Black Culture is America’s Favorite Trend

By: Aahana Agarwal

As Savannah Cooper once wrote, “Black Americans have and continue to be the true gatekeepers of culture.” Either by styling their hair to match African hairstyles or dressing, acting, or even getting surgeries to look like Black Americans, non-Black celebrities cannot get enough of Black culture. But why is it appreciated more on white Americans as opposed to the original creators? Little girls around the world idolize these celebrities but lose sight of the importance and cultural values of Black American designs and attitudes. America is quick to borrow trends from the African culture it oppressed for years but fails to give any recognition to its origins.

Celebrities like Tyra Banks, Rihanna, and Serena Williams, along with many other Black American celebrities, have been fat-shamed for their curves and ridiculed for their big lips. On the other hand, white celebrities such as the Kardashians and Jenners pay large sums of money to alter their bodies to look similar to Black Americans and are praised for it. Fillers and injections have become a common way to modify white bodies to look rounded like Black bodies. Similarly, with tanning being easily accessible, issues regarding “blackfishing” (white people imitating Black appearances) are more common than ever. Arianna Grande, Nikita Dragun, Kylie Jenner, and more have been called out for blackfishing on multiple occasions due to excessive tanning. Wanna Thompson, a journalist who coined the term blackfishing, noted, “Instead of appreciating Black culture from the sidelines, there’s this need to own it, to participate in it without wanting the full experience of Blackness and the systemic discrimination that comes with it.”

In addition to copying Black features, non-Black influencers and celebrities also utilize African braids for the sake of being on-trend. Braiding hair can be traced back 5,000 years to when it was popular among African women for protecting their hair from the African environment’s heat and humidity. To this day, “braids are not just a style”, they are a form of art for many African people. At one point, Black enslaved women used braids to direct the path to freedom. “For example, the number of plaits worn could indicate how many roads to walk or where to meet someone to help them escape bondage.” Since many people braid their hair in these cultural patterns without shedding light on the real intention behind the braids, they lose their importance and ties to the culture that created them. Justin Bieber, Kylie Jenner, Kim Kardashian, and many other white celebrities enjoy braiding their hair without harsh comments, but E! News reporter Giuliana Rancic said Black American actress Zendaya’s dreadlocks looked as though they smelled of weed. White celebrities not only receive better reactions from reporters but also perpetuate a loss of Black history and disrespect Black culture.

In comparison, white Americans who appropriate Black culture receive better responses than Black Americans themselves. When the media constantly criticizes Black influencers for embracing their natural bodies and culture, they set bad examples for impressionable children. With Black culture in demand within the last few years, it is no surprise that many non-Black celebrities are experimenting with it themselves. But without any background on the culture, they fail to teach their audience its relevance. Instead of living in ignorance, we should work toward understanding Black American culture and finding ways to promote it peacefully and respectfully.