The Racist and Appropriative Nature of Didymos' Indios
“Indio”, in Spanish, is a racial slur directed towards indigenous and indigenous-looking peoples in Latin America and Latinx communities. As a US-born Mexicana, I’ve grown up understanding that being told “pareces bien india” (you look really indian) is not a compliment.
Since colonization, indigenous peoples have been looked down upon, oppressed, and marginalized. While threads of indigeneity have woven themselves into our (Latinx) cultures, indigenous peoples are derided and mocked for their indigeneity. You may be wondering how this relates to the woven wraps of a German company. Well, let me tell you…
The birth of Didymos as a company was based on Erika Hoffmann’s local fame of wearing a rebozo she was gifted by friends who had been vacationing in Mexico (note: sometimes the company history says “Central America” or “Latin America” as though the three are equally interchangeable). The subsequent design of Didymos’ Indio bears striking resemblance to the design and pattern work of Zapotec peoples’ textiles. Given that the gifted rebozo was from the Mesoamerican region, it is easy to extrapolate that the Didymos Indio design was “inspired” by the work of the Zapotec peoples. And at one point, Didymos actually said as much on the English-language version of their website:
“We borrowed from the original Native American wrap in our design and therefore decided to call it ‘Indio’.”
So… we have a German woven wrap design stolen (or “borrowed”) from indigenous peoples of a country colonized by Spaniards that is labeled with a Spanish-language racial slur hurled at indigenous peoples.
The layers of colonization, appropriation, and racism are thick here. And I do offer some amount of grace to Didymos and the benefit of the doubt in that Erika Hoffmann probably didn’t know “Indio” is a pejorative. I doubt most Spaniards feel about that word the way indigenous and indigenous-looking peoples of Mexico and myriad Central and Latin American countries feel. However, it is still a derogatory term, and now that it is being repeatedly brought to their attention they must act upon this knowledge.
Now, when I have raised the issue of “Indio” I have been rebuked with this forum conversation: http://forum.wordreference.com/threads/indio-has-a-derogatory-meaning-in-mexico-california.120414/
Note, the people defending the term are claiming authority by proximity to culture. So really, this forum matters not one iota in these conversations.
I’ve also seen some Latinx people say “some of us are reclaiming the term.” To that I genuinely say, good for you and your circle of intimates who choose to use a traditionally derogatory term as a term of endearment. However, the principle in which we say non-black people can’t say the n-word; it applies here. People who are not indigenous to the “Americas” and thus not also recovering from the long-lasting effects of Spanish colonization don’t get to use that word.
As for the appropriation of the design, this is no doubt the original sin in Western/”Modern” Babywearing. Hoffmann and Didymos are touted as the “pioneers of modern babywearing.” That this legacy of pioneering was and continues to be built upon designs stolen from indigenous people is the epitome of appropriation.
Don’t misunderstand me. Babywearing is a vital parenting tool and I personally believe that all cultures must have some history of babywearing. My contention here is not with the act of babywearing. It is with stealing design work of marginalized and oppressed peoples, labeling it with a racial slur, and then profiting off those offenses for decades.
At this point you may be asking what I expect be done. I expect Didymos to cease production of Indio and its derivatives (including but not limited to Grande, Old Standard, 55, and Inka). That is the only just path here.
So, my dear fellow babywearers…
Your “Indios” are racist. If you, having read this far, and choose to continue carrying your babies in cloth dripping in colonization, racism, and appropriation that is on you. But I hope, after reading this far, you choose to follow the adage of “when you know better, you do better”.
Please, do better. Please, ditch your “Indios”.
