Kendall Jenner and Cultural Appropriation: Is it an Afro?
Kendall Jenner and Cultural
Appropriation: Is it an Afro?
In its 15th
anniversary of the founding of the Vogue Fashion Fund and honoring the Council
of Fashion Designers of America, Vogue Magazine, featured Kendall Jenner with a
few messy hairstyles. Through the web and social media, some people, mainly
African Americans and people of color, criticized Jenner and Vogue for participating in cultural appropriation, claiming Jenner
was wearing an afro.
The afro hairstyle, sometimes coined “fro”, became
predominant among members of the Black Panther Party in the mid-1960s. Beyond
the picture itself, social media users claim the Kardashian/Jenner clan’s
favorite pastime is cultural appropriation.
Vogue
attempted to clear up the controversy with their statement: “The image is meant to be an update of the
romantic Edwardian/Gibson Girl hair which suits the period feel of the Brock
Collection, and also the big hair of the ‘60s and the early ‘70s, that
puffed-out, teased-out look of those eras. We apologize if it came across
differently than intended, and we certainly did not mean to offend anyone by
it.”
However, there is a third
narrative brought to light. Some people of color believe Jenner’s hairstyle isn’t
cultural appropriation, asserting Jenner isn’t wearing an afro.
I did not see this as cultural appropriation. This resembles an Victorian hairstyle rather than an afro of a Black woman. The Kardashian/Jenners have righty been criticized for cultural appropriation but I do not think this is the case. Other photos from this shoot also don't seem to allude to anything related to Black culture. I am not convinced that this is a case of misrepresentation.
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