I am so extremely tired of the cultural appropriation of African American style/way of being. Specifically Caucasian women mimicking the styles and/or cultures of Black women. (I am not targeting Caucasian women who grew up with Black cultures, styles, and traditions.!)
Kylie Jenner is a prime example of this behavior. She started off as the awkward little sister in the Kardashian family. She was white, privileged, and came from a rich family.
Then, as she started to get older and discover her own identity, she took on a more edgy look, into here late teen years.
Then Kylie got older and started rebranding Black culture. She made big lips, something that a lot of African Americans were mocked and criticized for, a popular desirable trait.
The media didn't like it on us..but when Kylie did it, people would overline their lips, and even SUCK ON SHOTGLASSES, bursting blood vessels, to get that same look.
This got even worse with the body. Thick and curvy was now back? In the early 2000s, women wanted to be thin as possible, and Black women were ridiculed for being more developed and voluptuous. She also began wearing lace fronts, which also was something Black women were made fun of for. Fake hair was seen as tacky and "catfishing", but Kylie made it popular.
She even completed her image with the Black rapper boyfriend, as if to prove her rights to Black culture because she was associating herself with other Black people. Which made it acceptable and okay in a lot of peoples eyes.
She built an empire, and propaganda solely on Black culture.
Suddenly there was a switch up. After she made her money and profited off of Black culture, she could sink back into the safety of her whiteness. Something that we do not have the privilege of. Now she is in her "Cottagecore" era, doing cleaner makeup, and complete with her white boyfriend.
She had the "baddie" aesthetic, and was able to be "apart" of black culture, just minus the oppression, brutality, and fear that we face everyday being a person of color.
They want our rhythm, but not our blues.
