It is a truth universally acknowledged that far too many White people lack the cultural intelligence to understand why PoC, specifically Black people in this case, have felt massive pressures to conform to White Society and Culture.
A Black person straightening their hair via a permanent relaxer or some other method is not “cultural appropriation”. There is no culture to appropriate in the slightest because White People have not suffered ANY cultural destruction as a group in the History of Ever. This world has no “Black Beauty Norms” because the destruction of Black bodies is one of the largest aspects of Global White Supremacy. The fact is, no matter what a Black person does, we will be shamed for it. Even for our own natural features, we are shamed. Our rage at these Carefree White Girls on our dashboards is justified. Seeing a White Woman sporting box braids or some other distinctly Black hairstyle makes our cultural soul take a collective wince because, yet again, White Beauty Norms have taken something which is wholly ours, which we have fought to maintain as a tradition and have used as a method for fighting White Supremacy (yes, even Black hairstyles were and still are cultural “weapons” against White Supremacy, which is good, but also feeds into the idea that our natural tresses are too “militant” for a “professional atmosphere”. When we really know that our natural tresses are a threat to Whiteness). Because, yet again, something Black is praised on a White body. It’s apparent that folks want everything on Black bodies (hair, lips, derrières, noses, skin, etc.) without actually being Black. How does the saying go, again? “Everybody wanna be a nigga, but don’t nobody wanna be a nigga” . To be Black is to be desired and despised at the same time.
(via youarenotyou)
