A Problematizing of the Rhetoric Surrounding Cultural Appropriation
“Cultural Appropriation” is a buzzword in today’s society. A working definition of cultural appropriation is the co-opting of one culture, race, or group’s customs for use by another culture, race, or group. Broadly, cultural appropriation can be seen in many instances: Halloween costumes (non-native Americans dressing as native Americans – Figure #1), music (hip-hop culture in the United States – Figure #2), linguistics (one group using another group’s colloquial words; “dope,” for example), but for the purposes of this paper, the white female co-opting of black cultural beauty standards will be at the analytic forefront. There are abundant examples of white women co-opting black cultural beauty standards that are inherently problematic, and these will be discussed at length. However, there is an aspect of the current rhetoric surrounding cultural appropriation that has not been given much scrutiny: the cultural appropriation of body parts. The Kardashians and Jenners are often faulted for this; Kylie getting lip fillers, their tiny waists, their large breasts and butts. Black women and white women alike may see white women emulating black women in this regard – they consider full lips, large butts and breasts to be something representative of black female beauty. In a recent opinion piece entitled, “The Appropriation of Fuller Lips,” the author, a black woman, states:
For us black girls, it seemed that the size of our lip…was perceived adversely in our society. However, this stigma of having larger lips does not exist within our society now… Seeing the millions of women now sporting this trend, I cannot help but feel really resentful (Lawrence, 2017).
It is true that these physical attributes are historically placed on black women and that black women historically are denigrated for possessing the qualities of full lips and full figures (Young, 1999). However, the idea that lips, butts, or breasts are inherent to black women actually serves to essentialize race and make it real. Race is a societal construction to which we have assigned power and meaning. Biologically, there is nothing inherently different between one “race” and another. Socially, of course there are tangible differences based on the way people of different races are treated, their privileges, and their oppressions. However, because there are no inherent biological differences between races, it cannot be said that one race “owns” a physical feature. Thus, white women’s possession of traits like full lips or slim waists cannot be considered cultural appropriation. Rather, I will borrow Camp’s (2015) term “racial beauty” and call this idea racial beauty essentialization. Camp (2015) defines racial beauty as “the idea that human races have biologically innate (essential) physical characteristics, some of which are beautiful, others less so” (p. 680). Racial beauty essentialization is thus the idea that certain races have ownership of particular physical beauty features, and that another race cannot possess them. Racial beauty essentialization must be challenged and made distinct from cultural appropriation because it essentializes racial difference, obscures genuine cultural appropriation of black beauty standards, and ignores black women who may not have these specific features. It also diminishes the underlying power dynamics that allow white women to be praised for the same features that black women were/are historically denigrated for. I will refer to this latter phenomenon as White Beauty Privilege.
To substantiate these claims, I will begin by providing historical examples of constructed racial difference in terms of beauty. The instances of constructed racial difference will show how black beauty standards have historically been “othered” in comparison to white beauty standards, and will additionally show how the same beauty standard can have different connotations on black versus white bodies. Next, examples of genuine cultural appropriation of black beauty standards will be discussed, like white women’s problematic co-opting of hairstyles such as dreadlocks or the Afro. Finally, the current rhetoric surrounding cultural appropriation and body parts will be examined.
Figure #1
Karli Kloss at Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show 2012 dressed in a Native American Headdress
Figure #2
Taylor Swift in music video for “Shake It Off.” Swift appears to be mimicking stereotypical, sexualized dress prevalent on black women in hip-hop music videos, while women behind her “twerk.”
History of Constructed Racial Difference in Terms of Beauty
Beauty standards for women have virtually always existed. White female beauty standards have been the pinnacle of western female beauty standards for centuries (Camp, 2015). The general venerated beauty standards for women in the United States, particularly built on a white body, are blonde hair, slim figure, slender nose, and blue eyes (Deliovsky, 2008). This standard is pervasive and can be seen in numerous representations in life – media, movies, magazines, and especially through social media. Although these beauty standards designate the body as white, they serve to apply to all women, which contemporarily and historically has negative implications for black bodies.
White beauty standards and their particular implications can be traced back to colonization and slavery in the United States (Camp, 2015). When white men first saw black bodies, they characterized them in comparison to white bodies, and were at once compelled by the natural beauty whilst simultaneously being scared and disgusted (Camp, 2015). This sentiment contributes to what Camp (2015) describes as racial beauty. The idea of racial beauty was venerated from the onset of white men’s interaction with black bodies, and this concept was/is exploited for various ends. For example, in order to justify slavery in the United States, black people had to be “othered,” and an easy way to do this was by creating difference in something that was readily visible – physical attributes, and in this case beauty. If black people were inherently different, it made the institution of slavery easier to swallow. This can be seen in historical documents. Thomas Jefferson (1785) in Notes on the State of Virginia, argued that black people should not be integrated as American citizens post-emancipation on the basis of inherent differences between black and white people that would always deter citizenship. He did this by comparing black people to white people, and showing how black people were inherently ugly and different, describing and othering their physical features in particular (Jefferson, 1785). Jefferson states that differences between black and white people are “fixed in nature” and calls for characterization of black and white people on the grounds of “superior beauty” (Jefferson, 1785). This rhetoric strived to essentialize racial differences, attempting to make race real in terms of physical beauty markers. This rhetoric sparked the necessity of black bodies to subscribe to white standards to even be considered worthy of basic human rights let alone be considered beautiful.
Features like large buttock and lip size were attributed to black women early on in this attempt to venerate racial difference. Perhaps the most famous historical example of this is Sarah Baartman, referred to as “Hottentot Venus” (Hobson, 2013). Many details of Baartman’s life are obscured, however it is known that she was displayed from 1810 to 1816 in “freak” shows throughout England and France, and even displayed after her death at the Museé de l’Homme in Paris (Gordon-Chipembere, 2011). Baartman was put on display because of her purported large, abnormal buttocks that served to characterize the ugliness and otherness of black bodies in the nineteenth century. Georges Cuvier dissected Baartman’s remains postmortem and displayed them to purport inherent racial differences between Africans and Europeans. In fact, he was looking for an evolutionary missing link between humans and animals in his dissection of Baartman (Hobson, 2013). Cuvier is quoted saying “She had a way of pouting her lips exactly like what we have observed in the orang-utan.... Her lips were monstrously large ... I have never seen a human head more like an ape than that of this woman,” (Young, 1999, p. 68) when referring to Baartman. This sentiment contributes to the idea of racial beauty – large lips, characteristic of black women, were not seen as beautiful. Additionally, in artistic renderings of Baartman, her buttock is accentuated, and she is also illustrated in comparison to white, “normal” women (Figure #3, Figure #4). Again, this rhetoric of black bodies being, not only inherently different than white bodies, but even less human than white bodies because of physical beauty markers is reiterated.
Figure #3
An ad for Baartman’s show, featuring her enlarged buttock.
Figure #4
Baartman being compared to a “normal” white woman
Contemporarily, lip fullness and butt size are not demonized as they once were. These features are actually being celebrated – being “thick,” or, colloquially, “thicc” is now trendy. Women are taking it upon themselves to get lip fillers, and celebrities are constantly promoting waist trainers, so that regular people, too, can have thin waists in comparison to their hips. A direct example of this can be seen in Kim Kardashian’s infamous “Break The Internet” Paper Magazine photo shoot (Fortini, 2016 – Figure #5).
Figure #5
Kim Kardashian’s “Break The Internet” photo shoot for Paper Magazine
This image features a glamorous looking Kim K – beautiful sequin dress, pearls, and gloves. The “Break The Internet” campaign resulted in over five and a half million searches for “Kim Kardashian Paper Magazine” in less than 24 hours (The Study, 2017), and the article celebrates Kim’s physical features (Fortini, 2016). Jean-Paul Goude, the photographer for this shoot, based it on a previous work of his (Figure #6).
Figure #6
Carolina Beaumont, New York, 1976. Featured in Goude’s book Jungle Fever.
This previous shot is called “Carolina Beaumont, New York, 1976” (The Study, 2017), and is featured in Goude’s book Jungle Fever. This shot, along with others, was meant to “explore the changing standards of beauty vis-a-vis physical proportions” (The Study, 2017). Goude’s 1976 photo relies on the racial beauty standard of black women having large buttocks. Much can be said about how this photo is framed in comparison to Kim’s. Goude’s original model is naked, black, standing on the ground, hair haphazardly piled atop her head. The nudity of Beaumont additionally plays into the common trope of oversexualization of black women. Kim is dressed luxuriously, hair in a stylish topknot, standing on a makeshift pedestal, dripped in pearls. These differences, of course, have to do with the purposes of each photo – one photo meant to celebrate a celebrity’s physical features and wealth, the other meant to showcase a purported racial beauty marker – black women’s large buttocks. The differences, thus, also have to do with race. On Kim, a white woman, her large buttock is celebrated. On Beaumont, a black woman, it is seen as an indicator of her blackness. Comparisons of Sarah Baartman and white women showed how Baartman, and thus other black women, were human anomalies. Comparing Kim Kardashian to Carolina Beaumont shows how white women can have the same physical feature as black women and be praised for it, rather than denigrated for it. This phenomenon constitutes White Beauty Privilege.
Why are white women who strive for these attributes (full lips, large breasts, etc.) seen as culturally appropriating black beauty culture? Recognizing the fact that these attributes were ascribed to black women and used to justify their maltreatment, subordination, and sexualization, it is not difficult to see why black women would be upset at white women profiting from the features that typically have besmirched black women. Kim Kardashian’s photo shoot is just one pertinent example of this phenomenon, Kylie Jenner’s “Lip Kits” – her lip-gloss and lip-liner cosmetic kits, meant to allow consumers to emulate Jenner’s full lips, are another. However, saying that white women cannot posses these qualities simply furthers the rhetoric that Jefferson purported so long ago – that there are inherent differences between black and white people based on physical beauty attributes “fixed in nature” (Jefferson, 1785). This is racial beauty essentialization, not cultural appropriation. Saying that black women own full lips or small waists and that a white woman desiring these features constitutes cultural appropriation gives credence to racial divisions. Rather, historical implications from racial beauty constructions can better be analyzed by critiquing white beauty privilege – the concept that allowed for Baartman to be denigrated for her physical features, while Kim Kardashian is praised for the same features that “broke” the Internet.
White Women’s Appropriation of Black Women’s Beauty Culture
Categorizing racial beauty essentialization as cultural appropriation obscures genuine, problematic appropriation of black beauty culture by white women. In general, cultural appropriation is particularly harmful when the co-opting group ignores the historical and sociopolitical contexts of whatever they are taking as their own, oftentimes venerating a particular cultural practice that they see as desirable over the actual people who practice that custom. This is true of white women’s cultural appropriation of black beauty standards. White women’s cultural appropriation of black hairstyles, for example, can be categorized as such due to the specific historical moments and contexts that instigated certain hairstyles’ necessity. Black women’s subjugation to white beauty standards like straight hair, for instance, sparked the natural embrace of hairstyles we can still see today (Craig, 2002). A white woman’s co-opting of an Afro would be ignoring the oppression that caused black women to re-claim their natural hairstyles in the first place. Aligning racial beauty essentialization in the same category as cultural appropriation makes the genuine examples of cultural appropriation more difficult to understand. If clear definitions are not in place as to what constitutes cultural appropriation, cultural appropriation becomes difficult to explain, let alone combat. Due to the brevity of this paper, white women’s co-opting of black hairstyles such as cornrows, the Afro, and dreadlocks will be examined as a pertinent and pervasive form of appropriating beauty culture.
Cornrows have origins in Africa as early as 3500 BC (Allen, 2017). Records indicate that the intricate braiding of the hair indicated a person’s tribe (Allen, 2017). Today, cornrows may be worn by black women out of convenience for maintaining hair, or as a measure to protect the hair when moving from using relaxers on the hair to wearing it naturally (Gabbara, 2017). They can also be used as a form of self-expression (Gabbara, 2017). White women are often applauded for wearing dreadlocks because they are seen as a daring “fashion statement;” the LA times stating that white women’s use of cornrows meant the hairstyle was “moving away from urban, hip-hop to chic and edgy” (Gabbara, 2017). This rhetoric not only neglects to problematize the fact that white women are wearing cornrows at all, ignoring the historical and social context of the hairstyle, but also categorizes white women’s use of cornrows as something inherently different than black women’s. Whereas this quote implies that being black and having cornrows indicates something urban and hip-hop, suggesting that these things are negative, it posits white women’s possession of dreadlocks as something progressive and trendy. It is not the hairstyle itself that is inherently desirable, but when it is on white women, it becomes more socially acceptable. This difference in rhetoric can be linked to White Beauty Privilege. When white women wear cornrows (Figure #7), it is not out of convenience because of their hair texture, and it is not because of cultural ties to African ancestors. It simply has to do with liking the aesthetic of the braids.
Figure #7
Paris Hilton and Miley Cyrus sporting dreadlocks
The Afro has politically charged origins in the United States. The Afro was a part of the Black is Beautiful movement seen in the 1960s, as well as specifically the Black Power movement (Gabbara, 2017). In the 60s particularly, black women were highly subjected to white beauty ideals to show that they could emulate the values and sensibilities purported by white middle class women (Kinloch, 2004). This oftentimes involved straightening or relaxing hair (Craig, 2002). However, black women could never reach the beauty standards set by white women. Black women were pressured to reach this ideal, but threatened white women still belittled them for their attempts (Roberts, 2014). Out of this toxic environment, appreciating unique beauty emerged as a necessity. Craig (2002) states: “A new standard of beauty that celebrated dark skin, naturally kinky hair, and full lips offered redress to those women who had been devalued by earlier beauty standards” (p. 26). In opposition to the norm that wanted black women to relax or straighten their hair to acclimate to white ideals, women began wearing their hair in Afros in a form of protest to this archetype (Craig, 2002). A white woman using this hairstyle (Figure #8) ignores this historical context. It also obscures the cultural context where white women essentially forced black women to make the conscious decision to adopt this hairstyle in order to be able to feel beautiful.
Figure #8
Gigi Hadid sporting an Afro for Italian Vogue
Dreadlocks are slightly different than cornrows and Afros because they can historically be traced to various cultures regardless of race, and many people contemporarily wear them for spiritual reasons (Gabbara, 2016). They are, however, typically associated with Jamaica and Rastafarianism, which is an “African-centered religion and lifestyle” (Gabbara, 2017). Dreadlocks are worthy of discussion because of the rhetoric displayed when white women wear them versus black women. However, dreadlocks on white women do appear to be one of the hairstyles that are gaining more and more recognition as cultural appropriation (Shunatona, 2016). When Zendaya wore dreadlocks to an award show (Figure #9), Giuliana Rancic commented that Zendaya likely smelled of “patchouli” and “weed” (Gabbara, 2016). While many people praised Zendaya for this hairstyle (she does look beautiful), many racist comments still arose. It was as if people forgot Zendaya was black until this moment, and they were upset by it.
Khloé Kardashian (Figure #10) tried on dreadlocks as a “look,” i.e., a fashion statement or trend for her website/app. She was emulating Marc Jacobs’ runway models that wore pastel dreadlocks for his show (Gabbara, 2016). Most of the models were white. This did not go unnoticed by the public – Marc Jacobs and Khloé received serious flack for the decision to put dreadlocks on white bodies, especially because of the historical context of dreadlocks, the connotation placed on dreadlocks on black bodies, the fact that it is legal for employers to discriminate based on this hairstyle, and that Jacobs and Khloé would both be profiting from this black cultural hairstyle (Shunatona, 2016). However, it is still concerning that so many people involved in both Marc Jacobs’ runway show and Khloé Kardashian’s app did not see a problem with using this hairstyle until after the public outcry, from mostly black or socially aware white women (Shunatona, 2016).
Figure #9
Zendaya wearing dreadlocks to an event – racist comments about this look ensued.
Figure #10
Khloé Kardashian trying out “runway looks” that includes dreadlocks.
It is reassuring that people are beginning to recognize instances like Marc Jacobs’ runway show as harmful cultural appropriation. Cornrows, Afros, and dreadlocks are just three examples of one type of white women’s appropriation of black beauty culture. White women using these beauty trends for their own purposes ignores the historical and cultural context from which they emerged. Gigi Hadid’s “Afro” can be taken off after the photo shoot, where she benefitted from it for a moment, and then she can revert back to her previous long, blonde locks. She will then continue to benefit from her culturally accepted blonde hair. Black women who always have Afros, who cannot simply remove them when they are done with them, will not benefit in the same way as Gigi. They will likely face some hardship because of it, in fact, since our society does not always value these black beauty trends on black bodies. Categorizing racial beauty essentialization as cultural appropriation could serve to make these examples more difficult to identify. Defining racial beauty essentialization as cultural appropriation dilutes the salient examples provided above, and can make them seem less serious. A concept without clear definitions loses its analytic and persuasive power. If we fail to make the distinction between cultural appropriation and racial beauty essentialization, neither can be tackled and given the specific scrutiny each deserves.
Cultural Appropriation and Body Parts
The anger sparked by white women sporting Afros is the same anger that is sparked when white women are valued for having full lips or being labeled “thicc.” It is upsetting that something that is devalued on black bodies is prized on white bodies. However, this is unique because (generally – plastic surgery complicates this) women cannot “take off” their full lips when they so desire. Body parts are not as ephemeral as something like hair. Grouping genuine cultural appropriation in the same category as white women having slim waists and full lips muddies what cultural appropriation is and makes it difficult to comprehend. Ultimately, putting body parts in this category is another layer of harmful rhetoric harking to that of Thomas Jefferson or the labels placed on Sarah Baartman because it serves to essentialize racial difference.
Racial beauty essentialization is also harmful because it necessarily ignores women within a racial category who do not possess these features. What about black women who do not have full lips, large butts and breasts? Does this rhetoric make them less black? (Figure #11). Figure #11 features a screenshot of black woman’s Instagram photo. Her caption is “Skinny Girls are winning too,” followed by “…you’re hearing this from me, I am skinny myself and yes we do get shamed, regardless of how we look…” This racial beauty essentialization and the pressure it places on black women to look a certain can negatively impact them. If it is widely accepted that black women must have certain features and must be considered “thicc” to be black, this rhetoric will have negative implications. As we saw with hair, black women were often held to a white standard that was simultaneously out of reach. Many black women then created their own beauty standards for hair in light of this ideal. Praising socially constructed ideas of what black bodies should look like is a form of “reclaiming” the negative connotations once placed on black bodies, similar to reclaiming hairstyles. Having a positive self-concept is obviously a good thing, but when this new ideal is posited as essential to being black, this can have negative consequences. Black women who are thin cannot reach this black beauty ideal of thicc-ness, but simultaneously cannot fully reach the white beauty ideal due to their skin color. Where does that leave them? What implication does this have for their self-concept?
Figure #11
Skinny Girls are winning too
This is similar to the idea of pigmentocracy (Craig, 2002), which is the idea that lighter skin black women are more intelligent, more beautiful, and better representatives of black people as a whole. This idea arose because of black women’s subjugation to a white female beauty standard, i.e., the lighter the skin, the closer they were to achieving the beauty ideals set by white women. This concept had negative implications for women with darker skin’s self-concepts, and also had tangible implications in terms of things like educational and occupational opportunities (Craig, 2002). The idea that black women must have certain physical features to be considered black will also have similar, negative consequences. Stating that racial beauty essentialization constitutes cultural appropriation gives further credence to the idea that black women must have certain features, and thus ignores the reality for many black women. It simultaneously reiterates the idea that there are inherent, biological differences between white and black women.
Conclusion and Implications of this Rhetoric
The fact that the Kardashians, as white women, can be admired and sought after for physical beauty markers like full lips, small waists, large breasts and butts, while black women historically were denigrated for these features, and contemporarily can still face harassment for these features because of the negative and sexually charged implications they were given as early as 1550 (Camp, 2015), is undoubtedly unfair. White Beauty Privilege deserves examination and analysis, as it says much about what society values, and is perhaps pointing to a shift in the traditional hegemonic beauty ideal of thin bodies and lithe features that has been prevalent for so long. Black women should not have to “come to terms” with their full lips if they have them (Figure #12), or “learn to appreciate” their full figures in light of a white beauty ideal that traditionally belittled these attributes on black bodies.
Figure #12
An Instagram post telling black women to be proud of their full lips
Anger sparked by the Kardashians and other white women benefitting from features that are devalued on black bodies is warranted, but the anger should be directed at a society that values white bodies over black bodies. It is completely valid to be angered by a woman co-opting something like hair or dress, because these things emerged from specific contexts of oppression or have specific cultural meanings. A white woman wearing a Native American headdress (Figure #13) for Halloween, for example, ignores the centuries of oppression imparted on Native Americans by white people and the specific cultural usage of that entity. Body parts, however, are not as malleable as hair and clothing. The idea that someone other than a black woman having full lips or a large butt constitutes cultural appropriation obscures the larger picture. It serves to reiterate the false premise that there are inherent, biological differences between black and white women, obscures what cultural appropriation really is, and ignores black women who do not have certain features. Racial beauty essentialization is a different installment of the same harmful rhetoric that Thomas Jefferson utilized to justify the subordination of black bodies in 1785. Throughout each section of this paper, the denigration of black bodies for features now praised on white bodies is explicit. The question should not be whether white women are appropriating culture by having physical beauty markers like full lips and slim waists, but rather why these features are acceptable on white bodies – why does White Beauty Privilege exist?
Figure #13
Khloé Kardashian wearing a Native American headdress at a birthday party.
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