Answer:
Yes
Explanation:
It's okay. Whose culture would it be appropriating?
People think it is because braids are such a big part of black hairstyling. However, they are by no means exclusive, and white people, Hispanics, Asians, etc… have all worn Dutch (cornrow), French, and plain ol’ three-strand braids for centuries. Heck, some are even named after the Dutch and French (can you imagine?!?!)
Buzzfeed seems to think that the instant I wear more than two Dutch braids, I'm appropriating black culture. What “cornrows” are to black people are also “convenient and secure fighting hairstyle” to boxers a.k.a “boxer braids,” and “inverted French braids” or “Dutch braids” to Western hairstylists, for precision of language in describing a technique (Lois Lowry has permanently tattooed the importance of that into my mind.) Fulbe women have been creating intricate braided styles for centuries. Tibetan women wear 108 box braids because it is auspicious and sacred to them, and young Uyghur women wear them because it’s traditional. Cornrows are another style of braid that is, in this country, usually seen on black people. To me, it’s just a style that is pretty and suitable for my hair. My hair is too thick to fit into two braids; so I usually wear three, like in my profile pic. Maybe for some people it’s a big cultural thing and is loaded with meaning, but it’s not going to be that way for everybody. What this article sounds like is someone complaining that not everyone does things the way she does.
I have absolutely zero tolerance for those who unnecessarily bring up cultural appropriation over something as insignificant as braids. The whole “they're all called cornrows and belong only to black people” argument is complete and utter garbage.
And please, never listen to Buzzfeed when it comes to social issues. The article confused you because it's, again, complete BS. Using their logic, white people can’t wear bandanas, black people can’t wear scarves to bed, and my best friend can stop wearing a beanie to school because Muslim women are discriminated against for wearing hijab. Seriously, I could debunk the entire article sentence by sentence, but I'm far past my breaking point already.
