Bindi and beyond: a Gwen Stefani timeline of cultural appropriation

I went into Urban Outfitters on Oxford Street the other week and they had a dedicated section to cultural appropriation -one wall of the store was dedicated to clothing with Ganesh, yin yangs, obligatory native American headdresses and Rastafari-esque prints. It was considerate of them to compartmentalise their problematic clothing into one area however their shame still showed. The entire store was offensive anyway; I couldn't decide what was worse, the appropriating clothing, extortionate pricing, or the lame in-store probably vegan Black Sheep Coffee shop where a beardy man makes watery drinks whilst you browse their collection of about five vinyl records. My real issue with the store though was, why is Vishnu now a fashion print? Have white people really run out of pastel colours and varieties of flower crowns so they need to appropriate existing cultures now?

the 90's were an amazingly shameless time in which we lived in

I'm making it sound like cultural appropriation is a new thing but it's not. Going back as far as my lil millennial memory takes me, Gwen Stefani comes to mind (fun fact: I got the image on the right from an Urban Outfitter's blog post on how to be bindi-era Gwen for HALLOWEEN. I'll stop complaining about cultural appropriation when cultural items stop being used as mere party costumes bYE). She paved the way for mainstream appropriation, starting with the bindi; since then the bindi has been worn as a 'symbol of female sensuality' by the likes of Miley Cyrus, Katy Perry, Azealia Banks, Selena Gomez, Iggy Azaela, Madonna, Shakira and many more. When Priyanka Chopra (real life Indian and Hindu) was asked about musicians wearing the bindi for fashion, she said, "I think it's great that musicians are discovering the beauty of the bindi. In today's day and age, the bindi is not restricted to religious or traditional purposes, but is actually a very popular fashion accessory." I would argue that it being a very popular fashion accessory for non-Hindus, yet still being a point of ridicule in many offensive Indian stereotypes shows an unfair cultural exchange. I suppose the actual wearing of the bindi isn't offensive however the fact that it's only deemed fashion on non-Hindus is the problematic aspect. All-round cool kid Grimes is probably the only person I've seen apologise for wearing bindis, and has stopped wearing them even though it was normalised for her growing up with her step-dad being Hindu.

Following Gwen Stefani's cultural appropriation timeline, she moved onto Japanese culture when bindis got a bit last season. Her backing dancers the Harajuku Girls were rechristened Love, Angel, Music and Baby, an acronym for her clothing line L.A.M.B. so quite literally turning them into a marketing tool. They were CONTRACTUALLY OBLIGATED to only speak Japanese in public, or remain silent stoic and 'doll-like'. Gwen Stefani said she was "surprised how racist everybody was about them." Good try at a save, ma. I, as a 9 year old chica, loved Gwen and the Harajuku Girls because they were sassy and - I will say it - ka-ka-ka-kawaii. But looking back at it, I feel super uncomfortable watching any of the videos they feature in because it's so confidently and unashamedly exploitative and perpetuates this gross stereotype of submissive and quiet Japanese girls. Does anything really need to be said about Avril Lavigne's latest attempt at representing Japanese culture? Not really because her Hello Kitty song/video is so beautifully lazy (it's a tragic appropriation of Gwen Stefani's 2004 success lmao rest in peace Avril Lavigne's career 2000-2008r boi). Katy Perry also had a go at Japanese culture with her Geisha AMA's performance which some people thought was actually informed and tasteful in her standards, however we must remember this is the same person who said about Japanese people, "I'm so obsessed I want to skin you and wear you like Versace".

So where did Gwen go next?? Obviously native Americans. Also done by Lana del Rey, Pharrell and Phantogram (the latter two actually apologised), No Doubt's video for Looking Hot was the most wildly misinformed and I think we all expected better from 2012. Singing about looking hot, dressed in native-American sexualised clothing and being tied up isn't the most appropriate thing to do with a culture infamous for the amount of rape and abuse they have been subjected to (similar sins were committed by Victoria's Secret a week later). I guess this new fashion of white American's wearing the clothing of people their ancestors killed became a cool thing, because headdresses are now a staple fashion at music festivals like Coachella and Urban Outfitters even came out with a line of 'Navajo' clothing. Amasing.

This whole blog post makes me kind of sad, because I kind of love Gwen Stefani's music. But it's possible to enjoy something yet acknowledge problematic aspects and feign from blindly revering that person (see this amazing piece of yellow-face that people always seem to ignore when they buttlick Jean Luc Godard. "Yeh but it woz satire" yeah but it was still SUPER DISCOMFORT-MAKING). As I have been seen to do on twitter, I will fight you if you tell me shitsense like "cultural appropriation is okay if it's done right" [actual quote via someone I will not name but am still laughing at 4ever and always]. Cultural appropriation will always be problematic because it presents an unequitable exchange between the white-Western world and the cultures it is taking from. Things like bindis and native American headdresses are taken and turned into a fashion, yet these cultures are receiving nothing in return. They can't take fashions from bland white-America, nor do they get any economic gain or respect. In fact, it only substantiates stereotypes, can disrespect the cultures and make way for this idea that 'it looks fashionable on a white person, but looks otherly and alien on people of the culture of origin'. I ain't about it, son.

Also, I get people asking me " is it okay if I...." look, go nuts and wear whatever if you're aware of the origin, are doing so tastefully, and are in an environment in which others from that culture are welcoming you to do it (e.g. wearing a sari at an Indian wedding) - that wouldn't be cultural appropriation, it's an exploration of culture I guess. Just don't call it your summer fashion 2k14 ok.

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[UPDATE!! As of July 14th, Urban Outfitters have pulled a Lord Ganesh duvet from their online store. This was less about the illustration itself and more about the product as Rajan Zed, a Hindu activist from Nevada and president of the Universal Society of Hinduism said “You can put him in a frame and on the wall. That is fine, but it is not to be put on the bed, on which you lie and your feet will go on. That is very inappropriate." (similar to the Ganesh socks they were made to pull in December, "Lord Ganesh was highly revered in Hinduism and was meant to be worshipped in temples or home shrines and not to be wrapped around one's foot."). Not super relevant to my blog post but is interesting to note how being uninformed of the origin can turn appreciation into appropriation.]

HOW TO: fake genuineness

A quick UPDATE RE: my last blog post: - my jaw is still not well. It clicks more than an audience at a poetry slam. Thank u for all ur advice, but I guess I'll just have to wait for time to heal all :(

Anyway

I received some v positive responses on my blogpost mega slamming the alt-life. I did not, however, provide any solutions to the mnstrm v alt debate. I was v suggestive that we abandon our attempts at being alternative and just become mainstreamers however this is not the truth I wish to preach. Ultimately our interests should be what we enjoy and not chosen for the cool points they come with. Cool points are great, I collect them avidly, but what we need in our lives is BALANCE. To be a genuine, non-fad following, non-hipster-begging person, we must be both at once. A NON-DUALITY of mainstream and alternative. And, if you're lacking in one, fake it (best advice I've ever given I think).

Because I know how bad the internet loves list-style teachings on how 2 live ur lives (ref: buzzfeed, the 10 commandments), and because my blog is full of truth, I have created a short guide focussing on three areas of interest explaining how to fake ur way into being genuine. So put on your seatbelts because I'm about to drive you down the North Circular of life and there is tons of traffic so abrupt stopping and starting is to be expected, but we will arrive at the Little Chef of understanding and enlightenment v soon I promise.

MUSIK

You dig this old Elvis Presley track. Gr8!! What's not to dig? He had major style and wild music skills. Now, counterbalance this with the new Katy Perry album. Don't like Katy Perry? Neither do I but my friend, we all have to make sacrifices. No one will take you seriously as a person if you claim to have a refined music palette - this is a telling sign of someone that spends all their time researching KEWL music on the internet and downloading Wes Anderson soundtracks. Additionally, if you ever speak of that rad Elvis track you must mention that your parents or their parents showed it to you - I do not want to see any bragging about discovering some gem of an mp3 on your own accord even if it's truuuu.

However don't think your hours/years of trawling through alt playlists have gone to waste. I heard Pacific Air's (formerly known as KO KO) Float On three years ago on some - at the time - obscuro Birp! playlist. Today I heard it on Come Dine With Me. LIKE FINE WINE, FINE MUSIC WILL EVENTUALLY BECOME VALUABLE TO THE MASSES. Just keep your indie love on the dl until they hit it big. No. 1 rule: NEVER say "I've been a fan before they went mainstream." If you say that I will drop u (from the b ball team).

Now hippy hop is a v. complicated subject when faking genuineness. If you're a blessed poc then you do not need to fake any love for the music of our collective ancestry (this also applies to any 'cultural' music e.g. the sitar stylings of the l8 and gr8 ravi shankar bless his soul). If you're white (i.e. if it takes you longer than a season of Lost to name every 1/8th and 1/24th of your heritage), then the only black rappers you're allowed to "feel" is childish gambino 'because the internet', and tyler the creator because you are his target audience and his marketing game is strong. Look, I'm real sorry about this one. You may really like Nas and mos def, but you run the risk of being accused of 'not getting it'. You can listen, just don't hype too much because both the real world and the internet are full of peeps ready to throw white guilt at u.

FILM

Once again, take counterbalancing as a rule of thumb. For every new wave French film you watch, you must watch one blockbuster from this year. I don't care if you don't like superhero movies, your personal interests are beyond the point especially if they border on hipster. The aim here is to fake your identity into a well-rounded and genuine one. For instance, you watch Un Femme est un Femme (a well known Godard film, you get extra points for not picking an obscure one). You must balance this with an Avenger film. Conversation may go as such:

"The light-hearted view of relationships may be conflated with Parisians when it is actually the essence of the French new wave film genre - not the people. But yo, that bit in Iron Man 2 where he did the thing with the light up hands, shit that was #INSANE." (I have not seen any Avengers films lmao but COULD YOU TELL?)

Do your peers still think you're not being real? Do they see through your attempts at faking genuineness?? Here is the fall-back plan: WILDLY SLANDER A WES ANDERSON FILM. you may lose the respect of your hipster friends that you go to poetry readings with, but you'll gain the type of friends that would have your back in a knife fight and I think they're more important anyway.

FADS

If you're sharing my posts on google+, chances are you're a middle class white man who is over 23 but less than 32 (you are in a v. pivotal time of your life and I hope all goes well). If you're tweeting me, you've moved on from your 12+ oyster, 16+ oyster, and are now on the coveted 18+ oyster! And if you're reblogging me on tumblr then I know nothing of your life (I am both intrigued but cautious of internet strangers). Depending on our lifestyles, we all have different internet habits and may view different internet stuffs. Like the selection at Claire's Accessories, there really is something for everyone on the web. I'm not going to tell you how to navigate such a complicated network of porn and forums and porn forums - my only guidance here is to stick to the established internet culture of blogs, sites, social networks and memes (this is the only time I will ever advocate them), filter out the lame ones and DO NOT create new ones. We tend see a genuine thing, appreciate the genuine thing, then think how could we make this genuine thing more hip and current yet effortless. This is how seapunk happened and I am still recovering from it.

THIS is a genuwine appreciation for the sea and THIS is genuwine punk. Somehow these copulated up seapunk. The Guardian called it a "music internet joke subculture" but 2012 saw it become v. real and no longer a joke but a v unfunny and effortful fashion. Some peeps got mad

HOW MUCH DID AZAELIA BANKS GET ON BUDGET TO MAKE THE VIDEO FOR ATLANTIS? HOW MUCH DID SNL PAY RIHANNA TO ACT LIKE GRIMES ON A GREEN SCREEN?
— ∞SHANTASY☻ISLAND➫ (@ZOMBELLE_) November 12, 2012

but tbh if you're getting mad about this then you've been on the internet 4 too long. It's been 11 minutes since I found out about seapunk and I'm already over it. I could link some articles that will skool u on the seapunk controversies but it is wildly unimportant 2 our lives. What you should take away from this is if you see a new fad on the internet, my advice is: don't. imo you should get off the internet all together and go to Gok Wan for trend advice if you really don't want to look like you're joking.

CONCLUSION

I can't remember which bits of this are actual TRUTH and which bits are carefully constructed self-aware satire, but I would say don't take this guide as gospel - just remember it b4 u talk a big game about all the truffaut films u watch. People are always ready to call you out on your ingenuineness (ppl are cruel) so be proud of your quirks and interests, but don't get too hype and let them define you. I went to the midnight mass with my v. religious mum on xmas and the priest preached "moderation in moderation" i.e. BE CHILL - priestman killah may be right if he was talking about hipsterdom. Idk who am I to tell you how to live your life?? I've defined cool for you, and now I've given you some sweet tips on how to maintain this cool. So, in this on-going struggle between altlife and mainstream life, my definitive words of advice are: seek balance, and the cool will find u.