something that I find really interesting about
black hair is people always want to use like black hair or locs or black hairstyles
or cornrows when they want to put on a Persona of being hard and I think it's because
our natural hair is um associated with being rough and being tough and being hard
I feel like it's been a rise in Black fishing um [Music] to there hi welcome to mayowa's World hi y'all
welcome to mayowa's world my name is mayowa and on my channel I talk about colorism featurism
and
texturism today we are going going to be talking about texturism and cultural appropriation um
I have a new little setup in my room where I'm sitting down normally I stand up when I make my
videos but I'm trying to be more comfortable so I can create more consistent content what's been
oh okay so before I get into my video this is like the first time in a long time that I've put my
hair up I don't know how y'all do it like with locs I feel like putting my hair up it just feels
so tigh
t and I feel like there's a sensitivity that happens when you lock your hair to your scalp
where you just become way more sensitive to like change especially with free form locks but I don't
know how you you updo people do it these updos is intense but let me know if you like you know then
you updo um I don't know what the back is looking like the back might not be looking like the front
but the front is cute I feel like it's giving you know girl next door you know just really wholesome
so
today I want to talk about why I will never be okay with people cultural appropriation in black
hairstyles especially locks um there's been a lot of things that have been in media that I want to
reflect on first thing being at the Forefront is there is a boy called Darryl George who is an
18-year-old boy in Texas who has been suspended I think suspended for 2 weeks because he has locs
so Daryl George who is the um 18-year-old boy in a high school he is taking his school to court
because the
y are like you know there's a crown act that passed that is supposed to stop people
discriminating against natural hair but they're saying that because of the length of the hair that
is inappropriate and that's why I also feel like discussing gender expectations and breaking out
of gender binaries is really important as black people because this idea that men should have
short hair and like long hair is something that should be for women is also something that affects
a lot of natural hair
um people too because you know when your hair when your locs are short
you're more masculinized and when your locks are longer you're more feminized and so because
his locks have gotten past a certain point they don't think that that's appropriate for boys so
there's also like a lot of things going on in here and the reason I'll never be okay with culture
vultures coming and wearing locs is because they will never experience any of these systemic
discriminations and doing these hairstyles a
re not something that is even innate to their culture in
the same way that it is to black people I am not I don't okay and then you know people are going
to always bring up the Vikings but have you done history on the violence of the Vikings like if
that's what you want to claim then do your own little your Viking locks if those are the people
you want to if that's the answer so you want to evoke then do that but for us black people our
hair has literally been you know people who are descen
dants of transatlantic slave trade they were
coming and putting seeds in their hair so they can go and grow their own food they were having Maps
put into their hair there's certain you know I'ma there's certain hairstyles that's for people who
are married or people who are single or people you know and literally also linked to genuinely
pretty much all African spirituality has a has a distinct relation to how our hair plays into it
like I don't even want to get into it cuz I'm not trying to
give all the recipes on the internet
but there's a lot of power and um spirituality that is also linked to our hair and I think
two sentences can be true at the same time I think this idea that it's just hair um and hair
means nothing and you can cut your hair off and you can grow your hair off can be true to some
and I can also be true to say that it is not just hair because if our hair that grows out of
our own scalp can get us to lose jobs can get us to have higher rates of um criminali
ty or like
legal criminality can get us to have like be put in dangerous situations and can be forcibly
removed without our consent and can withhold us from having access to education in school
then it's not just hair because now these now how our hair looks mean something and you as
an individual can say that your hair doesn't mean anything to you but it doesn't mean that
how you are perceived is going to reflect that same thing so the school claims with their just
enforcing dress code bu
t something that I thought was interesting was this quote the Texas school
district superintendent says in quote being an American requires Conformity with the Positive
benefits of unity I I honestly feel like there's a bit of an enjoyment of watching black people cut
their hair and another thing that I saw online too was there's a clip of a black girl it says judge
forces a young black girl to remove her hairstyle if she wanted to compete in an event and there's
like this clip of like a bu
nch of her I'm guessing teammates removing her locks and just her in
the center like I can only imagine the shame that she's feeling the embarrassment but I do
think that there's a fixation in black hair touching black hair removing black hair forcing
black people to change their hair intentionally misunderstanding black hair intentionally Mis um
spewing out a lot of inaccurate things about black hair just to have us Force to Conformity and if
y'all know history if you know your own history
you would know that sorry you would know that one
of the the biggest things with colonialism was forcing people to cut their hair and I actually
think it has to do with like a form of submission I feel like when people see that you are cutting
your hair for them it's a form of submitting and like losing your identity and conforming as that
superintendent in Texas said conforming to this idea that you want to be like them like nothing
will make you love your oppressors more than trying to l
ook like them and feeling and knowing
that you could never do it but it's a constant aspiration having that Dynamic will always
make the oppressors feel more beautiful and the oppressed constantly chasing that validation
so but the idea of black people having to conform more than others is not something that is new
it is just a subtle quiet expectation that has always pushed on us which is why we're always
told that our natural hair is not professional and that we always have to be changing
ourselves
to fit um Professional Standards I feel like there been a rise in Black fishing but has there
really been a rise I don't know because it just seems like there's been a consistent thread
and it just becomes more and more nuanced like I feel like the ways that that people are doing
technology to Blackfish is just more and more nuanced I saw um let's watch a video together
because if I have to see it you got to see it that's wild this is wild y'all this is
wild this is not normal y
ou should not be able to go from Jayden Smith to that like it is
not normal like the obsession even the Styles like the obsession is actually sick especially
too because I have a feeling that if I was to go to your country the country where they're doing
this hairstyle and I was to walk around with my hair I have a feeling just a really strong feeling
that I feel is that I know is accurate I think I will not be treated with warmth or coolness or
reception the same way that this person is fo
r literally doing blackfishing a lot of people
who want to talk about cultural appreciation also are very much so unaware of the fact that in
a lot of black countries where our hair naturally grows like this it is we are criminalized having
our hair like this something that I think is so sad is that in Jamaica um a Jamaican High
Court ruled that school was legally right to ban a child with dreadlocks and I just think
that's so wild especially because there are so many non-black people who g
o to Jamaica and be
like oh I have these dreadlocks I'm connected to the culture but literally black children who
have those same locks are systematically banned from things and ultimately the hairstyle that
these non-black people are doing is not innate to how their hair grows like no one but black
people can have free form locks not like this it's not possible because people keep being like
Oh yeah all you got to do is not wash your hair babes I washed my hair I washed my hair the
entire
time I didn't withhold washing my hair to have my hair like this this is how my hair
grows and you know people want to say like oh we're all human race like we're all one human
race whoever said that we weren't who was the people that decided that I my human ity was not
included in that concept of human race claiming that we're all human race is not a liberatory
thing for me because who decided that I wasn't a part of Being Human who subjugated my people to
being who subjugated my people t
o being inhumane to being Savages to being less than it wasn't
me and at the end of the day with all these conversations about cultur appropriation I don't
even have the power to do anything about it it's the other way around there are a lot of non-black
people that can literally tell black folks that we should change our hair to be able to get jobs
like a lot like I saw one about a black girl who had an afro and she wanted to work in a black
hair shop and literally but it wasn't owned by b
lack people and literally they told her that
she had to change her hair to work at that hair shop a black hair shop they told her she had to
change her hair mindblowing okay let's see another one and I just have a feeling that y'all Viking
ancestors did not walk around like this like I just in my heart of hearts I really believe
like this was not what y'all's people was doing in the 1800s and the 1400s I just I've
never like when I look at photos of um different when I look at photos of um
this
community in the 1600 and 1700 I just don't see these hairstyles on the lookbook I don't
and you know listen another group that is doing it into the most hardcore way is the K-pop the
K-pop babes okay I feel like you know a lot of people who I like like K-pop and for that reason
I'm going to be respectful like I'm going to be respectful how I speak on it CU a lot of black
people that I like love K-pop maybe I you know I'm a little bit older so maybe it's like not a
generational thing
for me like it is for some of the you know the younger girlies but the way that
the black fishing and the culture appropriation as a black person who grew up listening to '90s
music I feel like like a lot of it just sounds like the R&B that people was making 20 years ago
and when I see like the the the intricate things that people are doing to change their hair to
look black and then the part that always gets me about cultural appropriation is like they
will literally jump out of it and go
back to their own race whenever they're like in a
new era and something that I find really interesting about black hair is people always
want to use like black hair or locks or black hairstyles or cornrows when they want to put on a
Persona of being hard and I think it's because our natural hair is um associated with being rough
and being tough and being hard these negative stereotypes actually this like affect us in really
really negative ways right because it's seen as a hairstyle instead
of this being like you know
my hair is not a hairstyle because well this is a hairstyle like cuz I put my hair up but my hair
when it's down 99% of the time is not a hairstyle cuz it's just how my hair is growing from my
head um um but when people put on a hairstyle right it's see as something that they are doing
and that is why I think people are very hard on black people for their hair because they see it
as something that we're doing to ourselves we're choosing to be different versus li
terally doing
the hairstyle that is the most accommodating for our hair texture and you know something I found
really interesting is whenever I used to fight and like whenever you would see um people get
into fights like professional fights a lot of times the girls and I think boys do it too but
they will have their hair in cornrows like if they're not black and their scalp will be looking
like it's like literally dipped deep fried in pain their scalps would be screaming like I can hear
th
e scalp being like help me help me but anyway they' be doing their hair like that and I thought
it so interesting that when they're fighting and they want to feel like you know they're strong
and they're in their Hood bag and they're in their you know power bag that's when they're going
to dip into the black hairstyles but when I go to a ballet recital or when I see you get appointed
as like a Supreme Court Justice person or I see you go to a debut is a Debon I thought Debon
was black peopl
e if I see you go to like a fan FY restaurant I'm not seeing those hairstyles so I
think it's interesting that when it's like grungy rough and tough you want to appropriate the black
hairstyle or you want to get people to just kind of respond and react to the hair to use it as
a viral moment um but our hairstyle is not uh it's not a costume and that's the issue when you
make culture a costume you know I have never like I enjoy eating sushi like I like sushi do I have
a desire to now go and
wear you know a Japanese style of clothing and change my name to a Japanese
name and cosplay even though it doesn't have the same power um systemic imbalance as when it it's
done the other way around I have no desire like I just want to eat the sushi like I don't I have
no other interest in dipping into that culture like I just I'm actually super comfortable in
my culture like that's the part you know when you have a culture that you're really proud of
you just want to sit in it you know I'
m very grateful that my hair grows like this my skin
looks like this I just look like this like I'm cool I'm happy I don't feel this anxiety or dis
disconnect to want to be another group that I'm not and I really hope that people can you know
see these things and just see the ways that it's affecting us like we can literally have laws that
are act actively hurting us and people are just still dipping into their cosplaying bag and just
having fun it's really sick so yeah if you made it to th
e end of the video tell me which part of
my look that you like I am trying to explore with like blush placement I feel like blush looks
better higher up on my face I don't have any eye makeup I wasn't mood to do anything too um
ridiculous I'm trying to see if I can get my outfit in the shot but I have on a a cute little
vest with a Anarchy sign on the back um if made it to the end of the video send me love I always love
hearing it let me know um what y'all's experience is with this also cul
tural appropriation um I want
to hear thanks for watching have a great day bye
Comments
I remember seeing a tiktok of an Asian woman taking out her box braids because had a job interview. She knowingly associated braids with being unprofessional and unkempt. The fact that she can just take them out and revert back to her straight hair like our culture is a costume is insane.
I’m not black so I’m gonna keep my opinions on the subject to myself, what I will comment on though is the Viking stuff, being Scandinavian. People using my ancestors as a shield is so beyond stupid because the vikings never wore their hair in locs. They wore braids, and braiding hair was a very important practice to their culture, but they never wore any hairstyle that is unique to black hair textures.
They are obsessed with us.. but simultaneously hate us. Its not cute!!!
Meanwhile, I remember getting made fun of by white girls in highschool for wearing micro braids, cornrows, and box braids. I have even been denied jobs for wearing braids and faux locs and I had to take it out and slick my hair into a bun to get a job. I remember being ashamed of my Afro because how bad I was treated when I first went natural. I wouldn’t even wear my hair out in an Afro to my previous jobs. Now all of a sudden, it’s a “ trend” for non black people to get braids and locs.
Black ppls hair will always be political Because of the double standards in society
Men's hair length is important to Indigenous folks too...my nephew has never cut his hair, he wears his almost waist-length braid proudly as a Native boy!
I hated ballet growing up, because I had to go through the torture of the hot comb. I even tried to reason with my dance instructor and I asked if I could just have some neat braids pulled into a bun. She (a black woman with an all black dance school) always told me no. She would say its not a clean look. This woman could have changed the game and had an all black ballet school where she embraced our hair. She refused smh. She was conditioned that kinky hair had to be pressed or permed and slicked back to have decent recitals and shows. I never understood it. She didnt even have anyone to answer too. It was HER dance school.
Also if it was just hair they wouldn't have had the tignon laws in the 18th century....
The viking thing is a urban legend btw, us people of no colour never were out here looking like Bob Marley or Brandi with the box braids.
I just told a non- Black( nicely), that although every people group experienced woes — Blacks perpetually experience crap until this day and maybe forever—and many times it is covert versus overtly.
I feel like most people can acknowledge cultural appropriation but don’t realize that when it comes to black culture it is a literal minstrel performance. It’s so disgusting and insidiously evil to me. But I think most of this goes back to the fact that ppl underestimate the deep-ness of anti blackness (including black ppl sometimes)
I think you look lovely with your locs up. These other groups get to leave the “Black community” when it’s no longer convenient or “in”. As a dark-skinned Black woman with thick, short 4C hair, I can’t jump in and out of other groups.
Nah if you have type 1 hair, faux locs should be illegal lmao. Grow then yourself 😂
I love this mayowa!!! Thank you!!! Its bcos blackness is marketable when your not black. Its seen as more stylish on non blacks. Like i saw someone else saying imclusivity is limited only to black kinky haired people. Im currently in a country that is going thru femicide(kenya). So I have dreads. Its a sign of beauty but it also PROTECTS me. I know people stereotypically depict locs for men. So whenever Im outside it protects me...I wear buggy clothes tooo...suprisingly IT WORKS. This locs are not only for fashion. They are special to black people. I know Im protecting myself. And How yt folks act entitled even in this country to everything. So Its not a TREND and yt folks should know that!!! Once again thanks Mayowa.
It’s not a lot of K-pop…it’s basically alllllll of it. And I’m someone who LOVES BTS💜 and some other K-pop songs, but it’s PROBLEMATIC as h***…the way K-pop appropriates Black culture. People (literally everyone) stay playing in Blacks folks’ faces and it’s maddening when they say stupid a** comments like, “Black people need to relax…It’S jUsT a HaiRsTyLe!”😒🤬
It's crazy because everytime when I go to Jamaica to visit Family, I always observe how the culture changed over the years. Jamaica gov is so weak and always bow to colonialism. N yes I'm Jamaican, but literally so sad how the government in Jamaica don't care about the Natives and preserving the culture for them.
I love the look! I appreciate that you are comfortable in your culture/ our culture! Although I absolutely love reading about Japanese culture and partake in Japan media.. plenty of material I own reflect my Black culture. I enjoy Japanese culture but never felt the need to change my hair , name etc. we have to be happy with who we are as Black people.
"Nothing will make you love your oppressors more than trying to look like them" - a WORD Mayowa!
Mayowa! I saw on IG about your union! Congratulations, babes! 🥂
Some people never take you seriously when you talk about these things but you never miss. I remember you questioning this thing of portraying racially ambiguous as the future of black people and the erasure of dark skin people in futuristic movies, adverts, etc and now everyone's talking about it on tiktok. The same thing will surely happen with this convo as well. People will see this as a non issue until it gets way too out of control.