For the case of henna:
'During my early childhood, in the days following any given celebration, I was mocked, berated, and othered by white people, young and old, for having "gross things" on my hands. I would try to educate them but was mostly dismissed out of hand. The deep brown stains would fade to orange, leaving me with an odd sense of embarrassment for choosing to other my limbs in such fashion.
All of this changed in 1998, when this happened.
Madonna, acting as a trend-amplifier, wore henna on her hands and waved them around rather extravagantly for her gothy-pagan-meets-Desi Frozen video. Other celebrities followed suit, wearing bindis as well as mehndi body art. Suddenly, henna went from something no one knew about to something that was interpreted as "trendy" on white girls. Prepacked "tattoos" could be bought at the store or fresh designs obtained from a decorator working at mall kiosks. Thanks to its popularity, I no longer was asked what those "gross things" on my hands were. I was hardly spared from othering, however; people assumed I was getting a very young arranged, forced marriage when I wore it on my hands.
Henna is no longer officially A Thing in American culture[...] It is seen as passe, as a fad that died out, as a trend that's so 1990's.
Except that henna is not a trend, it's an art form that spans continents and has a deep heritage that goes back thousands of years.'
https://the-orbit.ne...-appropriation/
'In elementary school, my so-called friends made jokes when I came to school with henna on my hands. Some popular quips were that I never washed my hands, or I drew all over myself with brown marker. These bled into notions of who I was and what my culture is. [...] I've seen black, Latino and Central Asian people wearing henna, perhaps thinking that because they're people of color, it's okay for them to wear the patterns as opposed to white people. I don't agree. My brown and Asian peers added to the shame I felt when they made faces at my henna in elementary school – they perpetuated this casual racism too. [...] After years of feeling uncomfortable to wear henna for its intended purpose, it's hurtful to see the same people who turned their noses at my henna getting henna dolphins tattooed at boardwalks. My culture has become a way for people to feel cultured by taking a bit of my heritage and masking it with a facade of appreciation or solidarity.'
Desi person in comments section: ' I am sorry you were teased as a child for showing off your cultural heritage, but it happens to many kids for a multitude of reasons. Kids are young and immature. People grow up and learn. As for the 140 reported acts of hate violence, they are tragic, but they originate from a misunderstanding of the culture and backgrounds of the victims. Blocking off certain aspects to the culture from foreigners only enhances this misunderstanding, and further prevents peaceful coexistence. The world is more connected and diverse today than ever, and people from all across the globe frequently share music, literature, language, food, religions etc. Chill Out.'
https://dailybruin.c...people-culture/
'I would begin to question why my embarrassment towards henna only went away when my white friends acknowledged its beauty. I realized that these same white friends, many of them proud Trump supporters today, had no real interest in my culture or what henna's significance was for me. They just wanted to look like Vanessa Hudgens and the Jenners. I watched as their henna-stained hands (achieved in a booth at some music festival for a price that almost made me pity them) were met with compliments instead of alienating comments. And as I began to understand cultural appropriation before I had words for it, I started to really hate seeing white girls in henna.
Why was it only cool once they did it? Had they forgotten the times they'd made me feel stupid for wearing it? What changed?
The women in my family, however, remain excited anytime a woman in a movie, ad, or tabloid is pictured in henna. "Look, look at her hand! She's wearing henna!" my mother, aunts, and grandma never fail to point out, as if she is giving us a personal nod, a silent compliment. I roll my eyes. In the past, I have tried to explain to them why it pisses me off, and while they are receptive, they still perceive signs of our culture permeating America to be a positive thing.
[...]
I ask my aunt, who I find out is also pretty fine with white people wearing henna. "It might be weird, maybe, at school with kids because kids aren't going to understand, but I think it's different with adults," she says. Last year, after a coworker expressed interest in her henna, my aunt invited her to a henna party at her house. "She loved it," she says. "When I see [henna] on other people here I think, oh wow cool, that's something from our culture that's becoming popular."'
https://www.vice.com...iation-of-henna
This post has been edited by Azath Vitr (D'ivers: 22 January 2020 - 01:32 AM
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Maark Abbott, on 30 December 2019 - 08:39 AM, said:
