Kylie Jenner is a reality TV star who has been heavily criticized for her blatant negligence when it comes to her cultural appropriation. Despite being chastised on numerous occasions about the negative repercussions her cultural appropriation can have on people of colour, Jenner continues to exploit minority groups for the sake of publicity.
Examples of Kylie Jenner’s racial insensitivity include but are not limited to blackface, cornrows and dreadlocks - all three of which have sparked outrage in various forms. Despite the fact that others have come out to condemn her actions, she has chosen to be willfully ignorant through the continuation of her problematic behaviour. 
There are many issues that while may seem trivial to some, hold great importance to others. Cultural appropriation is one of those issues. To Kylie Jenner, it is ‘just a hairstyle’ but to many others it bears a much heavier significance. The issue with cultural appropriation is that it reduces something with cultural significance to nothing more than a fashion statement - which is highly disrespectful. This is a great example of how Kylie is willfully obtuse when it comes to cultural appropriation and racial insensitivity. Casual and overt racism can be applied to Jenner’s behaviour - casual racism is how she is appropriating different cultures. Despite the fact that Kylie has been criticized numerous times for her wrong-doings, overt racism relates to how she completely ignores those who are affected by her actions and feels no remorse.
Not only this, but Kylie Jenner has a large following and platform, which would allow her to spread awareness about the suffrage of minority groups - however she chooses not to and yet continues to steal aspects of other cultures without ever having experiencing what comes along with being a part of one.
A big problem with partaking in other people’s cultures disrespectfully, especially as a white woman in the public eye, is that while something that has previously been seen as undesirable on women of colour becomes praised and trendy when done by them. This can be demonstrated by the simple fact that for years black women were shamed and ridiculed for their big lips and dark skin, and yet when Kylie Jenner decided to inject her lips and darken her skin to mimic black women, it was seen as beautiful and innovative. This reinforces the idea that while black culture is cool, black struggles and movements are not.
In essence, it can be understood that having clearly evident double standards in today’s society is troublesome; white stars who are allowed to ‘channel’ a completely different look one day and get rid of it the following day, compared to people who have to wear their hair in that fashion in order to assimilate into society is unfair. There are stigmas and consequences when black people wear braids, dreadlocks and cornrows, and yet Kylie is praised for being edgy and high fashion when she wears them, this is unacceptable. Finally, Kylie Jenner is someone who constantly imitates black culture but has never once publicly supported equality for black people, or advocated for black issues. There’s a huge difference between appropriation and appreciation, and this is something that Kylie Jenner has yet to understand.
I totally agree, it's definitely a double standard especially when there's situations where black women are being discriminated against for something like their real hair and that's something they cannot change. I feel like Kylie perfectly embodies ignorance when it comes to appropriation, I guess you could kind of call her a cultural appropriation poster child. It's unfair that her ignorance is looked up to just because of her status in society, it's a slippery slope to some of her millions of social network followers to saying "if Kylie's doing it, I can too". Amanda Stenberg put it bluntly when she said "Black features are beautiful. Black women are not"
ReplyDeleteAzealia Banks talks about black appropriation in her 2014 HOT97 interview, particularly about the prominence of the issue in the entertainment industry, and how "musicians" such as Iggy Azalea do not choose to speak up when black issues arise but think it's cool, edgy and trendy to emulate black culture in the way that they present themselves. This is an interesting post because it is a problem that is truly at the core of a lot of what we get fed through the media - pop stars and television personalities setting black culture as a "style" rather than a part of history and struggles faced by black people. Kylie Jenner has an important role as an influence on so many young adults and children today whether we like it or not, passing on these "trends" of appropriating culture to those who look up to her.
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