. I don't care if she shaves it off or what else she does with it, I just don't like when people dimiss something as little or not worth freaking out over.

Calliea said:

But I don't understand why she should know better and not do it.

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Ditto. It's not like it's some specific tribal symbol. It's braids. Like I said above, many cultures, since the dawn of man, have braided their hair like this.

Here in Cali both white and black people do their hair like that...so what?

I guess it's an African American issue. We all wore braids like that as kids and I live near a new age foundation where a lot of people wear their hair in a variety of styles no matter what culture they originally come from.

Personally, I think the girl looks fabulous and if she was my twelve year old I would not have suggested she apologise for the braid -- if she wanted to she could apologise for any offence others may feel but if anyone is owed an apology it is the child who was bullied and abused on social media because she was blonde and her face didn't fit. The racism thrown in her direction is eye watering.

Cultures are shared all the time and it's fun to share a culture. Without the American market Scots culture wouldn't be able to continue. I figure more Americans, Canadians and Australians drink whisky, wear kilts, eat haggis and play bagpipes than we do in Scotland. (A culture that was also raped, pillaged and made illegal by a variety of races) But then that is the history of the United Kingdom going back into the mists of time. Culture does melt together, alter, change etc.

I can understand why it could rub people the wrong way. I don't think she's wrong for wearing her hair that way, and calling her racist and other nasty things is definitely wrong, but I agree that calling the concerns "pointless" is rather diminutive.

For what it's worth, I think she looks cute. Though it did weird me out a little when my white friend had her hair done like that. It looked good though.

Calliea said:

But I don't understand why she should know better and not do it. She appreciated the style, liked it, wanted to share it. Never did she say it was her idea, tried to deny anyone any kind of invention/origin right, or did anything at all that could wrong anyone or do them harm that could make the hairstyle look like mockery or something offensive. Why doesn't it make people happy when others like their ideas so much they want to follow the trend and enjoy it together?

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I never said she should know better than to do it, because I don't honestly think it's an issue of know better. It's an issue of the perpetual underdog saying, "I'm tired of this crap." When you are constantly being made less because of something like skin and hair, you become aware of and sensative to this type of thing. Where you maybe would have thought that's nice in other circumstances, this one sends you over the edge because there's just so much you can't tolerate it all. That's why I think it was good there were resonable people in all this crap talking to this child about appropriation, but condem the ones who thought they had the right to cuss out anoth persons kid. Now she knows, and it isn't a bad thing for her to know. Better she make informed choices and stand by them than something like this happen again, whether that is to wear her hair this way again or not.

Usher said:

Cultures are shared all the time and it's fun to share a culture.

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Sharing implies something done with permission.

kuwisdelu said:

I can understand why it could rub people the wrong way. I don't think she's wrong for wearing her hair that way, and calling her racist and other nasty things is definitely wrong, but I agree that calling the concerns "pointless" is rather diminutive.

For what it's worth, I think she looks cute. Though it did weird me out a little when my white friend had her hair done like that. It looked good though.

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Oh, I agree! She is utterly adorable in those braids. I'm not bothered by them in the least. But the idea it is just hair does tend to grate on me.

Anyone remember the movie 10 ... Bo Derec runing all over the beach in the very same braids...?

That was an American movie made well over 20 years ago.

This is not an American issue. It's an asshole issue.

Lillith1991 said:

Oh, I agree! She is utterly adorable in those braids. I'm not bothered by them in the least. But the idea it is just hair does tend to grate on me.

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Absolutely. I have no problem with her wearing her hair like that, but the diminishing of cultural appropriation by many of those supporting her does bother me.

One of my friends is finally letting her hair grow and starting to wear it naturally, and I can tell just by looking at her how transformative it's been for her personally. It's definitely a big deal.

Lillith1991 said:

Oh, I agree! She is utterly adorable in those braids. I'm not bothered by them in the least. But the idea it is just hair does tend to grate on me.

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But in this instance it should be. Like I've said before in this thread, braids are universal. Their origins are not specifically African. And that's what I meant by 'little'. She's not borrowing a very intimate symbol of some tribe in the Pacific. She's doing something that many cultures have done for millennia. Yes, braids happen to be most closely associated to people of African descent in this day and age, but they aren't exclusive to them.

Unimportant said:

Whoa there, tiger. Are you saying that everyone (here and elsewhere)who appreciates that some folks might have seen this incident as cultural appropriation is an asshole?

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Just the people that gave this 12 year old girl shit for doing something that has been going on for twice as long as she's been alive.