Cultural Appropriation

In today’s generation people have been able to do things more freely because of new laws and rights that has been put in place. It has became an issue because many people are culturally appropriating other people’s heritage without understanding and respecting these cultures. This is a problem because people are still discriminating against the people who’s culture they are embracing.

We have had an easier way of expressing ourselves through things such as what we wear, style our hair, and the way we talk. It became a positive remark on society together as a whole how we are able to accept people more. We take and embrace other people cultures it gets looked at as a trend and it brings us together and accept our differences. The problem is that when a less dominant group uses a cultural group for fashion and trends in this case Instagram fame it comes out as offensive. It shows ignorance to the lack of knowledge they have to a certain culture.

People get the feeling that these influencers are falling into the action of cultural apportation which means “inappropriate adoption of the customs, practices, and ideas of one person or society by members of another and typically more dominant people or society”. When someone is doing something from someone’s else cultural that doesn’t fall into their own. Yet the question that I ask who are we to say what specific characteristic belongs to who?

Recently there has been influences on social media that has been struggling with criticism of people accusing them of pretending to be another race. These instagram models have white skin with blonde hair it shows a before and after picture. In the after picture the same models have tan their skin enough to look as quote “light skin black girls” with lip injections to make the lips look fuller. As well changes to the hair were done these girls had long black braids. To other people these girls came off as pretending to being black because of these specific features.







You can tell how pissed off people are at the fact that she is trying to pass as black when she is fully Swedish. Keep in mind that the model never mentioned she was black. She never said anything on her page for people to think she is black other then how she looks.  So in reality who are they to say and put certain features on people? And if she is fully Swedish does she have to be fully white skin to be Swedish?


The media is so quick to spread information to people around the country as well with pictures and trends. The media is important and plays its role with people not acknowledging culture carefully and giving respect. Opinions from people around the country gets involved and creates a conversation from personal experiences. From people talking about being mixed and having parents from two different backgrounds. Or not knowing how offensive it can be for the reason that the culture isn’t being embraced for it is at certain countries. That’s when people choose to say negative things to people who probably meant no harm. I think that’s how culture and trends get confused by trends. On social media that gets mistaken and are actually part of people culture.


There’s a problem when people call out others for the way they choose to express their self because it creates judgment and discrimination. There’s conflict for both sides as in one not realizing how it affects others without acknowledging clothing and their reasons. For the person itself who is commenting on one person choice of expression. In reality there isn’t some kind of rule book that says only black people can wear braids, only latinos can wear sarapes, and only white people can have blonde hair. There’s no right when it comes to telling someone that they are not allowed to wear specific clothing, or style their hair a way because it’s only meant for a particular race.Many of these influencers that are getting criticism have not mention anything about being another race or being biracial. The issue goes back to the people harassing them when they bring up the words about race, judgement, and discrimination.


I believe others don’t want people to use their culture because they feel as if it’s offensive. Without others speaking on anything about race so truly they are discriminating others. For the wrong reasons because now it creates a new problem on racism being taken and shown in a new form. Other then calling out someone a name these actions taken place like dominating certain features and cultures to a certain race falls in the stereotypes and labels that others put on someone.