When you see Kylie Jenner on a page of a fashion magazine, what is the first thing that comes to mind? For many people of color we see a person with privilege using cultural appropriation to catapult their success. She is named this generation’s youngest self-made billionaire, even though it is obvious that she was born into a wealthy family. If she was not trying so hard to mimic black women features, she would not be as famous as she is today.
But what was most disappointing to see was when she graced the pages of Teen Vogue with faux locs.
For so many years people of African descent have rocked locks and have been frowned upon. We have been viewed as potheads, dirty, street urchins that are too lazy to tame our hair. But once she started rocking fake locs all of sudden likes started to pour in. It is like a figurative slap to the face to those who have lost their jobs because they refused to cut their natural goddess like locks, while people linked to the Kardashian family continue to bank off of it.
It is my hope that one day all races will be shown equal appreciation. You twist your hair to retain length and faux locs are an easy way to maintain coarse hair. A good amount of black celebrities rock faux locs too, like Megan Good and Zendaya. But the lack of credit given back to the black community is discouraging. Progress is being made, but at what cost? If more black people point out cultural appropriation, hopefully in the future we will receive more credit for all of our innovations.
Beauty And Braids 